Dictionary of terms on plant ecology. Dictionary of environmental terms and concepts. Sciences and their object of study

DICTIONARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL TERMS

Abiotic factors - inorganic factors of the external environment (temperature, humidity, air pressure, relief, etc.), which, together with rhetorical factors, determine the conditions for the existence of organisms in a particular area.

Abrasion- the process of destruction of the shores of seas, lakes, reservoirs by waves and surf.

Autotrophs- organisms that synthesize organic substances from inorganic ones through the process of photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.

Agrobiogeocenosis - a set of organisms living on agricultural lands.

Agricultural industry- agricultural production on an industrial basis.

Agroforestry - a system of measures to create forest plantations in order to increase the productivity of agricultural land, involve the so-called inconvenient waste lands (sands, ravines, steep slopes, washed away lands) into economic circulation, as well as to improve the conditions of water and land transport and the general mitigation of the hydroclimatic conditions of arid areas districts.

Agrocenosis(from the Greek “agros” - field, “cenosis” - general) - a biocenosis artificially created by man. It is not able to exist for a long time without human intervention, does not have self-regulation and at the same time is characterized by high productivity (yield) of one or several species (varieties) of plants or animal breeds.

Adaptation- the process of developing adaptations of organisms to living conditions.

Aquaculture- a system of measures for artificial breeding of various food and technical plants and animals in reservoirs.

Acclimatization- adaptation of plants or animals to new or changed conditions of existence, in which they go through all stages of development and produce viable offspring.

Allen's rule- animals inhabiting colder areas of their range have smaller protruding parts of the body (limbs, tail, ears, etc.) than representatives of the same species of related species from warmer areas.

Anabiosis- a temporary state of the body in which life processes are slowed down to a minimum and all specific signs of life are absent (observed in cold-blooded animals in winter and during the hot period of summer).

Anaerobic organisms - organisms that can live and develop in the absence of oxygen in the environment.

Anthropogenic factor (from the Greek “anthropos” - man) - the direct impact of a person on organisms or the impact through a change in their environment.

Anthropogenic landscape - a landscape formed as a result of human impact on the natural landscape.

Anthropogenic press - the impact of human economic activity on nature and its resources.

Area- part of the earth's surface within which a given species or taxon of a higher rank is distributed.

Arid regions- desert, semi-desert and other arid regions of the globe.

Atmosphere- a shell of air around the earth that protects all living things from the destructive effects of space.

Aerobic organisms - organisms that can live and develop only in the presence of oxygen in the environment.

Aeroplankton- microscopic organisms that live in the atmosphere.

Aeroponics- growing plants without soil in the air.

Aero tanks- special facilities for biological treatment of wastewater by filtering it through coarse materials replaced by aerobic microorganisms.

Bergman's rule - in animals of the same species or in a group of closely related species, body sizes are larger in the cold parts of the range and smaller in its warmer parts (body sizes increase with latitude).

Biogeocenosis(from the gr. “bios” - life, “geo” - earth, “cenosis” - general) - a stable self-regulating ecological system in which organic components are inextricably linked with inorganic ones.

Biological control methods - use of predators and pathogens to control plant pests.

Biological balance - the desire to preserve the dynamic stability of natural complexes (biogeocenoses).

Biome- a set of species of plants and animals of any region (tundra, taiga, deciduous forests, deserts, etc.).

Biomass- the mass of living matter of an organism, population or set of populations of a species in a particular territory (water area).

Biotechnology- a system of measures aimed at increasing the number of game animals and improving their living conditions (feeding, arrangement of watering places, improving nesting and protective conditions, disease control, predator control, selection, etc.).

Bioticcycle of substances - constant circulation of substances between the soil, flora and fauna and microorganisms.

The biological clock - the reaction of organisms to the alternation of days of light and darkness of a certain duration (rest and activity in animals, daily rhythms of movement of flowers and leaves in plants, rhythmicity of cell division, the process of photosynthesis, etc.).

Biotic potential is the theoretical maximum rate of increase in the population of a species.

Biotope- an area of ​​the earth's surface occupied by one or another biocenosis under the same type of environmental conditions.

Biocenosis- a community of plants and animals inhabiting the same territory, mutually connected in the food chain and influencing each other.

Household emissions- municipal waste entering the biosphere and polluting water, air and soil.

View- a set of populations, individuals capable of crossing with the formation of fertile offspring, inhabiting a certain area, possessing a number of common morphophysiological characteristics and types of relationships with the abiotic and biotic environment and separated from other similar groups of individuals by the almost complete absence of hybrid forms.

Externalenvironment - all conditions of living and inanimate nature under which an organism exists and which directly or indirectly affect the state, development and reproduction of both individual organisms and populations.

Water management - a group of sectors of the national economy involved in the accounting, use and protection of water resources.

Restoration of biocenosis - the natural development of a sustainable ecological system capable of self-healing, which takes place in several stages over decades (after deforestation or fire, a spruce forest is restored in more than 100 years).

Artificial restoration of biocenosis - a set of measures to ensure the restoration of the previous biocenosis by sowing seeds, planting tree seedlings, and returning disappeared animals.

Gene pool- in a broad sense, the totality of genetic information of all species diversity of flora and fauna.

Herbicides- chemicals for the destruction of weeds and other unwanted vegetation.

Heterotrophs- organisms that feed on autotrophs, since they themselves are not able to synthesize organic substances from inorganic ones.

Hydroponics- growing plants without soil, with their roots immersed in an aquatic environment containing the necessary nutrients.

Hydrosphere- the water shell of the planet (rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, etc.).

Gloger's rule- geographic races of animals in warm and humid areas are more pigmented than in cold and dry ones.

Humid areas - humid regions of the globe.

Humus- soil organic matter.

Demography- a science that studies the population, the patterns of its development, composition, distribution, reproduction and socio-historical conditionality.

Detritus- dead organic matter (usually animals or plants), partially mineralized, suspended in the water column or settled to the bottom.

Deflation- wind erosion.

Defoliation- removal of leaves using chemicals. It is used for defoliation before harvesting cotton, fruit seedlings for drying the seeds of vegetable crops, alfalfa.

Life form- a group of plant or animal species of similar appearance, caused by identical adaptations to living conditions. Species of the same life form can be related to varying degrees (belonging to different genera, families, orders).

Wildlife sanctuaries- areas of nature in which certain species of plants, animals or parts of the natural complex are protected for a number of years (or constantly) in certain seasons or year-round. Economic use of other resources is permitted in a form that does not cause damage to the protected object.

Reserve- a territory completely withdrawn from economic use for the purpose of preserving and studying the natural objects and processes existing there. Serves as a standard of biogeocenoses and a scientific laboratory in nature.

Salinization- accumulation in the soil of excess salts harmful to plants.

Land Fund of Russia - the whole land of Russia. Land for economic purposes is part of the land fund of Russia.

Agricultural irrigation fields (AIF) - specialized reclamation systems designed to receive pre-treated wastewater for the purpose of using it for irrigation and fertilization of agricultural land, as well as post-treatment in natural conditions.

Winter peace- adaptive property of perennial racestenia, which is characterized by the cessation of visible growth and vital activity, the death of above-ground shoots in herbaceous plantsgrowing forms and leaf fall in tree and shrub forms.

Hibernation- adaptation of animals to endure the winter season (winter sleep).

Zoophagi- animals that feed on other animals.

Zoocenosis- a community of animals included in the biocenosis.

Insecticides- chemicals for destructionharmful insects.

Integrated plant protection method - complex method (agroeconomic, physical-chemical, biological)control of pests and plant pathogens in order tosuppression of their numbers.

Introduction- intentional or accidental transfer of racesshadows or importation of animals and plants (introduced species) into new paradiseareas where they have not previously lived, beyond the natural areadistribution.

Infauna- a set of animals living in the thickness of the soil and water bodies.

Endangered population - population, number of specieswhich dropped to the accepted minimum.

Quarantine service - a set of measures to protect growthprotection from the importation and invasion of dangerous pests, diseases and weeds.

Climatic factors - abiotic environmental factors associated with the supply of solar energy, wind directionditch, the ratio of humidity and temperature.

Combined wastewater treatment method - neutralize living and cleaning of industrial, agricultural, commumunicipal wastewater, mechanical, physico-chemical andbiological methods.

Population fluctuations - a successive increase or decrease in the number of individuals in a population, which occurs due to changes in the season, fluctuations in climatic conditions, food harvests, and natural disasters. Thanks toregular repetition of population fluctuationsThey are also life waves or population waves.

Consumers- (from the Latin “consumo” - to use, racewalk) - herbivores and carnivores, consumewhether organic matter.

Contact insecticide - chemical toxic substances that kill insects upon contact with their outer coverings.

Red Book- a questionnaire-based list of endangered animals or plants.

Xerophytization- desertification of the area. Xerophytes are plants living in arid areas (deserts, dry steppes, etc.).

Landscape- a natural-territorial complex with a predominance of one type of biogeocenosis, usually a small area (at least several square kilometers).

Littoral- coastal strip, high and low tide area.

Lithosphere- the upper hard shell of the globe.

Marginal lands - literally outlying lands. Plots of land where agricultural production is difficult due to soil, climatic and other conditions (semi-deserts, dry savannas, etc.).

Land reclamation- measures aimed at radical improvement of land.

Habitat- an area of ​​the natural environment in which one or another species of animal or plant lives.

Method of biological wastewater treatment - mineralization of organic pollutants in wastewater using aerobic (with the access of oxygen) biochemical processes in natural (agricultural irrigation fields) or artificial conditions.

Mechanical wastewater treatment method - removal of various undissolved impurities from wastewater using special devices and structures.

Mechanical pest control methods - extermination of pests (insects, rodents, etc.) using simple mechanical devices (baits, traps, ditches) or manually.

