A species that is the focus of a conservation effort. …
The point within the Earth's crust at which an earthquake originates, which is located directly below the epicentre. Also known as hypocentre . …
Coarse food that is composed of entire plants or the leaves and stalks of a cereal crop, and is fed to cattle and horses. …
A warm, dry adiabaticwind which blows downslope on the lee side of mountains. The term was originally applied only in the European Alps, but it is now used for all similar winds. See also chinook, Santa Anna. …
The embryo of a mammal (including humans) when the main adult features have developed. …
A cloud of tiny water droplets that is suspended in the lower atmosphere, produced by the cooling of moist air near the ground, which condenses to create a visibility of 1 kilometre or less. …
A dense mass of fog surrounded by clearer air, often as viewed from a distance at sea. …
A method of applying a pesticide by rapidly heating the liquid chemical so that it forms very fine droplets like smoke or fog and is used to destroy mosquitoes, black flies, and similar pests. …
A curve or bend in stratified rocks that is usually caused by compression pressure. The line along which a bed of rock folds is called its axis, and the limbs of the fold are the tilted beds that extend outwards from the axis. The fold can be upwards (anticline) or downwards (syncline). …
The process by which layered sedimentary rocks in the Earth's crust bend and buckle in response to compressional forces, often caused by the convergence of two adjacent tectonic plates. …
A mountain or mountain range (such as the Alps and the Himalayas) that is formed as a result of intense folding of material within the Earth's crust. …
The leaves and needles that are growing on a tree or plant. …
The banding or lamination seen in metamorphic rocks, which is caused by the arrangement of minerals in parallel, sheet‐like layers as a result of compression. …
Bearing leaves or resembling a leaf, particularly leaves or plants that are thin, flattened and lobe‐like. …
See United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. …
The transfer of food energy from plants through herbivores to carnivores. Primary producers capture energy from the environment through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, and they form the base of the food chain. Energy is then passed to primary consumers (herbivores) and on to secondary consumers (carnivores) and tertiary consumers (top carnivores). For example, in a marine food chain phytoplankto…
US legislation that governs how the Environmental Protection Agency regulates pesticides, including a new requirement that a new safety standard (reasonable certainty of no harm) must be applied to all pesticides used on foods. …
Food that is discarded from kitchens, including restaurants, grocery stores, and homes. …
A group of interconnecting food chains within an ecosystem, which often has numerous organisms at each level. …
A severe disease that affects ungulateruminant animals, particularly cattle, and is spread by a virus. Symptoms include fever, blisters, and damage to the animal's mouth and hooves, and it causes serious loss of production of meat and milk. …
1 Grasses, herbs, and small shrubs that can be used as feed for livestock or wildlife. 2 The act of searching for food and provisions. See also foraging. …
A crop of cultivated plants that is grown to be grazed or harvested for use as feed for animals. …
The weight of forage that is produced within a particular area, per year. Also known as forage production . …
Searching or hunting for food, rather than growing food. …
Single‐celled marine animals (protozoa) that usually secrete a carbonate shell, which is an important ingredient of chalk. …
A calcareous sediment composed of the shells of dead foraminifera. See also pelagic sediment. …
A broadleavedplant (such as a wildflower) that has a soft rather than a woody stem, and is not a grass or grass‐like plant. See also herb. …
To predict or estimate a future event or trend. See also flood forecast, weather forecast. …
The part of a scene or landscape that is closest to the viewer. See also background, middleground. …
The lower zone of a beach, that lies between low waterspring tide level and high water spring tide level. …
An ecosystem that is dominated by trees and other wood plants. See also coniferous forest, deciduous forest, thorn forest, tropical rainforest. …
US legislation that provided for continuing assessment and long‐range planning of the nation's forest and rangelandrenewable resources, under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture. …
US legislation that authorized more research on renewable resources in forest and rangeland. …
US legislation that built upon the McSweeny‐McNary Act ( 1928 ) and authorized expanding the portion of the extension education programme that is dedicated to renewable resources in forest and rangeland. …
