Glossary of environmental science

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This is a glossary of environmental science.


Contents: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z— See also


[edit] A

  • abiotic - non-living chemical and physical factors of the environment (see also biotic).
  • acclimation - the process of an organism adjusting to chronic change in its environment.
  • acid rain - rain or other forms of precipitation that is unusually acidic.
  • adaption - a positive characteristic of an organism that has been favoured by natural selection.
  • adaptive radiation - closely related species that look very different, as a result of having adapted to widely different ecological niches.
  • agroforestry - an agricultural approach of using the interactive benefits from combining trees and shrubs with crops and/or livestock.
  • air pollution - is the modification of the natural characteristics of the atmosphere by a chemical, particulate matter, or biological agent.
  • aquaculture - the cultivation of aquatic organisms under controlled conditions.
  • aquifer - an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, silt, or clay) from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well.
  • arable land - an agricultural term, meaning land that can be used for growing crops.
  • autotroph - an organism that produces complex organic compounds from simple inorganic molecules using energy from light or inorganic chemical reactions.

[edit] B

  • bioaccumulation - occurs when an organism absorbs a toxic substance at a rate greater than that at which the substance is lost.
  • biodegradation - the process by which organic substances are broken down by living organisms.
  • biodiversity - the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome or for the entire Earth.
  • biofuel - broadly defined as solid, liquid, or gas fuel consisting of, or derived from biomass.
  • biogeochemical cycle - a circuit or pathway by which a chemical element or molecule moves through both biotic ("bio-") and abiotic ("geo-") compartments of an ecosystem.
  • biological oxygen demand (BOD) - a chemical procedure for determining how fast biological organisms use up oxygen in a body of water.
  • biological pest control - a method of controlling pests (including insects, mites, weeds and plant diseases) that relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms.
  • biomass - living and recently dead biological material that can be used as fuel or for industrial production.
  • biome - a climatic and geographically defined area of ecologically similar communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, often referred to as ecosystems.
  • biosphere - the part of the Earth, including air, land, surface rocks, and water, within which life occurs, and which biotic processes in turn alter or transform.
  • biotic - relating to, produced by, or caused by living organisms. (see also abiotic)
  • biotic potential - the maximum reproductive capacity of a population under optimum environmental conditions.
  • birth rate - the natality or childbirths per 1,000 people per year.

[edit] C

  • cancer - a group of diseases in which cells are aggressive (grow and divide without respect to normal limits), invasive (invade and destroy adjacent tissues), and sometimes metastatic (spread to other locations in the body).
  • carbon cycle - the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged between the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the Earth.
  • carcinogen - a substance, radionuclide or radiation that is an agent directly involved in the promotion of cancer or in the facilitation of its propagation.
  • carrying capacity - the supportable population of an organism, given the food, habitat, water and other necessities available within an ecosystem.
  • cell - the structural and functional unit of all known living organisms and is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living.
  • chlorofluorocarbons - one of the more widely known family of haloalkanes.
  • clearcutting - a forestry or logging practice in which most or all trees in a forest sector are felled.
  • climate - the average and variations of weather in a region over long periods of time.
  • cogeneration (heat and power, CHP) - the use of a heat engine or a power station to simultaneously generate both electricity and useful heat.
  • compost - the aerobically decomposed remnants of organic matter.
  • confined aquifer - aquifers that have the water table above their upper boundary and are typically found below unconfined aquifers.
  • contour ploughing (contour farming) - the farming practice of plowing across a slope following its contours. The rows formed have the effect of slowing water run-off during rainstorms so that the soil is not washed away and allows the water to percolate into the soil.
  • controlled burning - a technique sometimes used in forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement.
  • crop rotation (crop sequencing) - the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same space in sequential seasons for various benefits such as to avoid the build up of pathogens and pests that often occurs when one species is continuously cropped.
  • cyanobacteria (Cyanophyta or blue-green algae) - a phylum of bacteria that obtain their energy through photosynthesis.

[edit] D

  • Debt-for-Nature Swap - are financial transactions in which a portion of a developing nation's foreign debt is forgiven in exchange for local investments in conservation measures.
  • deforestation - the conversion of forested areas to non-forest land for use such as arable land, pasture, urban use, logged area, or wasteland.
  • desalination - any of several processes that remove excess salt and other minerals from water.
  • desert - areas that receive an average annual precipitation of less than 250 mm (10 in) or as areas in which more water is lost than falls as precipitation.
  • desertification - the degradation of land in arid, semi arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various climatic variations, but primarily from human activities.
  • detritivores (detrivores or detritus feeders) - animals and plants that consume detritus (decomposing organic material), and in doing so contribute to decomposition and the recycling of nutrients.
  • detritus - non-living particulate organic material (as opposed to dissolved organic material).
  • dieback - a condition in trees or woody plants in which peripheral parts are killed, either by parasites or due to conditions such as acid rain.
  • dredging - the repositioning of soil from a marine environment, using specialized equipment, in order to initiate infrastructural and/or ecological improvements.
  • drift net - a type of fishing net used in oceans, coastal seas and freshwater lakes.
  • drought - an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation

[edit] E

  • ecological niche - a term describing the relational position of a species or population in its ecosystem.
  • ecological succession - the more-or-less predictable and orderly changes in the composition or structure of an ecological community.
  • ecology - the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of life and the interactions between organisms and their environment.
  • ecoregion - (bioregion) the next smallest ecologically and geographically defined area beneath "realm" or "ecozone".
  • ecosystem - a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms (biotic factors) in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical (abiotic) factors of the environment.
  • endangered species - is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in number, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters.
  • environment - the external conditions, resources, stimuli etc. with which an organism interacts.
  • environmental science - the study of interactions among physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment.
  • epidemiology - the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations, and serves as the foundation and logic of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventive medicine.
  • erosion - displacement of solids (sediment, soil, rock and other particles) usually by the agents of currents such as, wind, water, or ice by downward or down-slope movement in response to gravity or by living organisms.
  • estuary - a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea.
  • eutrophication - an increase in chemical nutrients, typically compounds containing nitrogen or phosphorus, in an ecosystem.
  • extinction - the cessation of existence of a species or group of taxa, reducing biodiversity.
  • extinction event (mass extinction, extinction-level event, ELE) - a sharp decrease in the number of species in a relatively short period of time.

