Question | Answer |
trophic levels | Any of the sequential stages in a food chain |
acid rain | pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur combine with water in the atmosphere. |
bioaccumulation (biological magnification) | A trophic process in which retained substances become more concentrated with each link in the food chain. |
biodiversity | The variety of species in an ecosystem |
deforestation | the removal of a forest or stand of trees |
density dependent | Any factor influencing population regulation that has a greater impact as population density increases |
density independent factors | Any factor influencing population regulation that acts to reduce population by the same percentage, regardless of size. |
desertification | a type of land degradation in which a relatively dry land region becomes increasingly arid, typically losing its bodies of water as well as vegetation and wildlife. |
erosion | the process by which soil and rock are removed from the Earth's surface by natural processes such as wind or water flow, and then transported and deposited in other locations. |
fossil fuel | formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. |
global warming | the rise in the average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans |
greenhouse effect | The warming of planet Earth due to the atmospheric accumulation of carbon dioxide, which absorbs infrared radiation and slows its escape from the irradiated Earth. |
kudzu | an invasive species, it is considered a noxious weed that climbs over trees or shrubs and grows so rapidly, it kills them by heavy shading. |
nonrenewable resource | a natural resource that cannot be reproduced, grown, generated. |
ozone layer | the region of the stratosphere that absorbs high |
renewable resource | any natural resource (as wood or solar energy) that can be replenished naturally with the passage of time |
waste lagoons | a lined earthen basin used to treat raw organic waste, and store treated solids and liquids. |
water runoff | the water flow that occurs when soil is infiltrated to full capacity and excess water from rain, melt water |