A process of labelling wood that has been harvested from a forest that is responsibly managed. …
The deliberate management of forests in order to conserve the habitat and natural resources. Strategies listed in Agenda 21 include: planting new forests; increasing practical knowledge on the state of forests; increasing research into forest products such as wood, fruits, nuts, dyes, medicines, gums, etc.; replanting damaged areas of woodland; breeding trees that are more resistant to environment…
A forest stand that consists of a plant community made up of trees and other woody vegetation which are growing together. …
The relationships between forestorganisms and their environment. …
An area of tall woody vegetation in which the soil is at least periodically covered by water. …
An unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of forest. …
The ground surface and ground layer beneath a forestcanopy, which often contains layers of fresh leaf and needle litter, moderately decomposed organic matter, and well‐decomposed organic residue (humus). …
Isolated patches of forest habitat that survive when the intervening forest has been removed, either naturally (for example through forest fires) or by clearance (felling). See also fragmentation, habitat connectivity. …
The combined use of a forest or wood for both wood production and animal production by grazing of forage shrubs. …
A measure of the resilience of a forest to damage, reflected, for example, through its biodiversity, its sustained provision of natural resources for people to use, and its natural flows of water and nutrients. …
A land use category in the USA that includes grassland, shrubland, treeland, wetland, and/or barren land. …
The freshly fallen or only slightly decomposed plant material on the floor of a forest, which includes foliage, bark fragments, twigs, flowers, and fruit. See also litter. …
The management of forest resources for specified purposes, which might include nature conservation, timber yield, or scenic variety. …
US legislation that established a programme to protect forestlands under all ownerships from destructive forest insect and disease pests. This Act was repealed and replaced by provisions of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act ( 1978 ). …
A long‐range plan for the management of particular forestlands. See also National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. …
All usable raw materials that a forest makes available, including major products (such as poles and roundwood) and minor products (such as medicinals, gums, resins, oils, fungi, honey). …
forestland that has a herbaceous or shrubbyunderstorey that provides forage for grazing or browsing animals. Also known as grazable woodland . …
The natural resources and values associated with forestland, which includes forest products and associated water, fish, game, scenic, historical, recreational, and geological resources. …
The management of trees, forests, and associated resources, on a sustainable basis, for particular purposes such as commercial timber production. See also silviculture. …
The growth and use of forests to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. See also sequestration. …
An independent, non‐profit, non‐governmental organization, with international members from all areas of forest management, whose aim is to ensure the sustainable management of global forestry reserves. …
A way of categorizing forest that is usually defined by its vegetation, particularly the dominant treespecies. …
A type of natural resource zoning that restricts land uses to forestry and related uses, such as timber production, watershed protection, and recreation. …
A colourless, strong smelling gas that is used in solution as a disinfectant and preservative. …
A type of insecticide which works by causing tremors, convulsions, and loss of appetite, suppressing reproduction, and disturbing insect flight.? …
1 The basic unit for the naming of rocks in stratigraphy, based on lithology. 2 A group of communities of plants and animals within a region that have a similar structure, climate, and environment. See also biome. …
In greenhouse gasemissions trading, under the Kyoto Protocol, an agreement to buy or sell an emissions allowance at a certain time in the future for a certain price. Also known as forward settlement, spot forward . …
The hardened (lithified) remains, traces, or impressions of plants, animals, or other organisms that existed in a past geological age and have been preserved embedded in sedimentary rocks. …
A sample of air (for example in the bubbles trapped in an ice core) that preserves the composition of the environment at the time it was deposited. …
A naturally occurring fuel (such as coal, oil, and natural gas) in the form of an organic sedimentary deposit that contains carbon or hydrocarbon, is produced by the decomposition of fossilized remains of plants and animals, and can be burned for heat or power. Fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide into the air when they are burned, which contributes to the greenhouse effect and global warming. They ar…
