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DICTIONARY OF ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY FIFTH EDITION Also published by Bloomsbury Reference: Specialist dictionaries: Dictionary of Accounting Dictionary of Banking and Finance Dictionary of Business Dictionary of Computing Dictionary of Economics Dictionary of Law Dictionary of Hotels, Tourism and Catering Management Dictionary of Human Resources and Personnel Management Dictionary of ICT Dictionary of Marketing Dictionary of Medical Terms Dictionary of Military Terms Dictionary of Nursing Dictionary of Science and Technology Easier English™ titles: Easier English Basic Dictionary Easier English Basic Synonyms Easier English Dictionary: Handy Pocket Edition Easier English Intermediate Dictionary Easier English Student Dictionary English Study Dictionary English Thesaurus for Students Check Your English Vocabulary workbooks: Business Computing Academic English PET IELTS FCE + TOEFL® 0 7475 6991 6 0 7475 6685 2 0 7475 6980 0 0 7475 6622 4 0 7475 6632 1 0 7475 6636 4 1 9016 5999 2 0 7475 6623 2 0 7475 6990 8 0 7475 6621 6 0 7475 6987 8 0 7475 7477 4 0 7475 6634 8 0 7475 66208 0 7475 6644 5 0 7475 6979 7 0 7475 6625 9 0 7475 6989 4 0 7475 6624 0 1 9016 5963 1 1 9016 59313 0 7475 6626 7 1 9016 5928 3 0 7475 6691 7 0 7475 6627 5 0 7475 6982 7 0 7475 6981 9 0 7475 69843 Visit our website for full details of all our books: www.bloomsbury.com reference 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, additional 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. abate abate verb to become less strong or intense The wind has abated. abatement abatement noun a reduction in strength or intensity water pollution abatement abiotic abiotic adjective not relating to a living organism abiotic abiotic factor factor noun something which influences the environment but which is not produced by living organisms, e.g. wind, temperature or rainfall. Compare biotic factor abiotic abiotic stress stress noun stress caused by the physical and chemical aspects of an organism’s environment abiotic abiotic stress resistance stress resistance noun resistance in organisms to stress arising from non-biological causes such as drought or salinity ablation ablation noun 1. the removal of the top layer of something 2. the removal of snow or ice from the surface of a glacier by melting or by the action of the wind abort abort verb 1. to stop a process or the development of something before it is finished, or to stop developing The flowers abort and drop off in hot, dry conditions, with no fruit developing. 2. to give birth before the usual end of a pregnancy (technical) Also called miscarry abrasion abrasion noun the wearing away by friction of a material, especially the erosion of rock by the action of particles suspended in water, ice or wind abscission abscission noun the shedding of a leaf or fruit due to the formation of a layer of cells between the leaf or fruit and the rest of the plant (NOTE: It occurs naturally in autumn, e.g. leaf fall, or at any time of the year in response to stress.) absolute absolute adjective 1. very great absolute confidence in the results 2. complete or total No absolute correlation with climate change has yet been established. 3. measured relative to a standard an unchanging principle absorb absorb verb to take something in Warm air absorbs moisture more easily than cold air. Salt absorbs moisture from the air. absorbent absorbent adjective able to absorb absorption absorption noun the process of taking in water, dissolved minerals and other nutrients across cell membranes absorptive absorptive capacity capacity noun the ability of a substance or part of an organism to take up something such as moisture or nutrients abstract abstract noun a short summary of a document It’s quicker to search through the abstracts than the full text. verb 1. to remove water from a river or other source for industrial, horticultural or agricultural use 2. to take something such as gas, oil, mineral resources or gravel from the ground abstraction abstraction noun 1. the removal of water from a river or other source for industrial, horticultural or agricultural use 2. the removal of something such as gas, oil, mineral resources or gravel from the ground abstraction abstraction licence licence noun a licence issued by a regulatory body to allow abstraction, e.g. of water from a river, lake or aquifer for domestic or commercial use such as irrigation abundance abundance noun 1. a large amount or number of something The area supports an abundance of wildlife. 2. a measure of quantity applied to plants or animals, often based on density or frequency abundant abundant adjective occurring or available in large quantities a region of abundant rainfall The ocean has an abundant supply of krill. abyss abyss noun a very deep part of the sea abyssal abyssal adjective referring to the deepest part of the sea abyssobenthic abyssobenthic adjective referring to an organism living on the floor of the deepest part of a sea or lake abyssopelagic abyssopelagic adjective referring to an organism living in the deepest part of a sea or lake, at Ключевые слова: surface, sea, illuminated face, severe storm, organochlorine insecticide, escaped, apr, air, item, tropical rainforest, village, carbon referring, land, organic waste, pollution, referring, royal society, small, ecological footprint, noun process, place, chemical, general, sedimentation tank, needed, disease, earth, process, acid, high plateau, particle suspended, southern hemisphere, destroyed, group, china, nitrogen fixation, abbr, people killed, european commission, high, flooding, atmosphere, local authority, special scientific, carbon dioxide, chemical element, produce, population, scale, forest, type, oceanic crust, waste expense, number, smaller, nitrogen dioxide, cyclone, trophic level, building, symbol, nuclear weapon, biochemical reaction, environmental, persuade politician, water, compare, oct, verb, produced, compound, adjective referring, varied community, condition, leaf, atomic weight, energy, organic matter, feel sensation, atomic, living, specific, spectacular illumination, understand, primitive earlier, organism, fuel, tiny particle, injured, ground, order, level, ha, control, united kingdom, dec, biological character, constant dripping, crop, class, heavy machinery, liquid, worse, north, oilseed rape, killed, organic compound, fallen, latin, layer, town, gas, nuclear reactor, plural, charity, change, reached, eastern seaboard, matter, larger, alpha particle, people, oil, difficulty, farmers, train derailed, hooked beak, soil, sharp gust, noun area, wa, modern technology, photochemical smog, jun, food, environment, british french, plural noun, sept, chemical symbol, time, scale rising, simple chemical, large, seismic shock, national park, genus, animal, rock, heavy metal, happening, crumbles easily, waste, country, european inventory, renewable resource, wind, nuclear reaction, organic, unit, temperature, damage, power, activity, bird, tree, technology, natural, formal, material, note, formula, comment, ships hull, metallic element, carbon monoxide, hemp fixed, tropical storm, plant, toothed whale, jul, shortest dimension, rain, nuclear waste, region, year, persons clothes, industrial horticultural, fish, usa, richter, northern, jan, burial designed, india, carbon, volcanic eruption, artificial fibre, body, life, cell, form, dead, substance, adjective, northern hemisphere, altitude, graphical representation, alluvial deposit, river, pushed, earthquake, equipment, southern, richter scale, aug, particle, south, action, earths crust, constant, study, marine invertebrate, feb, heat, human, european union, noun, caused, formed, septic tank, digested anaerobically, electric battery, area, homeless, specie