Migration- movement of people and animals in space and along the soil profile.

Microclimate- the climate of small areas of land.

Monitoring- a comprehensive system of monitoring, assessment andforecast of the state of the environment or its individual elements.

Frost resistance - the ability of organisms to withstand low negative temperatures.

IUCN- International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

Disturbedland - areas where, as a result of economic activity, vegetation has been destroyed, soil cover has been destroyed, the hydrological regime and terrain have been changed.

Noosphere- the stage of development of the biosphere, during which the use of natural resources occurs according to strictly scientific principles, which contributes to the harmonious existence of man and nature.

Afforestation of sands - fixation of sands with trees and shrubs.

Reverse (closed) water supply cycle - reuse of water, reducing its consumption and the degree of wastewater contamination.

Limiting factor - an environmental factor that goes beyond the limits of the body’s endurance (beyond the permissible maximum or minimum): moisture, light, temperature, food, etc.

Optimal factor - the most favorable intensity of the environmental factor for the body (light, temperature, air, humidity, soil, etc.).

Ornithology- a science that studies the life of birds.

Treatment plants - engineering structures and devices for cleaning industrial, agricultural and municipal waste that pollute the natural environment.

Natural monuments - individual protected natural objects of great scientific, historical and cultural significance.

Pasture erosion - soil destruction as a result of excessive grazing of livestock without taking into account grazing standards.

MPC- maximum permissible concentrations of harmful substances in water, air, etc., which do not have a harmful effect on humans, animals, and plants.

Pesticides- chemicals used to combat economically, veterinarily or medically undesirable organisms.

Population overpopulation - a harmful state of a population in which the number of individuals exceeds the value corresponding to the conditions of normal existence. Most often associated with a change in biogeocenosis.

Food (trophic) chains - the transfer of food energy from its source (plants) through a number of organisms, occurring by eating some organisms by others.

Nutritional level- one link in the food chain, represented by producers, consumers or decomposers.

Fertility- the ability of the soil to provide plants with water, nutrients, and air.

Density of life- the number of individuals per unit area or volume of a particular environment.

Protective afforestation - artificially grown forest plantations in order to preserve the fertility of arable land and protect crops from droughts, hot winds and erosion.

Population(from the French “population” - population) - a collection of individuals of one species, occupying a certain area, freely interbreeding with each other, having a common origin, its genetic basis, to one degree or another isolated from other populations of a given species.

Soil formation - the process of soil development under the influence of natural factors and human production impact.

Ecological pyramid rule - a pattern according to which the amount of plant matter serving basis of the food chain, approximately 10 times greater than the mass of the grow carnivorous animals, and each subsequent food level also has a mass 10 times less.

Endurance limit - a boundary beyond which the existence of an organism is impossible (ice desert, hot spring, upper atmosphere). For all organisms and for each species there are boundaries for each environmental factor separately.

Natural resources - objects, conditions and processes of nature that are used or can be used in social production to satisfy the material, scientific and cultural needs of society.

Natural national park ~ an area of ​​nature designated for nature conservation and recreation.

Producers(from the Latin “producentis” - producing) - green plants (autotrophs) that produce organic substances during photosynthesis.

Commercial population - a population, the extraction of individuals of which is economically justified and does not lead to the undermining of its resources.

Reacclimatization - dispersal of animal or plant species within the area of ​​its past distribution.

Population regulation - organization of measures to regulate the number of individuals through their extermination or breeding.

Decomposers(from Latin “reducere” - reduction, simplification structures) - organisms that destroy and decompose dead racestenia and animals (many insects, worms, fungi, bacteria, etc.).

Reserve- protected areas of nature in a number of foreign countries countries close in regime and purpose to Russian reserves.

Recreation- rest, recuperation, treatment using favorable natural conditions.

Land reclamation - restoration of disturbed landsvarious techniques (mining, biological) for subsequent economic use.

Repellents- substances that repel animals. Typically used in the form of ointments, creams or liquids to repel blood-sucking insects and ticks. They are also used to repel rodents, hares, ungulates from fruit and forest plantations, etc.

Sanitary protection zones - forest strips or plots of land separating enterprises and residential areas.

Self-regulation in biocenosis - the ability to restore internal balance after any natural or anthropogenic influence.

Self-regulation of numbers - limiting effect of the ecological system, reducing the number of individuals to the average norm.

Seasonal rhythm- reaction regulated by photoperiodism. organisms to changes in the season (with the onset of a short autumn day, leaves fall from the trees, animals prepare for overwintering, with the onset of a long spring day, plant regeneration begins and the vital activity of animals is restored).

Sel- a mud or mud-stone flow that suddenly appears in the beds of mountain rivers as a result of a sudden flood, has great destructive power and often causes damage to agricultural land and forests.

Serpentarium- a nursery for keeping poisonous snakes for the purpose of obtaining poison from them.

Power networks- complex relationships in an ecological system, in which different components consume different objects and themselves serve as food for different members of the ecosystem.

Sinanthropus- plants and animals whose way of life is associated with humans, their homes, and the landscape created or modified by them.

Synecology- a branch of ecology that studies communities of organisms (biocenoses, ecosystems).

Change of biogeocenoses - successive natural development of the ecological system, in which some biocenoses are replaced by others under the influence of natural environmental factors: swamps are formed in place of forests, and meadows are formed in place of swamps. A change in biogeocenoses can also be caused by natural disasters (fire, flood, windfall, mass reproduction of pests) or human influence (deforestation, drainage or irrigation of land, earthworks).

Smog- dense fogs containing dust and harmful gases.

Habitat- the set of conditions in which an organism lives.

Station- an area of ​​space characterized by a set of conditions (relief, climate, food, etc.) necessary for the existence of a given species.

succession- replacement of one community of organisms (biocenosis) by another in a certain sequence.

Taxon- a group of organisms related by one degree or another of relatedness, sufficiently isolated so that it can be assigned a certain taxonomic category of one rank or another - species, genus, etc.

Terrilogy- branch of zoology that studies mammals.

Trophic level - a set of organisms united by a type of nutrition.

Ubiquists- species of plants and animals that can develop normally in a variety of conditions. Same as cospo-polite.

Urbanization- growth and development of cities associated with industrialization and the scientific and technological revolution.

Standing harvest- biological yield, that is, the amount of finished products before harvesting begins.

Disposal- use of production waste in the national economy.

FAO- UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Fauna- a set of animal species living in a certain territory.

Phenology is the science of seasonal natural phenomena.

Pheromones- biologically active substances secreted by animals to attract individuals of the opposite sex.

Phytomelioration- measures to improve land bysowing and planting.

Phytoncides- biologically active substances produced by plants that kill or suppress the growth and development of pathogens and play an important role in plant immunity.

Phytophagous- animals that eat plants.

Phytocenosis(from the gr. “phyton” - plants, “cenosis” - general) - a plant community that historically developed as a result of a combination of interacting plants in a homogeneous area of ​​territory. It is characterized by a certain species composition, life forms, layering (underground and aboveground), abundance (frequency of occurrence of species), placement, aspect (appearance), vitality, seasonal changes, development (change of communities). (Or simpler: phytocenosis is a community of plants included in the biogeocenosis (see).

Flora- a set of plant species growing in a certain area.

Photoperiodism(from the gr. “photos” - light) - the need of organisms for a periodic change of a certain length of day and night.

Photosynthesis- the formation of organic substances, carbon dioxide and water in the cells of green plants using solar energy captured by chlorophyll.

Fumigants- preparations used to destroy pests and plant pathogens; act on the respiratory system.

Homing- attachment of animals to their habitat.

Power circuits- chains of interconnected species that successively extract organic matter and energy from the original food substance; each previous link is food for the next.

Shelf- a coastal area of ​​the sea bordering the mainland withdepths from 0 to 200 m. The outer edge of the shelf is a continental slope, descending to the bottom of the sea.

Eurybionts- plants and animals that can exist with wide changes in environmental factors.

Eurythermic organisms - capable of existing under large fluctuations in environmental temperature.

Eutrophication- excessive enrichment of water bodies with organic substances.

Ecology(from the gr. “oikos” - dwelling, “logos” - science) - the science of the laws of relationships between organisms, species, communities and their habitat.

Environmental valence - the degree of adaptation of species to changes in environmental conditions.

Ecological niche - the totality of all environmental factors within which the existence of a species in nature is possible.

Ecological crisis - imbalance in the ecological environment systems and in the relations of human society with nature.

Ecological plasticity - the degree of endurance of organisms or their communities (biocenoses) to the influence of environmental factors.

Ecological system - community of living organisms and their habitats, forming a single whole based on food ties and methods of obtaining energy.

Environmental factor - any environmental condition to which the willow organism reacts with adaptive reactions. More environmentally friendly Chinese factors are divided into abiotic, biotic, and anthropogenic.

Environmental education - formation in a person of a conscious attitude towards the natural environment in order to protect and rationally use natural resources.

Endemics- species of plants or animals not found anywhere elsede, except for a given area (mainland, country, region, sea, etc.).

Entomology- science of insects.

Entomophages- organisms that feed on insects.

Erosion- the process of destruction and mowing of soils by water and wind, leading to a decrease in their fertility and disruption of the role of soils in the cycle of substances in the biosphere.

Ethology- the science of the biological basis of animal behavior.

UNEP- UN Environment Program. An intergovernmental program proclaimed by the UN Stockholm Conference on Environmental Protection (1972) and approved by the UN General Assembly in 1973. Dedicated to acute problems of the current state of the environment (combat desertification, protect the World Ocean, tropical rain forests, etc.).

UNESCO- intergovernmental organization - a specialized UN agency for education, science and culture.

Tiering- dismemberment of the plant community on the horizontal layers located at different heights above the ground.

