WhistlingBadger - December 2021 Tank of the Month Winner

That's part of what interests me. It's this man-made ecosystem, but one that's been more-or-less stable for at least a couple thousand years. So it's a strange blend of human intervention and nature adapting and taking its course. Perfect for a Walstad tank. :)
And not to mention it's one of the few man-made ecosystems that allow for nature to adapt and fulfill niches in. It's rare that we completely destroy habitat and replace it with something nature can still utilize.
 
And not to mention it's one of the few man-made ecosystems that allow for nature to adapt and fulfill niches in. It's rare that we completely destroy habitat and replace it with something nature can still utilize.
I can think of several interesting comparisons. English hedgerows would be an obvious one, although I'm not sure if that's a manmade environment as much as a remnant of what was there before the rest was cleared. Urban parks and forests would be another example, especially in areas where trees don't occur naturally. Around here, irrigation ditches and stock tanks provide some habitat that definitely wasn't there before.

But a rice paddy, to my mind, is the perfect subject for a natural aquarium, because that's basically what it already is.
 
I can think of several interesting comparisons. English hedgerows would be an obvious one, although I'm not sure if that's a manmade environment as much as a remnant of what was there before the rest was cleared. Urban parks and forests would be another example, especially in areas where trees don't occur naturally. Around here, irrigation ditches and stock tanks provide some habitat that definitely wasn't there before.

But a rice paddy, to my mind, is the perfect subject for a natural aquarium, because that's basically what it already is.
Fair enough, since where I live there's lots of second growth that's 150+ years old that hasn't been generally altered too much since it was logged when we first made contact here, I didn't really consider what other regions might hold. The ditches in the small agricultural area nearby are just the remaining tributaries of the creeks that crisscrossed the cranberry marshes that made up the area, as example.
 

Most reactions

Back
Top