The quantity of a particular fossil fuel that is known to exist (based on geological and engineering evidence) and that can be recovered under current economic conditions and with available technology. …
Benthic organisms that are attached to submerged objects which have some economic importance, such as pilings or boats. …
The decrease in genetic diversity when a new colony is formed by a small number of individuals from a larger population elsewhere, because many rare and usually undesirable alleles are excluded and a few that are carried by the founders become more frequent. See also genetic drift. …
Very poor nations that have neither market economies nor central planning, and are developing very slowly if at all. See First World, Second World, Third World. …
A domesticated bird (such as a chicken) that is kept for its eggs or meat. …
The relative amount of cloud cover at site, usually expressed in amounts from 0 to 1 in increments of 0.1. …
Any break in a rock including cracks, joints, and faults. …
Areas where uncontrolled or incompatible development could result in irreversible damage to important historic, cultural, scientific, or aesthetic values or natural systems which are of more than local significance. An area of critical environmental concern in the USA. …
A soil horizon that is loamy, weakly cemented, has low permeability and high density, is compact and brittle, and is hard when dry. …
1 The breakup of large habitats into smaller, isolated fragments, which may or may not be connected by corridors. See also connectedness, forest fragmentation, habitat connectivity. 2 A type of asexual reproduction, in which a fungus breaks into pieces, each of which is capable of forming a new organism. …
See United Nations Framework Convention on Biological Diversity. …
See United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. …
A synoptic‐scalewind. Also known as general wind . …
The part of the atmosphere that lies above the friction layer. …
convection of a parcel of air in the atmosphere that is triggered by intense heating of the Earth's surface by the Sun. …
The ability of a tree or other plant to grow relatively free from competition from adjacent vegetation. …
A soil or deposit that allows water to percolate freely through it. …
A market in which buyers and sellers can exchange goods or services by competitive bidding which is open to all, without constraint. See also market equilibrium, market economy. …
An ideology based on the belief that the free market is the most effective means of preserving the health and sustainability of the environment, rather than relying on government intervention. …
A hazardous substance that exists as a separate liquid phase which is not dissolved in water, and which has been released into the environment. …
Trade amongst countries that is free of such government interference as quotas, subsidies, and tariffs. …
1 To change phase from a liquid to a solid. 2 Weather that is cold enough to cause freezing over a wide area for a significant period of time, which often occurs as cold air moves into a region by advection, causing freezing conditions to exist in a deep layer of surface air. Also called advection frost . See also hard freeze. …
Process (particularly weathering process) associated with daily and seasonal cycles of freezing and melting. …
The phase change in a substance from a liquid to a solid state that occurs with cooling. See also freezing point. …
A process that occurs in the clouds in which ice crystals trap water vapour, grow larger and heavier, and begin to fall as rain or snow. …
The altitude in the atmosphere where the air temperature first drops below 0?C (freezing point). …
Tiny particles that promote the freezing of supercooled liquid droplets. …
The temperature at which a substance changes from a liquid to a solid state. For water, the normal freezing point (unless it is supercooled) is 32?F or 0?C. …
Rain that falls as a liquid but freezes into glaze on contact with the ground. See also ice storm. …
An organism that lives independently, as opposed to a parasite or an organism in a symbiotic relationship. …
Livestock and domestic poultry that are allowed to graze or forage, rather than being confined to a feedlot. …
The number of occurrences within a given period of time or a given area. See also density. …
1 The annual rise of streams in cold climates that is caused by snow melt during the late winter or spring. 2 A flood that is caused by rain or melting snow. …
All surface water, other than seawater and estuary water, which includes streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, and water in wetlands. Freshwater covers about 2% of the surface of the Earth and generally contains less than 1000 milligrams per litre of dissolved solids. See also salinity, water resource. …
