Land Mosaic

Definition Paper

Exploring each landscape is like entering a new culture: each one complete with its own species of plants, animals, and even the sediment is unique of one another; in other words, each terrain has its own ecosystem. Mother Nature is the architect for each mosaic and the ecosystems are the workers that build and maintain according to her blueprints.

The mosaic of a land means the design; if one were to paint a portrait of a desert the images that would conjure up include: a vibrant sun, barren land covered in tan or yellowish sediment (or sand), occasional roaming camel or reptile; compared to a tropical rainforest that would include large range of colors – both vibrant and dark; with its abundance of life forms (it’s estimated that half of the world’s 10 million species of plants and animals reside in this terrain). Because the vegetation, or plant life, of a rainforest is much more diverse than a desert’s, the richness of the animal community is obvious. Thus the dominant vegetation of a land mosaic establishes its community and creates the design or pattern of the ground.

The interaction between organisms (i.e. competition, predator-prey interface, pollination) is called a biotic interaction. But interactions among species are only part of the landscape process. The other part of the formula is from abiotic causes (i.e. climate, topography, soil) and even natural disasters are part of the course. Humans also affect the landscape. Every time a pesticide is sprayed or any object made by humans (i.e. not from nature) the ecology of a landscape is altered. For example: constructions of buildings or roads affect the pattern of the vegetation; pesticides alter the availability of insects, which means fewer predators in certain areas.

So Mother Nature has her blueprints for the construction of a land mosaic. The vegetation is the design and every interaction (tangible or not; natural or unnatural) is plays a role in maintaining or disturbing the design.