Basic concepts and terms

1. Ecology is a science that studies the patterns of relationships of organisms with each other and with the environment, the structure and functioning of supraorganismal biological systems.

2. Environmental factors- these are individual elements of the environment that interact with organisms, to which living things react with adaptive reactions.

3. Ecological niche- this is the totality of all environmental factors within which the existence of a species in nature is possible.

4. Biological optimum- this is a combination of factor intensity that corresponds to the best indicators for the vital functions of the body.

5. Tolerance- the ability of organisms to tolerate deviations of environmental factors from their optimal values.

6. Environmental valence- This the degree of adaptability of a species to changes in environmental conditions.

7. Eurybiont is an organism capable of existing under wide changes in environmental factors.

8. Stenobiont- an organism capable of living only in conditions of stable constancy of any factor or groups of interacting environmental factors.

9. Limiting factor- this is an environmental factor that has gone beyond the limits of the endurance of a given species and makes it difficult for it to exist in these conditions, despite the optimal combination of other factors.

10. Photoperiodism- this is the reaction of organisms to the change of day and night, manifested in fluctuations in the intensity of physiological processes.

11. Anabiosis is a temporary state of the body in which life processes are slowed down to a minimum and all visible signs of life are absent.

12. Phenology is the science of seasonal natural phenomena and seasonal aspects of the life of individual species of organisms.

13. Biorhythms- these are periodically repeated fluctuations in the intensity and nature of biological processes and phenomena, making it possible to adapt to changes in the environment.

14. Biocenosis, or community- is an interconnected set of populations of plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms inhabiting a homogeneous area of ​​land or body of water.

15. Biotope- this is a space relatively homogeneous in terms of abiotic environmental factors, occupied by one biocenosis.

16. Ecosystem is an evolutionarily established, spatially limited self-sustaining and self-regulating biological system, consisting of organisms and an abiotic environment, united by metabolism and energy.

17. Climatope- this is a combination of physical and chemical characteristics of the environment (gas composition, humidity, temperature, etc.) that are essential for the organisms and their communities inhabiting this environment.

18. Edaphotope, or edatope- this is a set of habitat conditions for organisms and their communities created by the soil.

19. Station - this is a part of a species’ habitat, characterized by special environmental conditions and usually used for feeding, reproduction, and surviving unfavorable conditions.

20. Producers - these are autotrophic organisms that produce organic substances from inorganic ones; are the primary link in the food chains of ecosystems.

21. Consumers- These are heterotrophic organisms that consume ready-made organic substances created by autotrophic organisms.

22. Decomposers - These are heterotrophic organisms that transform organic residues into inorganic substances in the course of their life.

23. Edifiers- these are types of organisms, mainly plants, that play a leading role in organizing the structure and functioning of the ecosystem.

24. Detritus- these are small organic particles, the remains of decomposed animals, plants and fungi along with the microorganisms they contain; play an important role in the cycle of substances in the ecosystem.

25. Tiering- this is the division of a terrestrial ecosystem into its constituent structural and functional layers.

26. Ecological pyramids is a graphical representation of the relationship between the main functional groups of organisms in an ecosystem, expressed in units of mass, number of individuals or amount of energy.

27. Biomass- this is the amount of living matter of certain organisms expressed in units of mass or energy per unit area or volume of the ecosystem.

28. Productivity or production is the increase in living matter produced by a population or community per unit of time per unit area or volume.

29. Eutrophication is the accumulation of nutrients in aquatic ecosystems under the influence of anthropogenic or natural factors.

30. succession- this is a consistent change of ecosystems that successively arise on a certain area of ​​the earth's surface under the influence of external and internal processes.

31. Climax - this is the final, relatively stable state of successive ecosystems, largely corresponding to the environmental conditions of the area.

32. Agrocenosis, or agrobiocenosis is a community of plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms created to produce agricultural products, maintained and regulated by humans.

33. Biome is a collection of different groups of organisms and their habitats in a certain landscape-geographical zone.

34. Biogeochemical cycle, or biogeochemical cycles- this is a constant exchange of substances and energy between various components of the biosphere, caused by the vital activity of organisms and having a closed character.

35. Plankton - this is a collection of organisms that live in the water column and are unable to actively resist the flow.

36. Benthos is a collection of organisms that live at the bottom of reservoirs, in its soil and on the ground.

37. Noosphere - this is the highest stage of development of the biosphere, associated with the emergence and formation of civilized humanity in it.

38. Monitoring is a comprehensive system of observation, assessment and forecast of changes in the state of the biosphere or its individual elements arising under the influence of anthropogenic influences.

39. Bioindicators- these are organisms whose presence, quantity or characteristics, the development of which serve as indicators of natural processes, conditions or anthropogenic changes in the environment.

40. Cadastre is a systematized collection of data, including a qualitative and quantitative inventory of biological objects or phenomena with their environmental and social assessment.

To environmental conditions, as well as any new traits they developed in the process (for example, a cactus spine is a leaf that has adapted to an arid climate by reducing its surface area to reduce evaporation).

Biome. One of the largest ecosystems that form the overall ecosystem. Each of them is characterized by a climatic community and a special climate in a given region.

Renewable Energy. Natural energy sources such as wind and water.

Deforestation. Massive deforestation for fuel or timber, as well as to clear land for new arable land or cities.

Genetic Engineering. Changing the genetic code to create organisms useful to humans. Genes carry information about the basic properties of the organism.

Natural selection. The theory of evolution put forward by Charles Darwin. She argues that within each species, those organisms that were able to better adapt to environmental conditions than others have a greater chance of surviving and reproducing. Therefore, changes that allow them to adapt to new conditions are passed on to subsequent generations, which ensures the evolutionary development of the species as a whole.

Pollution. The entry of foreign substances into the soil and natural cycles, as well as the presence of artificial chemicals or excessive concentration of natural minerals in the soil, causing great harm to it.

Protective coloration (mimicry). The use of special colors by plants or animals, allowing them to either be less noticeable against the background of the environment, or to disguise themselves as other plants or animals.

Intensive farming. Using the latest techniques to maximize yields, such as using chemical fertilizers, insecticides and other chemicals, and growing the same crops in the same fields every year. These methods greatly damage soils and alter natural cycles.

Irrigation. Irrigation of land, mainly through canals. With ill-conceived irrigation methods, the content in the top layer of soil may increase, and the land will become infertile.

Sources. All types of green plants that produce food from primary substances through the process of photosynthesis. They are the basis for all food chains.

Disappearance. The extinction of animal and plant species and, as a consequence, their complete disappearance from the face of the Earth.

Acid rain. Rain and snow contain toxic chemicals that fall into the air due to pollution from industrial and automobile gases. Such rains kill many animals and plants, especially trees and algae, and also cause serious damage to buildings and human health.

Climate. The set of weather conditions (wind, humidity) characteristic of a given region.

Climate Community. A community of species that remains essentially unchanged until major climatic or environmental change occurs in the area (see also Succession).

Integrated heat and power plants. Highly efficient power plants being built in cities. They use hot water generated during electricity production to heat nearby houses, schools, etc.

Marginal (border) lands. Land suitable only for grazing and not suitable for agriculture.

Desert Advance. The process by which virgin soils (usually used as pasture by local people) are rendered infertile due to over-exploitation and over-intensive agricultural practices, or as a result of climate change.

Necrophages. Organisms that feed on dead organisms and break them down into mineral compounds. Niche, ecological. The place that a given organism occupies in its ecosystem. It includes the features of its nutrition and interaction with other organisms.

Ozone layer. A layer in the atmosphere containing ozone gas, which blocks the sun's very harmful ultraviolet radiation. However, some industrial gases gradually destroy it.

Organic matter. Substances that are or have been part of the body. Contain carbon.

Greenhouse effect. Occurs when reflected heat from the sun is trapped by gases from the atmosphere and heats it. Human activity, the result of which is an increase in the release of gases into the atmosphere (mainly carbon dioxide), threatens a general increase in temperature on Earth.

A series of living organisms in which each previous species serves as food for the next. in this case, it is transmitted from one level (see Trophic levels) to another. All food chains in a single ecosystem are combined into a single food web.

Consumers. Organisms that feed on other organisms.

Continuity. A sequence of natural changes in a given habitat in which one community replaces another until a new climatic community is formed.

Crop rotation. A farming principle in which different, specially selected crops are grown in a new field each year, in a cycle of four to five years. This helps control crop yields and avoid soil depletion.

Community. The collection of plants and animals in a given habitat.

Habitat. A defined area in which a community of plants and animals lives.

Territory. The area that one or more organisms occupy and defend from the invasion of rivals (most often organisms of the same species).

Trophic levels. Different links in a food chain corresponding to organisms that obtain food and energy from the same sources.

Photosynthesis. The process by which plants use solar energy to produce food (carbohydrates) from water and carbon dioxide.

Chlorofluorocarbons. Chlorine-based compounds used in aerosols, refrigerator freezers and in the production of polystyrene, which scientists believe are the main cause of ozone depletion.

Evolution. A long process of change in living organisms, lasting millions of years.

Environmentally friendly technologies. The use of methods that do not conflict with natural cycles and do not disturb the ecological balance in a given region (there are environmentally friendly technologies in forestry, agriculture, etc.).

Organic farming. Farming methods that take into account natural cycles - for example, using only organic fertilizers (manure), natural pest control, and crop rotation.

Environmentally friendly technologies. Equipment, mechanisms and methods that are available to those who need them (for example, hand tools instead of tractors where it is not possible to get machine oil and spare parts).

Ecosystem. A self-sufficient system consisting of a community of plants and animals in their surrounding habitat, which are inextricably linked by metabolism and energy.