Soil that is easily crumbled into small fragments or powder under hand pressure. …
The force that resists the relative motion between bodies that are in contact with each other. …
The lower part of the atmosphere, up to about 1 kilometre, in which air movement (wind) is influenced by friction of the Earth's surface, along with turbulence and surface heating. The free atmosphere is above it. …
An international network of grassroots environmental groups in 70 countries, which was founded in San Francisco in 1969 by David Brower , and runs high‐profile campaigns designed to raise public awareness of environmental issues. See also environmentalism, pressure group. …
Coral reef that is directly attached to the shore, or separated from it by a shallow, narrow lagoon. Contrast coastal reef. …
An amphibian that has moist skin, a stout body, and long legs for jumping. Contrast toad. …
The long, feathery leaf of a flowerless plant (such as a fern or palm), or the leaf‐like blade of a kelp plant or other sea plant. …
A sharp transition zone in the atmosphere that separates adjacent air masses which have different temperatures and origins. Also known as a frontal system or frontal zone . …
A temperature inversion that develops above a frontal zone when cold air at the surface is overrun by warmer air above. …
The lifting of warmer and more moist air over cooler, denser air. Frontal lifting occurs at a front when cold air pushes under a warmer air mass at a cold front, or when warm air flows over a warm front with colder air below. …
A thunderstorm that develops in response to forced convection along a front. Contrast air mass thunderstorm. …
A pressure group that is structured to look like a voluntary association, but may in reality be controlled by a particular interest (such as a company, industry, or political party), and which may give the appearance of being set up to do one thing but actually be set up to do something else on behalf of its parent group. Examples of US environmental front groups include the Climate Council, Coali…
The process by which a front is formed and strengthened. Contrast frontolysis. See also cyclogenesis. …
The process by which a front weakens and subsides. Contrast frontogenesis. …
A white deposit of ice crystals that forms on exposed surfaces when the temperature falls below freezing point. …
Human tissue damage, especially in the feet, face, and hands, that is caused by exposure to extreme cold. …
A process by which the soil surface is pushed up by the accumulation of ice in the soil below. A form of mechanical weathering that occurs in cold climates and periglacial environments. Also known as frost weathering . …
The temperature at which air reaches saturation with respect to snow or frost. See also dew point. …
The process in which rocks are forced apart by the expansion of water as it freezes in fractures and pore spaces. …
The part of a plant that contains seeds, such as a berry or pod. …
The reproductive part of a fungus (such as a mushroom) that produces, contains, and releases spores. Also known as a conk . …
Any material (such as wood, coal, oil, or gas) that can be burned to produce heat or energy. See also fossil fuel. …
A bundle of hollow, metal rods (fuel rods) that contain pellets of uranium oxide, used to fuel a nuclear reactor. …
A strip of land where the native vegetation has been permanently modified or replaced to assist fire management. See also firebreak. …
A mechanical device that uses hydrogen or hydrogen‐based fuel (such as methane) to produce an electric current. Fuel cells are clean, quiet, and very efficient sources of electricity. …
The stages in the total life of a fuel. For example, the fuel cycle of coal is extraction, transportation, combustion, air emissions, ash removal, transportation, and disposal. See also nuclear fuel cycle. …
US term for the average mileage travelled by an automobile per gallon of gasoline (or equivalent amount of other fuel) consumed, measured in accordance with the testing and evaluation protocol set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency. See also corporate average fuel economy. …
Any planned activity (including cutting firebreaks or starting prescribed fires) that changes vegetation in order to reduce fire risk. …
A change from using one fuel to another, usually in order to decrease emissions of greenhouse gases or other pollutants. …
Wood (including sawn branches, twigs, logs, and wood chips) that is harvested for use as fuel. …
Dust that comes from non‐point sources (such as open fields and roads) not from point sources (such as industrial smokestacks). …
The uncontrolled escape of a gas, liquid, solid, vapour, fume, mist, fog, or dust from process equipment, without going through a smokestack. …
A species of plant or animal that is adapted to rapidly colonize newly disturbed habitats. …
