NEWS NOTES ON SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES Ecosystems “Anecosystemencompasses living organisms and the nonliving elements of their environments.Hence, the components of an ecosystem includeanimals, plants, microorganisms, rocks, soil, minerals,atmosphere, and the surrounding water masses.An ecosystem can be huge, cutting across several nations, or it can be relatively small, such as the body of an animal, which is home to numerous microorganisms.“We can describe ecosystems under two headings – natural ecosystems and unnatural ecosystems. Unnatural ecosystems, which include agricultural and urban areas, are greatly modified and maintained by human activity.Conversely, natural ecosystems are self-sufficient, balanced ecological units, with a high proportion of native biodiversity and minimal human disruption.“The natural ecosystem is broad.It is divided into two major groups – terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. These are further divided into many other smaller types of ecosystems as outlined in this article.”This article continues to explore 10 different types of ecosystems, many of which include water resources as a key component. The article can be found here:https://www.eartheclipse.com/ecosystem/examples-natural-ecosystem.html ; “The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area, the biological research arm of the Department of the Interior (DOI), provides science to help America achieve sustainable management and conservation of its biological resources. This work is done within the broader mission of the USGS to serve the Nation with science that advances understanding of our natural resources and inform land and water stewardship. The introductory page for this USGS Mission Area can be found here: https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/ecosystems ; The Ecosystems Mission Area includes programs that describe work in more detail. “The Mission Area provides impartial science information and tools to the Nation’s natural resource managers, with particular focus on the science needs of the Department of the Interior (DOI) and DOI bureaus to manage species, lands and priority ecosystems; fulfill treaty obligations; respond to and reduce threats to natural resources; and manage mineral and energy resources.” The programs can be found here: https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/ecosystems/programs ; An important aspect of the programs is the assessment of Status and Trends. The foundation of this assessment is the work on inventory and monitoring. “The USGS Status and Trends program develops and evaluates inventory and monitoring methods, designs, tools, models, and technologies to measure and track biological status and trends.” Details on inventory and monitoring can be found here: https://www.usgs.gov/ecosystems/status-and-trends-program/science/inventory-and-monitoring ; Numerous examples of ecosystems work at the project level can be found throughout these pages.