Soil erosion. The process of destruction and death of fertile topsoil - mainly due to rain and wind, but also due to intensive farming, deforestation and insufficient artificial irrigation. Lands become barren as a result of erosion.

Abiotic factors – effects on the body of components of inanimate nature.

Autotrophs – organisms that use carbon dioxide as a carbon source, that is, organisms capable of creating organic substances from inorganic substances - carbon dioxide, water, mineral salts (plants and some bacteria). These include phototrophs And chemotrophs.

Agroecosystems (agricultural ecosystems, agrocenoses) – artificial ecosystems, arising as a result of human agricultural activity (arable lands, hayfields, pastures).

Morphological adaptations – changes in the structure of organisms. For example, leaf modification in desert plants.

Physiological adaptations – changes in the physiology of organisms. For example, the camel's ability to provide moisture to the body by oxidizing fat reserves.

Ethological adaptations – changes in the behavior of organisms. For example, seasonal migrations of mammals and birds, hibernation in winter.

Adaptation – adaptation to the environment developed in organisms during the process of evolution.

Allelopathy(antibiosis) is a special case of amensalism, in which waste products of one organism are released into the external environment, poisoning it and making it unsuitable for the life of another. Common in plants, fungi, and bacteria.

Allergens – factors that can cause allergies. Allergens can be pathogenic and non-pathogenic microbes, house dust, animal hair, pollen, medications, gasoline, chloramine, meat, vegetables, fruits, berries, etc.

Allergy – perverted sensitivity or reactivity of the body to a particular substance, the so-called allergen.

Amensalism – relationships in which one organism influences another and suppresses its vital activity, while it itself does not experience any negative influences from the suppressed one. For example, spruce and lower tier plants.

Anabiosis – complete temporary stop of life. In a state of suspended animation, organisms become resistant to various influences (rotifers, tardigrades, small nematodes, plant seeds and spores, bacterial and fungal spores). Anabiosis is a rather rare phenomenon and is an extreme state of rest in living nature; the state of suspended animation is possible only with almost complete dehydration of organisms. Cm. Hypobiosis And Cryptobiosis.

Obligate anaerobes – organisms that are unable to live in an oxygen environment (some bacteria).

Anaerobes facultative– organisms that can live both in the presence of oxygen and without it (some bacteria and fungi).

Anemophilia – a method of pollinating plants by wind. Anemophilous plants include all gymnosperms and about 10% of angiosperms (beech, birch, walnut, hemp, casuarina, goosefoot, sedge, cereals, etc.).

Anemochory – dispersal by air currents. Anemochory is characteristic of spores, seeds and fruits of plants, protozoan cysts, small insects, spiders, etc.

Antibiosis – cm. Allelopathy.

Anthropogenesis – the origin of man, his formation as a species.

Anthropogenic factors – the impact of human activity on the body.

Anthropogenic cycle (metabolism) of substances – the cycle (metabolism) of substances, the driving force of which is human activity. Due to the openness of the anthropogenic cycle, it is often called exchange.

Anthroposphere – the sphere of the Earth where humanity lives and where it temporarily penetrates (with the help of satellites, etc.). The concept of “anthroposphere” is used to characterize the spatial position of humanity and its economic activities.

Anthropocentrism – a type of social consciousness based on ideas about “human exceptionalism” and the opposition of man to nature.

Upwelling – the rise of cold waters from the depths of the ocean, when winds move water from a steep continental slope, and in return, enriched water rises from the depths biogenic elements.

Area – the space in which population or view generally occurs throughout its life.

Atmosphere – the continuous air envelope of the Earth, consisting of a mixture of gases, water vapor and dust particles.

Outwelling – brought nutrients from land into coastal water bodies, which are ecotones between freshwater and marine ecosystems(estuaries, estuaries, river mouths, coastal bays, etc.).

Autecology(ecology of individuals, factorial ecology) – a branch of ecology that studies the relationship of individuals (organisms) with the environment.

Acidophilus – plants that live in soils with pH<6,7.

Aerobes – organisms that can live only in an oxygen environment (animals, plants, some bacteria and fungi).

Basiphila – plants living on soils with pH>7.0.

Bental – the bottom of the ocean or sea as a habitat for bottom organisms – benthos.

Benthos – organisms living on the bottom and in the soil (attached algae and higher plants, crustaceans, mollusks, starfish, etc.). Highlight phytobenthos And zoobenthos.

Nutrient – non-living bodies formed as a result of the vital activity of living organisms (some sedimentary rocks: limestone, chalk, etc., as well as oil, gas, coal, atmospheric oxygen, etc.).

Nutrients – chemical elements that are included

into living organisms and at the same time perform biological functions.

Biogeochemical cycle (biogeochemical cycles) – Part biological cycle, composed of exchange cycles of water, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur and others biogenic elements.

Biogeocenosis – a homogeneous area of ​​the earth's surface with a certain composition of living things (biocenosis) and inert (biotope) components combined by metabolism and energy into a single natural complex.

Bioindicators – living organisms, by the presence, condition and behavior of which one can judge changes in the environment.

Bioindication – detection and determination of biologically and environmentally significant anthropogenic loads based on the response of living organisms and their communities to them.

Bioinert substance – bioinert bodies, which are the result of the joint activity of living organisms and geological processes (soils, silts, weathering crust, etc.).

Biological products (productivity) – growth biomass in an ecosystem created per unit of time. It is divided into primary And secondary products.

Biological rhythms – periodically repeating changes in the intensity and nature of biological processes and phenomena. For example, rhythmicity in cell division, DNA and RNA synthesis, hormone secretion, daily movement of leaves and petals towards the Sun, autumn leaf fall, seasonal lignification of wintering shoots, seasonal migrations of birds and mammals, etc.

Biological clock of the body– endogenous biological rhythms, giving the body the opportunity to navigate in time and prepare in advance for upcoming environmental changes.

Biological (biotic) cycle– circulation of substances, the driving force of which is the activity of living organisms. The main source of energy in the cycle is solar radiation, which generates photosynthesis.

Biome – a set of different groups of organisms and their habitats in a certain landscape-geographical zone (for example, in the tundra, taiga, steppe, etc.).

Biomass – mass of organisms of a certain group (producers, consumers, decomposers) or the community as a whole.

Biosphere – the shell of the Earth, the composition, structure and properties of which are, to one degree or another, determined by the present or past activities of living organisms.

Biosphere reserves – components of the series state natural reserves, used for background monitoring of biosphere processes.

Biota – a historically established collection of living organisms united by a common area of ​​distribution. For example, tundra biota, soil biota, etc.

Biotic factors – influence on the body of other living organisms.

Biotope – a certain territory with its characteristic abiotic environmental factors habitat (climate, soil).

Biotrophs – heterotrophic organisms that use other living organisms as food. These include zoophagi And phytophages.

Biocenosis – totality populations different species, living in a certain territory.

Gross primary production – general biomass, created by plants during photosynthesis. Part of it is spent on maintaining the life of plants - spending on respiration (40–70%). The remainder is called net primary production.

Demographic "explosion" – a sharp increase in population, as a result of a decrease in mortality against a background of high birth rates. Its causes are associated with changes in socio-economic or general environmental living conditions (including the level of healthcare).

Biological species – a set of individuals with hereditary similarity of morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics, capable of crossing with the formation of fertile offspring, adapted to certain living conditions and occupying a certain area in nature (area).

Species structure of biocenosis – number of species forming a given biocenosis, and the ratio of their number or mass.

Species diversity of biocenosis – number of species in a given community. There is α-diversity - the diversity of species in a given habitat, and β-diversity - the sum of all species of all habitats in a given area.

Vicarious (replacing) species – similar in ecology, but not related species, capable of occupying the same ecological niches.

Violents(siloviki) - species that suppress all competitors (for example, trees forming indigenous forests).

Renewable natural resources which are constantly restored as they are used (fauna, vegetation, soil).

Age structure (age composition) of the population – ratio in populations individuals of different age groups.

"Second Nature" – changes natural environment, artificially caused by people and characterized by a lack of self-maintenance, that is, gradually collapsing without the supporting influence of man (arable lands, forest plantations, artificial reservoirs, etc.).

Secondary products– biomass, consumers.

"Minor" species - few and rare in biocenosis kinds.

Survival – absolute number of individuals (or percentage of the original number of individuals) preserved in populations for a certain period of time.

Altitudinal zone – a natural change in the natural environment with an ascent into the mountains from their base to the peaks.

Halophiles – animals of saline soils. Halophytes – plants of saline soils.

Heliophytes obligate (light-loving plants) – plants living in good light conditions.

Heliophytes facultative (shade-tolerant plants) – plants that can live both in conditions of good lighting and in shaded conditions.

Helophytes – variety hydrophytes – plants that live in swamps and marshy meadows.

Hemicryptophytes – plants whose renewal buds are located at the level of the soil surface, or in its most superficial layer, often covered with litter (most perennial grasses).

Genetic structure of the population – ratio in populations various genotypes and alleles.

Gene pool – the totality of genes of all individuals populations.

Geobionts – animals that permanently live in the soil, the entire development cycle of which takes place in the soil environment.

Geoxenes – animals that sometimes visit soil for temporary shelter or refuge.

Geological cycle – cycle of substances, the driving force of which is exogenous And endogenous geological processes.

Geophiles – animals, part of the development cycle of which (usually one of the phases) necessarily takes place in the soil.

Geophytes – a type of cryptophyte.

Heterothermic organisms – group homeothermic organisms in which periods of maintaining a constantly high body temperature are replaced by periods of its decrease when hibernating during an unfavorable period of the year (gophers, marmots, hedgehogs, bats, etc.).

Heterotrophs – organisms that use organic compounds as a source of carbon, that is, organisms that feed on ready-made organic matter (animals, fungi and most bacteria).

