Glossary of Terms
Look up terms and learn to pronounce them. Click on a letter below to jump to terms that start with that letter. Click on the speaker icon to hear the pronunciation of the word.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
abiotic (ay-bye-ot-ik) – Non-living.
absorption (ab-zorp-shuhn) – The process of
soaking up liquid, heat, or light.
adsorption (ad-zorp-shuhn) – The bonding in
an exteremely thin layer of molecules.
aesthetic (ess-thet-ik) – Having to do with
beauty or with what is beautiful, especially as distinguished from what is
useful.
alien (ay-lee-uhn) – Of foreign origin;
synonymous with exotic, introduced, non-indigenous and
non-native.
agricultural (ag-ruh-kul-chur-uhl)
– Related to, or used in cultivating the soil, growing crops, or raising
livestock.
annual (an-yoo-uhl) – A plant that lives for
only one year.
autotroph (aw-toe-trohf) – An organism,
such as a plant, that makes its own food, usually by capturing energy
from the sun.
aquatic
(uh-kwat-ik) – Growing or living in water.
ballast (bal-uhst) – Heavy material, such as
water or sand, that is carried by a ship to make it more
stable.
biennial (bye-en-ee-uhl) – Happening every
two years or over a period of two years.
biocontrol (bye-oh-kuhn-trohl) – The
control of a pest through the introduction, conservation, or management of
other organisms; short form of “biological control”; also known as
“biologically-based pest management”.
biodiversity (bye-oh-duh-vurs-it-ee) –
The condition of nature in which a wide variety of species live in a
single area.
bio-degradability
(bye-oh-di-gray-duh-bil-it-ee) – Degree to which a material,
packaging etc., can be decomposed by organism.
biogeography
(bye-oh-jee-og-ruh-fee) – The study of an organism’s
distribution.
bract (brakt) – Small green leaf at the base of a flower.
chlorosis (klor-uh-sis) – A disorder of green
plants marked by yellowing or blanching.
competition (kom-puh-tish-uhn) – The
struggle for limited resources.
contaminate (kuhn-tam-uh-nate) – To soil,
stain, or infect by contact or association.
crown (kroun) – Top part of a tree where the main
growing point is.
cultivar (kuhl-tuh-var) – Variety of a plant
which has been developed under cultivation and which doed not occur naturally
in the wild, but which is a distinct sub-species.
detritivore (duh-try-toe-vohr) – An
organism that uses dead and decaying material for energy.
distribution (diss-tri-byoo-shuhn) – An
organism’s pattern of occurrence across space and time.
drought (drout) – A long spell of very dry weather.
ecology (ee-kol-uh-jee) – The study of
interactions between organisms and their environment.
ecosystem (ee-koh-siss-tuhm) – The
environment and the organisms that inhabit it.
environment (en-vye-ruhn-muhnt) – The
surroundings of any organisms, including the physical world and other
organisms.
enzyme (en-zime) – Portein substance produced
by living cells which catalyzes a biochemical reacton in living organisms.
erosion (i-roh-zhuhn) – The gradual wearing
away of a substance by water or wind, as in soil erosion.
exotic (eg-zot-ik) – Non-native; see “alien”.
fibrous (fye-bruhss) – Plant with roots which
are masses of tiny threads, with no major roots like taproots.
foliage (foh-lee-ij) – Leaves.
food chain – The flow of energy from sunlight to
plants to predators.
glyphosate (glye-foh-sate) – Chemical name
used as pesticide.
herbicide (hur-buh-side) – Chemical which
kills plants, especially weeds.
herbivore (er-buh-vohr) – Plant eater.
hybrid (hye-brid) – A plant or ananimal that
has been bred from two different species or varieties.
indigenous (in-di-juhn-us) – See
“native”.
integrated pest management – The use of multiple
tools (including pesticides, natural enemies, mowing, burning, grazing,
etc.) to control or manage a pest.
introduced (in-truh-dooss-ed) – Non-native;
usually refers to species moved beyond their natural range by humans; see
“alien”.
invasive (in-va-sive) – Capable of establishing
and reproducing in relatively undisturbed natural areas.
leaching (lee-ching) – To remove soluble or
other constituents from by the action of a percolating liquid.
mammal (mam-uhl) – A warm-blooded animal, scuh
as a human being, cat, or whale, tht has a backbone, gives birth to live
offspring rather than hatching offspring from eggs, and usually has some
hair or fur on its body. Mammals produce milk for feeding their
young.
marine (muh-reen) – Of, relating to, or living
in the sea, such as marine. animals.
microbe (mye-krobe) – A germ or other living
thing that is too small to be seen without a microscope.
micro-organism (mye-kroh-or-guh-niz-uhm)
– A living thing that is too small to be seen without a microscope, such
as bacteria and viruses.
native (nay-tiv) – A naturally occurring member
of the local flora or fauna that has evolved with the other species in the
local area.
naturalized (nach-ur-uh-lized) – To
introduce a species into an area where it has not lived before so that it
becomes established as part of the ecosystem.
natural selection – “Survival of the
fittest”.
niche (nitch) – The sum of physical and biological
factors necessary for an organism's or species' existence; the habitat
which supplies these factors; the role of an organism in an ecological
community.
non-indigenous – Non-native; see
“alien”.
noxious (nogk-shuhss) – Legally designated pest.
organo-phosphate
(or-gan-o-fos-fate) – An organphosphorus
pesticide.
ornamental (or-nuh-men-tuhl) – A plant used
for flower gardens or landscaping.
parasite (pair-uh-site)– An animal or plant
that gets its food by living on or inside another animal or plant, such as
leeches.
parasitoid (pair-uh-sit-oyd) – An insect
such as a wasp, that develops within the body of another insect and
eventually kills it.
pasture (pass-chur) – Grazing land for
animals.
pathogen (path-o-gen) – An organism that
causes disease.
perennial (puh-ren-ee-uhl) – Living,
growing, and flowering and producing seeds for several or many
years.
pesticide (pess-tuh-side) – A chemical used
to kill harmful pests, such as insects.
pollutant (puh-loot-uhnt) – Anything that
pollutes or contaminates.
predator (pred-uh-tur) – An animal that
lives by hunting other animals for food, such as lions.
range ( rainj) – The area or environment where
an organism or ecological community normally lives or occurs.
rhizome (rye-zome) – An underground
stem.
rosette (row-zet) – A circular cluster of leaves
that radiate from a center at or close to the ground, as in the dandelion.
saprophyte (sap-row-fite) – a detritivore,
especially a fungus or bacterium.
species (spee-seez) – A group of animals or
plants tht are similar and are able to mate and have offspring.
selection (suh-lek-shun ) – A natural
or artificial process that favors or induces survival and perpetuation
of one kind of organism over others that die or fail to produce offspring.
sterile (ster-uhl) – Free from germs and
dirt.
surfactant (sur-fak-tent) – Substance that
reduces surface tension.
taproot (tap-root) – The main root of a plant,
usually stouter than the lateral roots and growing straight downward from
the stem.
taxonomy (tax-on-o-my) – The
classification of organisms in an ordered system that indicates natural
relationships. terrestrial (tuh-ress-tree-uhl) – Living
or growing on land; not aquatic.
thistle (thiss-uhl) – Any of numerous weedy
plants, having prickly leaves and variously colored flower heads
surrounded by prickly bracts.
tillage (til-uhj) – The operation, practice,
or art of tilling or preparing land for seed, and keeping the ground in a
proper state for the growth of crops.
toxic (tok-sik) – Capable of causing injury or
death, especially by chemical means; poisonous.
weed – A plant that grows where it is not wanted and
is considered to be useless or harmful.
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