A system that is to classify tornadoes based on wind damage. The scale is from F‐0 for weak tornadoes (light damage caused by winds up to 32 metres per second) to F‐5 for the strongest tornadoes (heavy damage from winds 116 metres per second). The scale is given in Appendix 5. …
The pricing of commercial goods (such as electric power) in a way that includes not just the cost of production but also the cost of externalities created by their production and use (which includes pollution, waste management, and environmental damage). …
A vent on the side of a volcano from which volcanic steam and gases emerge. …
A cloud of gas, smoke, or vapour that is suspended in a gas. …
A chemical pesticide that forms vapours (gases) that are used to destroy weeds, plant pathogens, insects, or other pests. …
The destruction of any unwanted organisms by exposure to a poisonous gas or smoke. …
The total range of environmental conditions that are suitable for the existence of a species, without effects of interspecific competition and predation. See also niche, potential niche, realized niche. …
Interchangeability, such as the flexibility mechanisms for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that were agreed under the Kyoto Protocol. …
A chemical pesticide that is used to control or kill fungus. Also known as fungistat . …
A simple type of plant (plural fungi) that contains no chlorophyll and so does not carry out photosynthesis, but instead derives nutrients by secreting digestive enzymes that release organic molecules from the tree, soil, or organism it is in contact with, which it then absorbs. Examples include mushrooms, moulds, mildews, and yeasts. In taxonomy, the fungi comprise a separate kingdom (the Fungi).…
A rotating column of cloud beneath a cumulus or cumulonimbus cloud, which does not reach the ground. …
Any mammal species or individual that is valued and sought for its pelt or fur. …
A combustion chamber or an enclosed structure in which fuel is burned. …
A long, narrow, shallow trench carved in the ground by a plough or other agricultural implement. …
A form of irrigation in which water is allowed to flow along the furrows between rows of crops. …
1 The act of fusing or melting together. 2 The process in which nuclei are joined together under intense heat to form a heavier nucleus, at the same time releasing great amounts of energy. Contrast fission. …
A contract to buy or sell a specified resource at a fixed price at some agreed time in the future. See also emissions banking. …
A coarse‐grained intrusive volcanic rock that is formed at great depth within the Earth from the slow crystallization of magma. …
A particular site on a river where variations in stage or discharge are measured systematically, usually continuously. …
The idea that the Earth should be viewed and treated as a living organism, which was first suggested by James Lovelock in 1979 who named it after the Greek Earth goddess Gaea. This perspective assumes that the living (biotic) and non‐living (abiotic) parts of the Earth system are mutually interdependent, both having been influenced by the other, with the survival of each dependent on the su…
A sustained strong wind, between a strong breeze and a storm, moving at speeds of between 34 and 47 knots (39 to 54 miles per hour or 63?87 kilometres per hour), which is force 7 to 10 on the Beaufort scale. …
A unit of liquid capacity. A British imperial gallon is 4.545 litres and a US gallon is 3.785 litres. …
To coat a metal (especially iron or steel) with zinc in order to prevent corrosion. …
Animals (mammals, birds, or fish) that are hunted for food or sport. See also big game. …
The record of game taken from a particular place over a given period of time. …
Any species of fish that is caught for sport. Examples include salmon, trout, black bass, and lake trout. Also known as sport fish . Contrast rough fish. …
A person who is employed to take care of game and wildlife. …
An area of wildland that is set aside for the protection of wildlife, usually for tourism or hunting purposes. …
Any species of wild animal that people hunt or fish for sport, recreation, and food, and for which hunting seasons, bag limits, and other laws and regulations have been prescribed. …
A reproductive cell, either an egg (female gamete) or a sperm (male gamete). Also know as germ cell . See also fertilization, sexual reproduction, zygote. …
Regional‐scale species diversity, expressed as the total number of species in the different ecosystems within a region. A measure of biodiversity. Also known as regional diversity . See also alpha diversity, beta diversity. …
Very short wavelength electromagnetic radiation that can be produced by radioactive decay. It is similar to X‐rays, travels in straight paths at the speed of light, and penetrates matter (including lead) but does not make the material radioactive. See also electromagnetic spectrum. …