Hygrophiles – moisture-loving organisms.

Hygrophytes – plants of wet habitats that do not tolerate water deficiency. These include, in particular, aquatic plants - hydrophytes And hydatophytes.

Hydatophytes – aquatic plants, entirely or mostly submerged in water (for example, pondweed, water lily).

Hydrosphere – discontinuous water layer of the Earth, located between atmosphere And lithosphere and includes everything: oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, as well as groundwater, ice, snow of polar and high-mountain regions.

Hydrophytes – aquatic plants attached to the ground and submerged in water only with their lower parts (for example, reeds).

Guilds – groups of species in a community that have similar functions and niches of the same size, that is, whose roles in the community are the same or comparable (for example, tropical forest vines are represented by many plant species).

Hypobiosis ( forced peace) – inhibition of activity, or torpor, occurs under the direct pressure of unfavorable conditions (lack of heat, water, oxygen, etc.) and stops almost immediately after these conditions return to normal (certain species of arthropods, for example springtails, a number of flies , ground beetles, etc.). Cm. Anabiosis And Cryptobiosis.

Global modeling – forecasting the future of the whole world based on mathematical models and computer technology.

Homeostasis – dynamic balance of processes occurring in an organism, population, biocenosis, ecosystem.

Homeothermic organisms – organisms capable of maintaining internal body temperature at a relatively constant level regardless of environmental temperature (birds and mammals).

Horizontal zoning – a natural change in the natural environment in the direction from the equator to the poles.

State nature reserves – territories and water areas that are completely withdrawn from normal economic use in order to preserve the natural complex in its natural state.

State standard (GOST) – a regulatory and technical document that establishes a set of norms, rules, and requirements that must be followed.

Humus – main part of organic matter soil, completely lost the features of the anatomical structure.

Soil degradation – deterioration in quality soil as a result of the decline fertility.

Demecology(population ecology, population ecology) is a branch of ecology that studies the relationship of a population or species with the environment.

Dendrological parks and botanical gardens – collections of trees, shrubs and herbs created by man for the purpose of preserving biodiversity and enriching the flora, as well as for scientific, educational, cultural and educational purposes.

Detritus – small particles of organism remains and their secretions.

Detrital food chains (decomposition chains)– food chains, starting with dead plant remains, carcasses and animal excrement. For example, detritus → detritivores → predators → microphages → predators → macrophages.

Detritivores – organisms that feed on detritus. See Saprotrophs.

Jute – mass mortality of livestock as a result of icy conditions, depriving animals of food.

Dominant species – species predominant in biocenosis by number.

Medium capacity – quantitative characteristics of the set of conditions limiting population growth.

Tight Control – direct, direct impact on nature, grossly disrupting natural processes with the help of technical means, a radical transformation of the very mechanisms and systems of nature. For example, plowing land, building dams on rivers.

Living matter – living organisms that inhabit the Earth.

Life form of an organism – morphological type of adaptation of a plant or animal to certain living conditions and a certain way of life.

Pollution – bringing into environment or the emergence in it of new (usually not typical for it) harmful chemical, physical, biological, information agents. Pollution can occur due to natural causes (natural) or due to human activities (anthropogenic pollution).

polluter – any natural or man-made agent that enters or occurs in the environment in quantities beyond the natural background. A pollutant is also an object that serves as a source of environmental pollution. The English word "pollutant" is also used.

Pollutant – chemical substance that causes pollution.

Wildlife sanctuaries – territories created for a certain period of time (in some cases permanently) to preserve or restore natural complexes or their components and maintain ecological balance. In nature reserves, the population densities of one or more species of animals or plants, as well as natural landscapes, water bodies, etc. are preserved and restored.

Fungible natural resources- Natural resources, that can be replaced by others now or in the foreseeable future (all minerals, energy resources).

Tolerance zone – range of quantitative values environmental factor between the upper and lower endurance limits.

Zoobenthos – animal component of benthos (crustaceans, mollusks, starfish, etc.). Zooplankton – animal component of plankton (unicellular animals, crustaceans, jellyfish, etc.).

Zoophagi – heterotrophic organisms that use living animals as food. Cm. Biotrophs.

Zoocenosis – animal component biocenosis.

Infestation – the penetration of settling individuals into territories not yet occupied by the species, their settlement and the formation of new populations.

Exhaustible natural resources- Natural resources, the quantity of which is limited both absolutely and relatively (minerals, soils, biological resources). They are divided into non-renewable And renewable natural resources.

Natural resource inventories – This is a set of economic, environmental, organizational and technical indicators that characterize the quantity and quality of a natural resource, as well as the composition and categories of natural resource users of this resource.

Cannibalism – a special case of predation, when killing and eating one’s own kind occurs.

Carcinogens – factors that can cause malignant and benign neoplasms (ultraviolet, X-ray and gamma rays, benzopyrene, some viruses, etc.).

Environmental quality – a set of indicators characterizing the state environment, the degree to which a person’s living environment corresponds to his needs.

Tenancy – cm. Sinoikia.

Acid rain - rain or snow, acidified to pH< 5,6 из-за растворения в атмосферной влаге антропогенных выбросов (диоксид серы, оксиды азота, хлороводород и пр.).

Climax Community – a community in balance with its environment.

Climate – multi-year regime weather.

The colony – a group settlement of sedentary animals, both long-term existing and emerging only for the breeding season (loons, bees, ants, etc.).

Command and control – management of natural resources, based on the establishment of norms, standards, rules for environmental management and corresponding planned targets for enterprises for environmental protection and penalties from reprimand to imprisonment or removal from work and payment of fines to enterprises and its management.

Commensalism – relationships in which one of the partners benefits from cohabitation, and the other is indifferent to the presence of the first. Cm. Trophobiosis And Sinoikia.

Convergence – external similarity that arises among representatives of different unrelated groups and species as a result of a similar lifestyle.

Competition – relationships in which organisms compete with each other for the same environmental resources when the latter are scarce. Competition happens indirect (passive)– consumption of environmental resources needed by both species, and direct (active)– suppression of one type by another; intraspecific– competition between individuals of the same species, and interspecific- competition between individuals of different species.

Consortium – structural unit biocenosis, uniting autotrophic and heterotrophic organisms on the basis of spatial (topical) and nutritional (trophic) connections around the central member (nucleus). For example, a single tree or group of trees (edificator plant) and associated organisms.

Constructive Impact – human activity aimed at restoring the natural environment disturbed as a result of human economic activity or natural processes. For example, landscape reclamation, restoration of the number of rare species of animals and plants, etc.

Consumers(macroconsumers, phagotrophs) – heterotrophic organisms that consume organic matter producers or other consumers (animals, heterotrophic plants, some microorganisms). Consumers are of the first order (herbivorous animals), second order (primary predators that feed on herbivores), third order (secondary predators that feed on carnivores), etc.

Environmental monitoring – checking the compliance of indicators environmental quality(water, atmospheric air, soil, etc.) established standards and requirements (maximum concentration limit, VAT, maximum permissible limit, maximum permissible limit, etc.).

Coprophagous – organisms that feed on excrement, mainly mammals. Cm. Saprotrophs.

Indirect (mediated) impact – changes in nature as a result of chain reactions or secondary phenomena associated with human economic activity.

Cosmopolitans – species of plants and animals, representatives of which are found in most of the inhabited areas of the Earth (for example, housefly, gray rat).

Inert substance - non-living bodies formed as a result of processes not related to the activity of living organisms (rocks of igneous and metamorphic origin, some sedimentary rocks).

Coevolution of society and nature – joint, interconnected evolution of society and nature.

Edge effect – increase in species diversity in transition zones between communities (ecotones).

"Red Tides" – massive development of pyrophytic algae associated with excessive discharge of organic substances into the ocean. They were recorded off the coast of Florida, India, Australia, Japan, the Black Sea, etc.

Survival curves – curves reflecting how, as people age, the number of individuals of the same age decreases in populations.

Cryophiles – organisms living in low temperature conditions.

Cryptobiosis ( physiological rest) – a state of decreased vital activity as a result of partial inhibition of metabolism, is associated with a complex of physiological changes in the body that occur in advance, before the onset of unfavorable seasonal changes (plant seeds, cysts and spores of various microorganisms, fungi, algae, hibernation of mammals, deep plant dormancy). Cm. Anabiosis And Hypobiosis.

Cryptophytes – plants whose renewal buds are hidden in the soil (geophytes) or underwater (hydrophytes)(bulbous, tuberous and rhizomatous plants).

Cycle of substances – repeated participation of substances in processes occurring in atmosphere, hydrosphere And lithosphere, including in those layers that are part of the Earth's biosphere.

Xenobiotics – pollutants environment from any class of chemical compounds that do not occur naturally ecosystems.

Xerophiles – dry-loving organisms.

Xerophytes – plants of dry habitats that can tolerate overheating and dehydration. These include succulents And sclerophytes.

K-strategists (K-species, K-populations) – populations of slowly reproducing but more competitive individuals (humans, trees, etc.)

Limitation of natural resource use – the fee for above-limit use of natural resources and environmental pollution is several times higher than the fee for use and pollution within the limits established by the enterprise.

Limiting factor– environmental factor, the quantitative value of which is beyond endurance limits kind.

Limnic zone – water column to a depth where only 1% of sunlight penetrates and is attenuated photosynthesis.

Littoral zone – the thickness of water where sunlight reaches the bottom.

Lithosphere – the outer solid shell of the Earth, including the crust and the upper solid layer of the mantle.

Lithophytes (petrophytes) – plants that settle on stones, rocks or in their cracks.

Maximum life expectancy (MLS) – This life expectancy, to which only a small proportion of individuals can survive under real environmental conditions.

Low waste technology – a production method that ensures the most efficient use of raw materials and energy, with a minimum of waste and energy loss.

