Dictionary of Environment and Ecology

265 Pages·2008·6.34 MB·English

DICTIONARY OF
ENVIRONMENT
& ECOLOGY
FIFTH EDITION
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DICTIONARY OF
ENVIRONMENT
& ECOLOGY
FIFTH EDITION
P.H. Collin
A BLOOMSBURY REFERENCE BOOK
www.bloomsbury.com/reference
Originally published by Peter Collin Publishing
First published 1985
Second edition published 1992
Third edition published 1995
Fourth edition published 2001
Fifth edition published 2004
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
38 Soho Square, London W1D 3HB
Copyright © P.H. Collin 1985, 1992, 1995, 2001
This edition copyright © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2004
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
be reproduced in any form or by any means without the
prior written permission of the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
eISBN-13: 978-1-4081-0222-0
Text production and proofreading
Katy McAdam, Joel Adams, Charlotte Regan,
Sarah Lusznat, Heather Bateman, Emma Harris
All papers used by Bloomsbury Publishing are natural, recyclable
products made from wood grown in well-managed forests. The paper used
in this book is 100% recycled and contains 20 - 25% post-consumer waste
material which was de-inked using chlorine free methods. The
manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations of the
country of origin.
Text processing and computer typesetting by Bloomsbury
Printed and bound in Italy by Legoprint
Contents
Introduction
Preface
The Dictionary
Supplements
Nitrogen Cycle, Carbon Cycle
Beaufort scale
Richter scale
Outline Criteria for Threatened Species
Critically Endangered Species
Natural Disasters
Manmade Disasters
Introduction
Few things in the universe are constant over thousands or millions of
years, not the orbit of the Earth around the sun, the height of eroding
mountains, the distribution of boreal forests, or the abundance of a
particular species. As we shift our attention from the stellar and global to
the regional and local, then the more likely it is that we will encounter
things that change over even short spans of time.
Dictionaries contribute to communication by providing definitions which
deliver consistency of meaning. But consistency is not the same as
constancy. With the passage of time, new dictionaries, or new editions of
old ones, are necessary, because new subject areas develop, new terms are
introduced or the meanings of words change. Examples of all of these
developments are to be found in the following pages, as is to be expected
in such dynamic fields of study as environment and ecology. In
documenting change, dictionaries not only record developments in
language and human endeavour, but also reflect the reality of the natural
world.
As this dictionary goes to press it is perhaps global climatic change and
the high rate of extinction of species which are the best exemplars of this.
Change can be a challenge to those with an interest in ecology or the
environment, as that interest rightly engenders a commitment to seek to
conserve what we know and value. It can also create tensions between
competing interests within the same field, as conflict between the
protection of bird life and the perceived need for offshore wind farms has
illustrated. But the entities we are aware of are more than features in their
own right, they are also the products of fundamental processes which
seem remarkably constant over time. These processes, such as glaciation,
erosion, mutation, evolution, competition and decay have created the
landscapes, communities, plants and animals we observe and study. As
ecologists and environmentalists it is primarily these processes which we
study, and it is perhaps these which we should value and conserve as
much as their temporary products. This shift in emphasis may be one of
the future developments in thinking in ecology and environment and a
change to be recorded in later editions of this dictionary.
Dr John Harvey
Secretary, Eurosite
Preface
This dictionary provides the user with a wide range of vocabulary from
across the fields of environment and ecology, and also includes general
terms frequently used in scientific documents and reports, as well as some
more informal terms seen in the media. Words and phrases cover many
aspects from contaminated land and landfill sites to climate change and
biofuels.
The dictionary is designed for anyone who needs to check the meaning of
an environmental or ecological term, but especially for those for whom
English is an additional language. Each entry is explained in clear
straightforward English and examples are given to show how the words
are used in normal contexts. Quotations from reports and publications
give recent uses of some words. In some cases, additonal information
about a word is added in a Note, or a wider context is offered in a
Comment. Irregular plurals and verb forms, and other helpful usage points
are included.
Thanks are due to Dr John Harvey, Professor Graham Jellis, Judith
Cheney, Steven Griffiths and Susan Jellis for valuable comments and
advice on the text for this fifth edition.

