Glossary
This glossary is compiled from citations in dif- States), Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Illinois
ferent chapters, and draws from glossaries and Clean Coal Institute (United States), National
other resources available on the websites of the Safety Council (United States), Natsource (United
following organizations, networks and projects: States), The Organisation for Economic Co-oper-
American Meteorological Society, Center for ation and Development, Professional
Transportation Excellence (United States), Development for Livelihoods (United Kingdom),
Charles Darwin University (Australia), Consulta- SafariX eTextbooks Online, Redefining Progress
tive Group on International Agricultural Research, (United States), The Edwards Aquifer Web-
Convention on Wetlands of International Impor- site (United States), TheFreeDictionary.com,
tance especially as Waterfowl Habitat, Europe’s The World Bank, UN Convention to Combat
Information Society, European Environment Desertification in Countries Experiencing Seri-
Agency, European Nuclear Society, Food and ous Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in Africa, UN Development Programme, UN
Foundation for Research, Science and Technol- Framework Convention on Climate Change,
ogy (New Zealand), Global Footprint Network, UN Industrial Development Organization, UN
GreenFacts Glossary, Intergovernmental Panel Statistics Division, US Department of Agriculture,
on Climate Change, International Centre for US Department of the Interior, US Department of
Research in Agroforestry, International Compari- Transportation, US Energy Information Administra-
son Programme, International Research Institute tion, US Environmental Protection Agency, US
for Climate and Society at Columbia University Geological Survey, Water Quality Association
(United States), International Strategy for Disaster (United States), Wikipedia and World Health
Reduction, Lyme Disease Foundation (United Organization.
Term Definition
Abundance The number of individuals or related measure of quantity (such as biomass) in a population, com-
munity or spatial unit.
Acidification Change in environment’s natural chemical balance caused by an increase in the concentration of
acidic elements.
Adaptation Adjustment in natural or human systems to a new or changing environment, including anticipatory
and reactive adaptation, private and public adaptation, and autonomous and planned adaptation.
Alien species
(also nonnative, non-
indigenous, foreign,
Species introduced outside its normal distribution.
exotic)
Aquaculture The farming of aquatic organisms in inland and coastal areas, involving intervention in the rear-
ing process to enhance production and the individual or corporate ownership of the stock being
cultivated.
Aquatic ecosystem Basic ecological unit composed of living and non-living elements interacting in an aqueous milieu.
Aquifer An underground geological formation or group of formations, containing usable amounts of
groundwater that can supply wells and springs.
Benthic organism The biota living on or very near the bottom of the sea, river or lake.
Biocapacity The capacity of ecosystems to produce useful biological materials and to absorb waste materials
generated by humans, using current management schemes and extraction technologies. The bioca-
pacity of an area is calculated by multiplying the actual physical area by the yield factor and the
appropriate equivalence factor. Biocapacity is usually expressed in units of global hectares.
66 VITAL GEO GRAPHICS
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80