Glossary of environment

This glossary provides a compilation of terms that are commonly used in environmental science, ecology, and sustainability.

A[edit | edit source]

Air Quality - The degree to which the air is clean or polluted, measuring the concentration of pollutants in the air.
Aquifer - An underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be extracted.

B[edit | edit source]

Biodiversity - The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.
Biome - A large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, e.g., forest or tundra.

C[edit | edit source]

Carbon footprint - The total amount of greenhouse gases emitted directly or indirectly by an individual, organization, event, or product.
Conservation - The sustainable management of natural resources to prevent exploitation, destruction, or degradation.

D[edit | edit source]

Deforestation - The permanent destruction of forests in order to make the land available for other uses.
Desalination - The process of removing salts and other minerals from seawater to make it suitable for drinking and irrigation.

E[edit | edit source]

Ecosystem - A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.
Endangered Species - Species that are at risk of extinction due to habitat loss, poaching, pollution, or climate change.

F[edit | edit source]

Fossil fuels - Natural fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas, derived from the remains of living organisms that were buried millions of years ago.
Freshwater - Water that has low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids.

G[edit | edit source]

Greenhouse effect - The trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface.
Green technology - Environmentally friendly technology that reduces environmental damage and promotes sustainability.

H[edit | edit source]

Habitat - The natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.
Hydrology - The branch of science concerned with the properties of the earth's water, and especially its movement in relation to land.

I[edit | edit source]

Invasive species - Non-native species that spread from the point of introduction and become abundant, posing a threat to local ecosystems and species.

J[edit | edit source]

Jet stream - A high-speed, meandering wind current flowing around the earth at altitudes of about 10 kilometers, which has a significant influence on weather.

K[edit | edit source]

Keystone species - A species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically.

L[edit | edit source]

Landfill - A site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and the oldest form of waste treatment.

M[edit | edit source]

Mitigation - The action of reducing the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of something, such as the mitigation of climate change through reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

N[edit | edit source]

Non-Renewable Resources - Natural resources that cannot be replaced once they are consumed, such as oil, natural gas, and coal.

O[edit | edit source]

Organic farming - A method of farming system which primarily aimed at cultivating the land and raising crops in such a way, as to keep the soil alive and in good health by use of organic wastes and other biological materials.

P[edit | edit source]

Photosynthesis - The process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods with carbon dioxide and water.

Q[edit | edit source]

Quarry - A place, typically a large, deep pit, from which stone or other materials are or have been extracted.

R[edit | edit source]

Recycling - The process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects.
Renewable energy - Energy from sources that are not depleted when used, such as wind or solar power.

S[edit | edit source]

Sustainability - The ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level, avoiding the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance.
Symbiosis - Interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, typically to the advantage of both.

T[edit | edit source]

Topsoil - The top layer of soil, which is high in organic matter and is where most plant roots grow.

U[edit | edit source]

Urban sprawl - The uncontrolled expansion of urban areas.

V[edit | edit source]

Vermicomposting - The process of composting using various species of worms to create a mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and vermicast.

W[edit | edit source]

Watershed - An area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas.
Wetlands - Land consisting of marshes or swamps; saturated land.

List of environmental terms and articles[edit | edit source]

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