EcolEnv.fm Page 1 Thursday, April 15, 2004 6:35 PM
A
aabatbe ate verb to become less strong or in- aabsorbptiosn orption noun the process of taking in
tense (cid:1) The wind has abated. water, dissolved minerals and other nutri-
aabatbementatement noun a reduction in strength ents across cell membranes
or intensity (cid:1) water pollution abatement aabsorbptivse capoacitryptive capacity noun the ability
of a substance or part of an organism to take
aabiobticiotic adjective not relating to a living
up something such as moisture or nutrients
organism
aabstrbactstract noun a short summary of a doc-
aabiobtic fiacotortic factor noun something which in- ument (cid:1) It’s quicker to search through the
fluences the environment but which is not abstracts than the full text. (cid:2) verb 1. to re-
produced by living organisms, e.g. wind, move water from a river or other source for
temperature or rainfall. Compare biotic industrial, horticultural or agricultural use
factor 2. to take something such as gas, oil, min-
aabiobtic sitroesstic stress noun stress caused by the eral resources or gravel from the ground
physical and chemical aspects of an organ- aabstrbactisontraction noun 1. the removal of water
ism’s environment from a river or other source for industrial,
aabiobtic sitroess rtesiistcance stress resistance noun resist- horticultural or agricultural use 2. the re-
ance in organisms to stress arising from moval of something such as gas, oil, miner-
non-biological causes such as drought or al resources or gravel from the ground
salinity aabstrbactison litcernceaction licence noun a licence
aablabtionlation noun 1. the removal of the top issued by a regulatory body to allow
layer of something 2. the removal of snow abstraction, e.g. of water from a river, lake
or ice from the surface of a glacier by melt- or aquifer for domestic or commercial use
ing or by the action of the wind such as irrigation
aabundbanceundance noun 1. a large amount or
aaborbt ort verb 1. to stop a process or the de-
number of something (cid:1) The area supports
velopment of something before it is fin-
ished, or to stop developing (cid:1) The flowers an abundance of wildlife. 2. a measure of
quantity applied to plants or animals, often
abort and drop off in hot, dry conditions,
based on density or frequency
with no fruit developing. 2. to give birth be-
aabundbantundant adjective occurring or availa-
fore the usual end of a pregnancy
ble in large quantities (cid:1) a region of abun-
(technical) Also called miscarry
dant rainfall (cid:1) The ocean has an abundant
aabrabsionrasion noun the wearing away by fric- supply of krill.
tion of a material, especially the erosion of aabyssbyss noun a very deep part of the sea
rock by the action of particles suspended in
aabyssbalyssal adjective referring to the deepest
water, ice or wind
part of the sea
aabscbissiosn cission noun the shedding of a leaf aabyssbobenythicssobenthic adjective referring to an
or fruit due to the formation of a layer of organism living on the floor of the deepest
cells between the leaf or fruit and the rest of part of a sea or lake
the plant (NOTE: It occurs naturally in au- aabyssbopelyagicssopelagic adjective referring to an
tumn, e.g. leaf fall, or at any time of the year organism living in the deepest part of a sea
in response to stress.) or lake, at depths greater than 3000m
aabsoblutesolute adjective 1. very great (cid:1) abso- aacariccidearicide noun a substance used to kill
lute confidence in the results 2. complete or mites and ticks. Also called acaridicide
total (cid:1) No absolute correlation with cli- aacaricdarid noun a small animal which feeds
mate change has yet been established. 3. on plants or other animals by piercing the
measured relative to a standard (cid:2) noun an outer skin and sucking juices, e.g. a mite or
unchanging principle tick
aabsobrb sorb verb to take something in (cid:1) Warm AAcaridca arida noun the order of animals includ-
air absorbs moisture more easily than cold ing mites and ticks. Also called Acarina
air. (cid:1) Salt absorbs moisture from the air. aacaricdiciaderidicide noun same as acaricide
aabsobrbentsorbent adjective able to absorb AAcarinca arina noun same as Acarida