AWARDED IMAGE AT THE WPY 2022
"The living reservoir” is among the very best 100 photographs of The Wildlife Photographer of the Year, definitely the world's most prestigious nature photography contest.
The image has been chosen from about 45,000 entries in the 2022 competition. It s part of the exhibition presented in the galleries of the Natural History Museum in London, and it will tour to 23 venues across 3 continents.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022
Highly Commended category "Wetlands - The Bigger Picture"
The living reservoir
Up in the Chilean Andes, in the wetlands of Lake Chungarà (4,800 mt), a carpet of cushion plants (Distichia muscoides) grows at this altitude in a wilderness dominated by the volcanic cone of Mount Parinacota (6,348 mt).
These extraordinary plants have adapted to thrive in such extreme conditions and are characterized by densely-packed, evergreen stems and leaves forming a firm surface.
High Andean wetlands, called bofedales, are precious water-rich ecosystems concentrating life and sustaining biodiversity in dry ecoregions. Moreover, they are able to breath in much more carbon dioxide than other habitats, hence they are very rich in nutrients and organic matter.
The feeling of gratitude is even greater considering that I’ve had the honor of receiving this award twice in the last three years ("The blue pool" was awarded in the 2020 edition).
Maybe it is no coincidence that both photographs are part of the "The Secret of Gratitude" chapter of the book "You are Nature"!
With utmost joy, I invite you to plunge into the mind-blogging gallery with all the winning images.
The Natural History Museum
Awards ceremony
In the galleries of the Museum