Download What is this? - American Geosciences Institute

The Compost Bucket
Decomposition Photo Essay
What is this?
What could be inside?
Hmm…
A compost close-up!
What do you think?
Yuck? or… COOL!
The natural process of decomposition…
Leaves contain vitamins
called nutrients.
As summer turns into fall…
Summer in
New England…
dark green leaves
Fall in New England…
brown leaves
…The leaves drop to the ground!
Once on the ground, the leaves
begin to decompose.
And with the help of small
insects and bacteria, the
nutrients are returned to the soil. Instead of
throwing away trash, we can help return nutrients to
soil by composting just like nature does on her own!
Acknowledgements
• The photos of the colorful leaves and trees
in fall were provided by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
• Other photos were provided by the Aggie
Horticulture Network, part of the Texas
A&M University System.
• The satellite images used in this lesson
were captured by a combination of NASA
satellites (courtesy of NASA’s Earth
Observatory).