Living world defontions Flashcards
Abiotic
Relating to non-living things.
Biodiversity
The variety of life in the world or a particular habitat.
Biomass
Renewable organic materials, such as wood, agricultural crops or wastes, especially when used as a source of fuel or energy. Biomass can be burned directly or processed into biofuels such as ethanol and methane.
Biomes
Global scale ecosystems.
Biotic
Relating to living things
Consumer
A creature that eats herbivores and/or plant matter.
Decomposer
An organism such as a bacterium or fungus, that breaks down dead tissue, which is then recycled to the environment.
Equilibrium
The balance between all parts in a system.
Food chain
The connections between different organisms (plants and animals) that rely on one another as their source of food.
Food web
A complex hierarchy of plants and animals relying on each other for food.
Global ecosystem
Very large ecological areas on the Earth’s surface (or biomes), with fauna and flora (animals and plants) adapting to their environment. Examples include tropical rainforest and hot desert.
Nutrient cycling
A set of processes whereby organisms extract minerals necessary for growth from soil or water, before passing them on through the food chain, and ultimately back to the soil and water.
Producer
An organism that is able to absorb energy from the sun through photosynthesis.
Commercial farming
Farming to sell produce for a profit to retailers or food-processing companies.
Conservation
Managing the environment to preserve, protect, or restore it.
Debt reduction
Countries are relieved of some of their debt in return for protecting their rainforests.
Ecotourism
Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of local people, and may involve education. It is usually carried out in small groups and has minimal impact on the local ecosystem.
Logging
The business of cutting down trees and transporting the logs to sawmills.
Mineral extraction
The removal of solid mineral resources from the earth. These resources include ores (e.g., iron and aluminum), precious stones (e.g., diamonds), building stones (e.g., granite), and solid fuels (e.g., coal and oil shale).
Selective logging
The cutting of trees that are mature or inferior to encourage the growth of the remaining trees in a forest or woodland.
Energy security
Uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price.
Infrastructure
The basic equipment and structures (e.g., roads, utilities, water supply, sewage) needed for a country or region to function properly.
Polar
The regions surrounding the North and South Poles, dominated by polar ice caps.
Tundra
Flat, treeless Arctic regions with permanently frozen ground, supporting lichen, moss, grasses, and dwarf shrubs.
