click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
vocabulary
Term | Definition |
---|---|
trade-off | a balance achieved between two desirable but incompatible features; a compromise. |
deforestation | the clearing of trees, transforming a forest into cleared land |
reforestation | refers to establishment of forest on land that had recent tree cover, whereas afforestation refers to land that has been without forest for much longer |
fossil fuel | a natural fuel such as coal or gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms. |
global warming | a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants. |
pollution | the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects. |
host | an animal or plant on or in which a parasite or commensal organism lives |
producer | a person, company, or country that makes, grows, or supplies goods or commodities for sale. |
abiotic | physical rather than biological; not derived from living organisms |
biotic | of, relating to, or resulting from living things, especially in their ecological relations |
scavenger | an animal that feeds on carrion, dead plant material, or refuse |
population | all the inhabitants of a particular town, area, or country |
parasite | an organism that lives in or on another organism (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the host's expense. |
renewable | a source of energy that is not depleted by use, such as water, wind, or solar power. |
non-renewable resources | a nonrenewable energy source |
autotrophic/autotroph | any organism capable of self-nourishment by using inorganic materials as a source of nutrients and using photosynthesis or chemosynthesis as a source of energy, as most plants and certain bacteria and protists. |
heterotrophic | Biology. an organism requiring organic compounds for its principal source of food. |
evaporation | . The changing of a liquid into a gas, often under the influence of heat (as in the boiling of water). (See vaporization.) |
precipitation | the action or process of precipitating a substance from a solution. |
industrialization | The process in which a society or country (or world) transforms itself from a primarily agricultural society into one based on the manufacturing of goods and services. |