[edit] F

  • feedlot (feedyard) - a type of Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) (also known as "factory farming") which is used for finishing livestock, notably beef cattle, prior to slaughter.
  • fertilizers (also spelled fertilisers) -compounds given to plants to promote growth; they are usually applied either through the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar feeding, for uptake through leaves.
  • flyway - the flight paths used in bird migration. Flyways generally span over continents and often oceans.
  • food chain (food webs, food networks and/or trophic networks) - describe the feeding relationships between species to another within an ecosystem.
  • forage - the plant material (mainly plant leaves) eaten by grazing animals.
  • fossil fuel ( mineral fuels) - fossil source fuels, that is, hydrocarbons found within the top layer of the earth’s crust.

[edit] G

  • Gaia hypothesis - an ecological hypothesis that proposes that living and nonliving parts of the earth are a complex interacting system that can be thought of as a single organism.
  • generalist species - those able to thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and can make use of a variety of different resources.
  • gene - a locatable region of genomic sequence, corresponding to a unit of inheritance, which is associated with regulatory regions, transcribed regions and/or other functional sequence regions.
  • greenhouse effect - the process in which the emission of infrared radiation by the atmosphere warms a planet's surface.
  • green manure - a type of cover crop grown primarily to add nutrients and organic matter to the soil.
  • Green Revolution - the ongoing transformation of agriculture that led in some places to significant increases in agricultural production between the 1940s and 1960s.
  • groundwater - water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of lithologic formation

[edit] H

  • habitat - an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species.
  • herbicide – a chemical the kills or inhibits growth of a plant.
  • herbivory - predation in which an organism known as an herbivore, consumes principally autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria.
  • heterotroph (chemoorganotrophy) - an organism that requires organic substrates to obtain its carbon for growth and development.
  • homeostasis - the property of either an open system or a closed system, especially a living organism, that regulates its internal environment so as to maintain a stable, constant condition.
  • humus - organic material in soil lending it a bark brown or black colouration.
  • hydrosphere - the collective mass of water found on, under, and over the surface of a planet.

[edit] I

  • indicator species - any biological species that defines a trait or characteristic of the environment.
  • industrial agriculture - a form of modern farming that refers to the industrialized production of livestock, poultry, fish, and crops.
  • Industrial Revolution - a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation had a profound effect on socioeconomic and cultural conditions.
  • infiltration - the process by which water on the ground surface enters the soil.
  • insecticide - a pesticide used to control insects in all developmental forms.
  • Integrated pest management (IPM) - a pest control strategy that uses an array of complementary methods: natural predators and parasites, pest-resistant varieties, cultural practices, biological controls, various physical techniques, and the strategic use of pesticides.
  • intercropping - the agricultural practice of cultivating two or more crops in the same space at the same time.

[edit] K

  • keystone species - a species that has a disproportionate effect on its environment relative to its abundance, affecting many other organisms in an ecosystem and help in determine the types and numbers of various others species in a community.

[edit] L

  • landfill (dump or tip and historically as a midden) - a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment.
  • land use planning - a branch of public policy which encompasses various disciplines which seek to order and regulate the use of land in an efficient and ethical way.
  • leaching – the movement of chemical in the upper layers of soil into lower layers or into groundwater by being dissolved in water.
  • lithosphere - the solid outermost shell of a rocky planet.
  • loam - a soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration (about 40-40-20% concentration respectively), considered ideal for gardening and agricultural uses.

[edit] M

  • magma - molten rock that sometimes forms beneath the surface of the Earth (or any other terrestrial planet) that often collects in a magma chamber and is ejected by volcano's.
  • manure - organic matter used as fertilizer in agriculture.
  • monoculture - the practice of producing or growing one single crop over a wide area.

[edit] N

  • natural resources - naturally occurring substances that are considered valuable in their relatively unmodified (natural) form.
  • natural selection - the process by which favorable heritable traits become more common in successive generations of a population of reproducing organisms, and unfavorable heritable traits become less common.
  • nematocide – a chemical that kills nematodes.
  • noise pollution (environmental noise) - displeasing human or machine created sound that disrupts the activity or happiness of human or animal life.
  • nonpoint source pollution - water pollution affecting a water body from diffuse sources, rather than a point source which discharges to a water body at a single location.
  • no-till farming - considered a kind of conservation tillage system and is sometimes called zero tillage.

[edit] O

  • old growth forest - an area of forest that has attained great age and so exhibits unique biological features.
  • omnivore - a species of animal that eats both plants and animals as its primary food source.
  • open-pit mining (opencast mining, open-cut mining) - a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow.

[edit] S

  • specialist species – those that can only thrive in a narrow range of environmental conditions and/or have a limited diet.

[edit] U

  • urban heat island - a metropolitan area which is significantly warmer than its surroundings.

[edit] See also