Material incentives for environmental activities – ensuring the benefits of environmental protection activities for nature users.

Mesotrophs – plants that require moderate amounts of ash elements.

Mesophiles – organisms that live in both wet and dry habitats.

Mesophytes – plants of moderately humid habitats;

an intermediate group between hydrophytes and xerophytes.

Habitat – is the territory or water area occupied by population (species), with a complex of inherent environmental factors.

Microbocenosis – microbial component biocenosis.

Mixotrophs – organisms that can both synthesize organic substances from inorganic ones and feed on ready-made organic compounds (insectivorous plants, representatives of the euglena algae division, some bacteria, etc.). Cm. Autotrophs And Heterotrophs.

Mineralization – conversion of organic residues into inorganic substances.

Mosaic – horizontal structure biocenosis.

Environmental monitoring (ecological monitoring) – a system for monitoring, assessing and forecasting the state of the natural environment around humans. Monitoring happens background (basic)– monitoring of natural phenomena and processes occurring in a natural environment, without anthropogenic influence (carried out on the basis of biosphere reserves); impact– monitoring anthropogenic impacts in particularly hazardous areas, global– monitoring the development of global biosphere processes and phenomena (for example, the state of the ozone layer, climate change), regional– monitoring natural and anthropogenic processes and phenomena within a certain region (for example, the state of Lake Baikal), local– monitoring within a small area (for example, monitoring the air condition in the city).

Mutagens – factors that can cause mutations (ultraviolet, x-rays and gamma rays, high or low temperature, benzopyrene, nitrous acid, some viruses, etc.).

Mutualism(obligate symbiosis) - mutually beneficial cohabitation, when either one of the partners or both cannot exist without a cohabitant. For example, herbivorous ungulates and cellulose-degrading bacteria.

Soft control – mainly indirect, indirect impact on nature using natural mechanisms of self-regulation, that is, the ability of natural systems to restore their properties after anthropogenic intervention. For example, agroforestry.

Freeloading – cm. Trophobiosis.

National parks – relatively large natural territories and water areas, where the fulfillment of three main goals is ensured: environmental (maintaining ecological balance and preserving natural ecosystems), recreational (regulated tourism and recreation of people) and scientific (development and implementation of methods for preserving the natural complex in conditions of mass admission of visitors). There are economic use zones in national parks.

Non-renewable natural resources– exhaustible natural resources, which are absolutely not restored (coal, oil and most other minerals) or are restored much more slowly than their use (peat bogs, many sedimentary rocks).

Irreplaceable natural resources- Natural resources, that cannot be replaced by other natural resources (atmospheric air, water, genetic fund of living organisms).

Inexhaustible natural resources- Natural resources, the number of which is not limited, but not absolutely, but relative to our needs and periods of existence (waters of the World Ocean, fresh water, atmospheric air, wind energy, solar radiation, energy of sea tides).

Neuston – organisms that live near the surface of water.

Neutralism – cohabitation of two species in the same territory, which has neither positive nor negative consequences for them. For example, squirrels and moose.

Neutrophils – plants living on soils with pH = 6.7–7.0.

Necrophages – heterotrophic organisms that use animal corpses as food.

Necrophages(carrion eaters) - organisms that feed on animal corpses. Cm. Saprotrophs.

Nekton – animals actively moving in water (fish, amphibians, cephalopods, turtles, cetaceans, etc.).

Unintended Impact is unconscious when a person does not anticipate the consequences of his activities.

Irrational environmental management – human economic activity leading to depletion (and even extinction) natural resources, environmental pollution, disruption of the ecological balance of natural systems, that is, to environmental crisis or disaster.

Nitrophils – plants that prefer nitrogen-rich soils.

Noosphere – sphere of reason, highest stage of development biosphere, when intelligent human activity becomes the main determining factor in its development.

Standardization of environmental quality – establishing a system of quantitative and qualitative indicators (standards) of the state environment(for air, water, soil, etc.), which provide favorable conditions for human life and the sustainable functioning of natural, ecosystems

Species abundance – the number or mass of individuals of a given species per unit area or volume of space occupied by it.

"The ozone hole" – significant space in ozonosphere planets with noticeably reduced (up to 50% or more) ozone content.

Ozonosphere – layer atmosphere with the highest ozone concentration at an altitude of 20–25 (22–24) km.

Natural environment – the natural habitat and activity of humans and other living organisms, including the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere and near-Earth space. Within the natural environment there are natural resources And natural conditions.

Oligotrophs – plants that are content with a small amount of ash elements.

Optimum (optimum zone, zone of normal life) – such quantity environmental factor, at which the intensity of vital activity of organisms is maximum.

Osmotrophs – heterotrophic organisms that absorb organic substances from solutions through cell membranes (fungi, most bacteria).

Specially protected natural areas (SPNA) – territories or water areas within which their economic use is prohibited and their natural state is maintained in order to maintain ecological balance, as well as for scientific, educational, cultural and aesthetic purposes.

Nature protection (natural environment) – a system of international, state and public activities aimed at the rational use, reproduction and protection of natural resources and improvement of the state of the natural environment in the interests of meeting the material and cultural needs of both existing and future generations of people. In other words, a system of measures to optimize the relationship between human society and nature.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) – type of activity to identify, analyze and take into account direct, indirect and other consequences of impact on environment planned economic and other activities in order to make a decision on the possibility or impossibility of its implementation.

Risk assessment – scientific analysis of the occurrence of risk (the possibility of a dangerous situation) in order to identify the danger, determine the degree of danger in specific conditions. Characterizes the probability of a negative event (accident, release, epidemic, etc.).

Monuments nature – unique, non-reproducible natural objects that have scientific, environmental, cultural and aesthetic value (caves, ancient trees, rocks, waterfalls, etc.). On the territory where they are located, any activity that violates their safety is prohibited.

Panmixia – free crossing between individuals of the same species.

Greenhouse (greenhouse, hothouse) effect – heating the lower layers atmosphere, due to the ability of the atmosphere to transmit short-wave solar radiation, but retain long-wave thermal radiation from the earth's surface. The greenhouse effect is facilitated by the entry of anthropogenic impurities into the atmosphere (carbon dioxide, dust, methane, freons, etc.).

Parcel – structural part in horizontal division biocenosis, differing from other parts in the composition and properties of the components. For example, areas of broad-leaved trees in a coniferous forest.

Grazing food chains (grazing chains)– food chains, starting with living photosynthetic organisms. For example, phytoplankton → zooplankton → fish microphages → macrophage fish → ichthyophagous birds.

Patients – species that can survive in unfavorable conditions (“shade-loving”, “salt-loving”, etc.).

Pedosphere(soil cover) – the shell of the Earth formed by the soil cover; upper (daytime) part of the lithosphere on the land.

Pelagial – water column in the ocean or sea as a habitat for pelagic organisms – plankton And nekton.

Primary production– biomass, created per unit of time producers. It is divided into gross And clean products.

Rifles – shallow sections of rivers with fast currents (the bottom is without silt, predominantly attached forms are found periphyton And benthos).

Periphyton – organisms attached to the leaves and stems of aquatic plants or other protrusions above the bottom of a reservoir.

Pessimum (pessimum zone, depression zone) – such quantity environmental factor, in which the vital activity of organisms is inhibited.

Biomass pyramid – graphical representation of the relationship between producers And consumers of different orders, expressed in units of biomass. Shows the change in biomass at each next trophic level: For terrestrial ecosystems, the biomass pyramid narrows upward; for the ocean ecosystem, it is inverted.

Pyramid of numbers (Elton numbers)– graphical representation of the relationship between producers And consumers different orders, expressed in units of the number of individuals. Reflects a decrease in the number of organisms from producers to consumers.

Pyramid of energy (products) – graphical representation of the relationship between producers And consumers of different orders, expressed in units of energy contained in the mass of living matter. It is universal in nature and reflects a decrease in the amount of energy contained in products created at each subsequent trophic level.

food web – complex interweaving in the community food chains.

Food chain (trophic chain, food chain) – a sequence of organisms that transfers the energy contained in food from its original source.

Plankton – organisms that mainly move passively due to the current (unicellular algae, unicellular animals, crustaceans, jellyfish, etc.). Highlight phytoplankton And zooplankton.

Payment for environmental management – payment for the use of almost all natural resources, for environmental pollution, the placement of production waste in it and for other types of impact.

Plyos – deep-water sections of rivers with a slow flow (at the bottom there is a soft silty substrate and burrowing animals).

Soil fertility – ability soils satisfy the plants’ need for nutrients and water, provide their root systems with sufficient heat and air for normal activity and crop production.

Density – number of individuals or biomass populations, per unit area or volume.

Human behavior – a complex set of motor acts aimed at satisfying the needs of the body.

Weather – the continuously changing state of the atmosphere at the earth's surface, up to approximately a height of 20 km (the boundary of the troposphere).

Poikilothermic organisms – organisms with unstable internal body temperature, varying depending on the temperature of the external environment (microorganisms, plants, invertebrates and lower vertebrates).

Sexual structure (sexual composition) of the population – ratio in populations male and female individuals.

Population – a collection of individuals of the same species capable of self-reproduction, which exists for a long time in a certain part range relatively isolated from other aggregates of the same kind.

Threshold (minimum effective) concentration – the minimum concentration of a chemical substance that causes minor but significant changes in the body or in environment.

Potential natural resources –Natural resources, which are currently not used by humans at all or are used to an insufficient extent (energy from the Sun, sea tides, wind, etc.).

Human needs – a source of activity, a state expressing a person’s dependence on the conditions of existence.

The soil – This is the surface horizon of the earth's crust, forming a layer of small thickness, formed as a result of the interaction of soil-forming factors: climate, organisms, soil-forming rocks, terrain, age of the country (time), human economic activity.