The identification of species and classes of organisms that are not currently protected, to find out where they need protecting, on the basis of comparing the actual distribution of species and vegetation classes with the areas that are preserved or managed for their protection. …
The creation of a patch of habitat that is different from the surrounding larger habitat, for example by felling parts of a forest. …
A strong wind that blows through low passes or breaks in mountain barriers, for example where coastal mountain ranges meet the sea. …
A North American term for food waste, or refuse in general. …
A plot of ground on which plants (flowers, vegetables, fruits, or herbs) are cultivated. See also horticulture, market garden. …
A new town that has been designed with a special emphasis on natural landscaping and retaining a rural atmosphere. …
1 A substance that is not a solid or a liquid; matter that occupies all of its container regardless of its amount. 2 See natural gas. 3 North American term for petrol; short for gasoline. …
An analytical separation technique in which the minor components in a mixture of gases are separated into their individual components. This involves entraining the mixture in a gas flow (usually helium) to move it over a solid adsorbent in a column; each gas is absorbed at a known rate. …
An analytical technique for measuring the concentrations of various chemicals in samples of soil or water, by first separating them using gas chromatography and then analysing them by mass spectrometry. …
The conversion of solid or liquid hydrocarbons (such as coal) into a gas, for use as a fuel. …
A mixture of gasoline and ethanol, a clean fuel produced by fermentation of sugar cane. …
A liquid petroleum fuel that is composed of a mixture of small, light hydrocarbons, produced by refining crude oil, and used mainly by cars, trucks, and other motor vehicles. Known as petrol in the UK. …
The ability of a gas to dissolve in another substance. …
The transfer of an undesirable gas from water to the atmosphere. …
A member of the Gastropoda class of molluscs, which includes snails and slugs. …
A symmetrical bell‐shaped curve representing the distribution of results from a normal sample population. Also known as the normal distribution . …
An electrical device that measures radioactivity. …
A distinct sequence of DNA that forms part of a chromosome, by which offspring inherit characteristics from a parent. …
A facility established for storage in a viable form of individuals, tissues, or reproductive cells of plants or animals, so that the material can be used in the future when required, as part of an ex situ conservation strategy. …
Study of the genetic variation among populations of a species, and its relationship with environmental factors. See also autecology, synecology. …
The condition in which a particular allele becomes the only one that is present in a population, because of either natural selection or genetic drift. …
The movement of genes from one population to another by movement of individuals, gametes, or spores. …
The relative occurrence of a particular allele within a population. …
Determination of the relative positions of genes on a chromosome and of the distance between them. …
The stock of different genes in an interbreeding population at a given time. …
A 1947 multilateral trade agreement that was designed to establish rules, reduce tariffs, and provide a setting for solutions to international trade problems. It was succeeded in 1994 by the World Trade Organization. …
The continuous circulation of wind and ocean currents that acts to control temperature differences between the poles and the equator. …
A large, complex computer program of atmospheric behaviour that simulates the global climate, based on mathematical equations derived from knowledge of the physics and chemistry that govern the Earth?atmosphere system. Such models are used to predict the likely speed and pattern of climate change, given various assumptions and scenarios. …
The number of births per 1000 women of childbearing age (15?44) in a year, for an area, country, or the world. …
A species that can live in many different habitats and can feed on a number of different organisms. Compare specialist. …
US legislation that governs the mining of hardrock minerals (gold, silver, copper, platinum, uranium, and others) on federal lands, and is still in effect. …
A way of looking at the world or any part of it as an interacting set of parts, as systems. …
The capacity of a power plant to generate electricity, which is usually expressed in megawatts (MW). …
1 All of the people who are alive at the same time or who are of a similar age. 2 The production of heat or electricity. …
The average period of time between birth and reproduction in a given population. …
A machine that produces electricity (electrical energy) from mechanical energy. …
An approach to preventing and/or treating disease by replacing, removing, or introducing genes or otherwise manipulating genetic material. …
Relating to or carried by genes; hereditary or inherited. …