Upper endurance limit – maximum amount environmental factor,

Lower endurance limit – minimal amount environmental factor, in which the life of organisms is still possible.

Maximum permissible anthropogenic (ecological) load on the environment (maximum permissible harmful impact - MPE) - the maximum intensity of anthropogenic impact on the environment that does not lead to a violation of the stability of ecological systems (or, in other words, to the ecosystems beyond the ecological capacity).

Maximum permissible concentration (quantity) (MPC) – the amount of a pollutant in the environment (soil, air, water, food), which, with permanent or temporary exposure to a person, does not affect his health and does not cause adverse effects in his offspring. MPCs are calculated per unit volume (for air, water), mass (for soil, food products) or surface (for workers’ skin).

Maximum permissible harmful exposure (MPE)– see Maximum permissible anthropogenic (ecological) load on the environment.

Maximum permissible emission (MPE) or discharge (MPD) – the maximum amount of pollutants that a given specific enterprise is allowed to emit into the atmosphere or discharge into a body of water per unit of time, without causing them to exceed the maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants and adverse environmental consequences.

Maximum permissible level (MAL) – This is the maximum level of exposure to radiation, noise, vibration, magnetic fields and other harmful physical influences, which does not pose a danger to human health, the condition of animals, plants, or their genetic fund. MPL is the same as MPC, but for physical impacts.

Intentional impact is conscious when a person expects certain results from his activities.

Natural resource potential – Part natural resources, which can be involved in economic activity given the technical and socio-economic capabilities of society with the condition of preserving the living environment of mankind. In a narrower economic sense, it is the totality of natural resources available with given technologies and socio-economic relations.

Natural parks – territories of particular ecological and aesthetic value, with a relatively mild security regime and used primarily for organized recreation of the population. Their structure is simpler than national natural parks.

Natural resources – elements of nature (objects and phenomena) necessary for man to support his life and involved in material production (atmospheric air, water, soil, solar radiation, minerals, climate, vegetation, fauna, etc.). They are divided unreal And potential, replaceable And irreplaceable, exhaustible And inexhaustible natural resources.

Natural conditions – elements of nature (objects and phenomena) that influence human life and activity, but are not involved in material production (some gases of the atmosphere, species of animals and plants, etc.). As science and technology develop, natural conditions become natural resources.

Nature management – use of natural resources to meet the material and cultural needs of society. Environmental management (as a science) is a field of knowledge that develops the principles of rational (reasonable) environmental management. Nature management can be rational and irrational.

Lifespan – the duration of an individual's existence. Distinguish physiological, maximum And average life expectancy.

Producers – autotrophic organisms capable of producing organic substances from inorganic ones using photosynthesis or chemosynthesis(plants and autotrophic bacteria).

Spatial structure of the biocenosis – distribution of organisms of different species in space (vertically and horizontally).

Spatial and ethological structure of the population – nature of distribution of individuals populations within range.

Protocooperation(facultative symbiosis) is a mutually beneficial, but not obligatory coexistence of organisms, from which all participants benefit. For example, hermit crabs and sea anemones.

Profundal zone – the bottom and thickness of water where sunlight does not penetrate.

Direct (immediate) impact – change in nature as a result of the direct impact of human economic activity on natural objects and phenomena.

Psammophytes – sand plants.

Destructive (destructive) impact – human activity leading to the loss of the natural environment of its beneficial qualities to humans. For example, clearing rain forests for pastures or plantations, as a result of which the biogeochemical cycle of substances is disrupted, and the soil loses its fertility in 2-3 years.

Rational environmental management – human economic activity that ensures economical use natural resources And natural conditions, their protection and reproduction, taking into account not only the present, but also the future interests of society.

Real natural resources- Natural resources, which are currently used by humans in production activities.

Decomposers(microconsumers, destructors, saprotrophs, osmotrophs) - heterotrophic organisms that feed on organic residues and decompose them into minerals (saprotrophic bacteria and fungi).

Recycling – reuse of material resources, saving raw materials and energy, and reducing waste generation.

Fertility (birth rate) – number of new individuals appearing in populations per unit of time as a result of reproduction. .

r-strategists (r-species, r-populations) – populations of rapidly reproducing but less competitive individuals (bacteria, aphids, annual plants, etc.).

Saprotrophs – heterotrophic organisms that use organic matter from dead bodies or excretions (excrement) of animals as food. These include saprotrophic bacteria, fungi, plants (saprophytes), animals (saprophages). Among them there are detritivores(feed on detritus) necrophages(feed on animal corpses) coprophagous(feed on excrement), etc.

Saprophages – saprotrophic animals. Cm. Saprotrophs.

Saprophytes – saprotrophic plants. Cm. Saprotrophs.

Sinoikia (lodging) – a form of commensalism in which one species uses the body or habitation of another species as a shelter or home. For example, sea anemones and tropical fish.

Sinusia – structural part in vertical division biocenosis, limited in space (or time). For example, in a pine forest one can distinguish pine synusia, lingonberry synusia, green moss synusia, etc.

Synecology(ecology of communities, population ecology) – a branch of ecology that studies communities of organisms (biocenoses, ecosystems).

System of standards in the field of nature conservation (SSOP) – complex of interconnected standards, aimed at the conservation, restoration and rational use of natural resources.

Sclerophytes – xerophytic plants with rigid shoots, due to which, in case of water deficiency, they do not exhibit an external pattern of wilting (for example, feather grass, saxaul). Cm. Xerophytes.

Population growth rate – change population size per unit of time. It depends on the indicators fertility, mortality and migration (movement - immigration and eviction - emigration).

Mortality rate (death rate) – number of individuals killed in populations per unit of time (from predators, diseases, old age and other reasons).

Smog– a toxic mixture of smoke, fog and dust. There are two types of smog: London and Los Angeles.

Habitat – it is a part of nature that surrounds living organisms and has a certain effect on them.

Average life expectancy (ALS) – this is the arithmetic mean life expectancy all individuals of the population.

Stabilizing effect – human activity aimed at slowing down the destruction (destruction) of the natural environment as a result of both human economic activity and natural processes. For example, soil protection measures aimed at reducing soil erosion.

Herd - longer than a flock, or a permanent association of animals, in which, as a rule, all the vital functions of the species are performed: protection from enemies, obtaining food, migration, reproduction, raising young animals, etc. (deer, zebras, etc.).

Standards (standards, regulations) – concentrations (contents) permitted by law pollutants in objects environment or magnitude of impact.

Station – habitat of any species (population) land animals.

Pack – a temporary association of animals that facilitates the performance of any function: protection from enemies, obtaining food, migration (wolves, herring, etc.).

Stenobionts – ecologically low-tolerant species with a narrow zone of tolerance (ecological valency).

Degree of dominance – the ratio of the number of individuals of a given species to the total number of all individuals of the group under consideration.

Population structure – ratio in populations groups of individuals by sex, age, size, genotype, distribution of individuals over the territory, etc. (gender, age, size, genetic, spatial-ethological, etc.).

Succulents – xerophytic plants with succulent, fleshy leaves (for example, aloe) or stems (for example, cacti), in which water-storing tissue is developed. Cm. Xerophytes.

Successional series – a successive series of communities replacing each other in succession.

Succession – sequential shift biocenoses (ecosystems), expressed in changes in species composition and community structure. There are successions natural– occurring under the influence of natural causes not related to human activity, and anthropogenic– caused by human activity; autogenous(self-generating) - arising due to internal causes (changes in the environment under the influence of the community) and allogeneic(generated from the outside) – caused by external reasons (for example, climate change); primary– developing on a substrate not occupied by living organisms (on rocks, cliffs, loose sand, in new bodies of water, etc.), and secondary– developing in place of already existing biocenoses after their disturbance (as a result of cutting down, fire, plowing, volcanic eruption, etc.).

Sciophytes(shade-loving plants) – plants that do not tolerate direct sunlight.

Teratogens – factors that can cause deformities (ultraviolet, x-rays and gamma rays, benzopyrene, some viruses, etc.).

Thermophiles – organisms living in high temperature conditions.

Therophytes – annual plants that do not have renewal buds; They reproduce only by seeds.

Technogenesis – a set of geochemical processes caused by human production and economic activities.

Technosphere – part of the biosphere (over time, apparently, the whole biosphere), transformed by human technical activity. The concept of “technosphere” is used when they want to emphasize the material side of the human-nature relationship, as well as the fact that at the present stage the economic activity of people is not so reasonable as to talk about noosphere.

Toxicants – chemical substances that have the property toxicity.

Toxicity – toxicity, that is, the ability to have a harmful or even fatal effect on a living organism.

Topical connections – connections between species when one species changes the living conditions of another species. For example, under a coniferous forest, as a rule, there is no grass cover.

"Third Nature" - an artificial world created by man and which has no material and energy analogy in natural nature (cities, indoor space, asphalt, concrete, synthetics, etc.).

Trophic connections – connections between species, when one species feeds on another: living individuals, dead remains, waste products.

Trophic level – link place in the food chain.

Trophobiosis (freeloading) – a form of commensalism in which one species consumes the food scraps of another species. For example, the relationship between large predators and scavengers.

Ubiquists– species of plants and animals with a wide ecological valency, capable of existing in a variety of environmental conditions, have extensive habitats (for example, common reed, wolf).

Managing natural systems – activities, the implementation of which makes it possible to change natural phenomena and processes (strengthen or limit them) in the direction desired by humans. Managing natural systems can be soft And tough.

Natural resources management(environmental protection management and rationalization of the use of natural resources) - ensuring standards and requirements limiting the harmful effects of production processes and products on the environment, and the rational use of natural resources, their restoration and reproduction. Environmental management can be command and administrative And economic.

Urbanization – This is a historical process of increasing the role of cities in the life of society, associated with the concentration and intensification of non-agricultural functions, the spread of an urban lifestyle, and the formation of specific socio-spatial forms of settlement.

Urban systems (urban systems) – artificial systems (ecosystems), arising as a result of urban development and representing a concentration of population, residential buildings, industrial, household, cultural facilities, etc.

Living conditions – a complex of environmental factors under the influence of which all the basic life processes of organisms are carried out, including normal development and reproduction.

Factory connections – connections between species, when one species uses excretory products, dead remains, or even living individuals of another species for its structures. For example, when building nests, birds use tree branches, grass, down and feathers of other birds.

Phagotrophs(holozoans) – heterotrophic organisms that swallow solid pieces of food (animals).

Health factors– a set of factors that are not the direct cause of a particular disease (risk factors) and factors that are the direct cause of the disease.

Risk factors - factors that are not the direct cause of a particular disease, but increase the likelihood of its occurrence.

Phanerophytes – plants whose renewal buds are located high above the ground (above 30 cm) (trees and shrubs).

PAR – photosynthetic activity of solar radiation.

Fauna – a set of animal species living in a certain territory.

Physiological life expectancy (PLS) – This life expectancy, which an individual of a given species could have had if it had not been influenced by limiting factors throughout its life.

Physiological rhythms –endogenous biological rhythms, supporting the continuous functioning of organisms (heartbeat, breathing, functioning of the endocrine glands, etc.).

Financing of environmental activities – provision of funds for environmental protection measures.

Phytobenthos – plant component of benthos (attached algae and higher plants).

Phytoplankton – herbal component plankton(unicellular algae).

Phytophagous – heterotrophic organisms that use living plants as food. Cm. Biotrophs.

Phytocenosis – herbal component biocenosis.

Flora – a set of plant species living in a certain area.

Phoric connections – connections between species when one species participates in the distribution of another species. For example, the transfer of seeds, spores, and pollen by animals.

Photoperiodism – the reaction of organisms to the length of daylight hours. For example, leaf fall, bird flights.

Photosynthesis(photoautotrophy) - the synthesis of organic compounds from inorganic ones due to light energy.

Phototrophs – autotrophic organisms that use light energy for biosynthesis (plants, cyanobacteria). Cm. Autotrophs.

Freons (chlorofluorocarbons or FHU) – highly volatile, chemically inert substances near the earth's surface, widely used in production and everyday life as refrigerants (refrigerators, air conditioners, refrigerators), foaming agents and sprayers (aerosol packaging). Freons, rising into the upper layers of the atmosphere, undergo photochemical decomposition with the formation of chlorine oxide, which intensively destroys ozone.

Chamephytes – plants whose renewal buds are located near the soil surface or low (no higher than 20-30 cm) may end up under snow in winter (semi-shrubs and small shrubs).

Chemosynthesis(chemoautotrophy) is the process of synthesis of organic compounds from inorganic ones (CO 2, etc.) due to the chemical energy of the oxidation of inorganic substances (sulfur, hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, iron, ammonia, nitrite, etc.).

Chemotrophs – autotrophic organisms that use the energy of chemical reactions of oxidation of inorganic compounds for biosynthesis (chemotrophic bacteria: hydrogen, nitrifying, iron bacteria, sulfur bacteria, etc.). See. Autotrophs.

Predation – a relationship in which one of the participants (the predator) kills the other (the prey) and uses him as food. For example, wolves and hares.

Flowering waters – massive development of phytoplankton, causing a change in water color from green and yellow-brown to red. It is caused by a significant intake of nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium, etc.) into water bodies.

Circadian (circadian) rhythms – repeating changes in the intensity and nature of biological processes and phenomena with a period of 20 to 28 hours.

Circanian (periannual) rhythms – repeated changes in the intensity and nature of biological processes and phenomena with a period of 10 to 13 months.

Frequency of occurrence – the percentage of the number of samples or survey sites where the species occurs to the total number of samples or survey sites.

Number – number of individuals in populations.

Net primary production– biomass, which is not spent on maintaining the life of plants and is subsequently used consumers And decomposers, or accumulates in the ecosystem.

Environmental emergency – cm. Ecological crisis.

Eurybionts – ecologically hardy species with a wide zone of tolerance (ecological valency).

Eutrophication(eutrophication) – an increase in the biological productivity of water bodies as a result of the accumulation of nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium, etc.) under the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors. A negative consequence of eutrophication is the deterioration of the physical and chemical conditions of the habitat of fish and other aquatic organisms due to the massive development of phytoplankton, the decomposition of dead organisms and the toxicity of their decay products. Cm. Blooming waters, Red tides.

Eutrophic – plants that require large amounts of ash elements.

Euphotic zone – the entire illuminated water column. It includes littoral And limnic zone.

Edifiers(builders) – species that determine the microenvironment (microclimate) of the total biocenosis(usually these are plants).

Exogenous (external) rhythms– biological rhythms, arising as a reaction to periodic changes in the environment (change of day and night, seasons, solar activity).

Exogenous processes (processes of external dynamics) – geological processes occurring under the influence of external energy of the Sun. Exogenous processes include the geological activity of the atmosphere, hydrosphere (rivers, temporary streams, groundwater, seas and oceans, lakes and swamps, ice), as well as living organisms and humans.

Environmental Safety – a set of actions, states and processes that do not directly or indirectly lead to vital damage (or threats of such damage) caused to the natural environment, individuals and humanity.

Ecological valence (plasticity, tolerance, stability) – the degree of adaptability of the species to changes in environmental conditions; its ability to tolerate quantitative fluctuations in the action of an environmental factor to one degree or another.

Ecological disaster (ecological disaster) – environmental distress, characterized by profound irreversible changes in the environment and a significant deterioration in public health.

Ecological niche – the totality of all environmental factors within which the existence of a species in nature is possible.

Ecological pyramid – graphical representation of the relationship between producers And consumers different orders, expressed in units of biomass (biomass pyramid), number of individuals (pyramid of numbers) or energy contained in the mass of living matter (energy pyramid).

Ecological survival strategy – set of properties populations, aimed at increasing the likelihood of survival and leaving offspring. Cm. r-strategists And K-strategists.

Ecological structure of biocenosis – ratio in biocenosis organisms of different ecological groups.

Environmental assessment – assessment of the level of possible negative impacts of planned economic and other activities on the environment, natural resources and human health.

Ecological rhythms– endogenous biological rhythms, that arose as an adaptation of living organisms to periodic changes in the environment (daily, annual, tidal, lunar, etc.).

Environmental factors – These are individual elements of the environment that affect organisms.

Environmental equivalents – species that occupy similar niches in different geographic areas (for example, large kangaroos in Australia, bison in North America, zebras and antelopes in Africa, etc.).

Environmental audit – independent, comprehensive, documented assessment of compliance by a business entity and other activities with requirements, including standards and regulatory documents, in the field environmental protection, international requirements standards and preparing recommendations for improving such activities.

Environmental control – activities of government bodies, enterprises and citizens to comply with environmental standards and regulations. There are state, industrial and public environmental control. Cm. Environmental monitoring.

Ecological crisis (ecological emergency) – environmental distress, characterized by persistent negative changes in the environment and posing a threat to human health.

Environmental passport of the enterprise – a regulatory and technical document that includes data on the enterprise’s use of resources (natural, secondary, etc.) and determining the impact of its production on environment. Includes a set of data and indicators in accordance with GOST 17.0.0.04–90.

Environmental risk – the likelihood of an event occurring that has adverse consequences for the natural environment and is caused by the negative impact of economic and other activities, natural and man-made emergencies.

Environmental disaster – cm. Ecological catastrophy.

Ecological well-being of the ecosystem – state ecosystems, which is characterized by normal reproduction of its main links.

Environmental law – a set of environmental and legal norms (rules of behavior) regulating public (ecological) relations in the sphere of interaction between society and nature with the aim of protecting the environment, preventing harmful environmental consequences, improving the health and improving the quality of the natural environment around humans.

Ecology – the science of the relationships of living organisms with each other and with their environment. The term “ecology” was first introduced by the German biologist E. Haeckel (1866). By ecology he understood “the sum of knowledge related to the economy of nature.”

Human ecology – chapter ecology, studying the patterns of interaction between humans and the human community with surrounding natural, social, environmental, hygienic and other factors.

Environmental economics – a branch of economics that studies mainly issues of economic (in some cases, non-economic) assessment of natural resources and damage from environmental pollution.

Economic management – management of natural resources, based on economic incentives, when, with the help of various levers (prices, payments, tax breaks and penalties), the state makes it more financially advantageous for enterprises, that is, more profitable, to comply with environmental legislation than to violate it.

Ecosystem(ecological system) - a system of living organisms living together and the conditions of their existence, connected by the flow of energy and the circulation of substances.

Ecotones – transition zones between communities.

Ecocentrism – a type of social consciousness based on an understanding of the need for co-evolution of man and the biosphere.

Explerents(filling) - species that can quickly appear where indigenous communities are disturbed - in clearings and burnt areas (aspens), on shallows, etc.

Emergence – the presence of special, qualitatively new properties in a system that are not inherent in the sum of the properties of its individual elements. For example, you cannot predict the properties of water based on the properties of oxygen and hydrogen.

Endemics – species of plants and animals that have small, limited habitats (often found on islands of oceanic origin, in mountainous areas and isolated bodies of water).

Endogenous (internal) rhythms– biological rhythms, generated by the body itself (rhythmicity of DNA, RNA and protein synthesis, cell division, heartbeat, breathing, etc.).

Endogenous processes (processes of internal dynamics) – geological processes occurring under the influence of the internal energy of the Earth: the energy of radioactive decay, chemical reactions of the formation of minerals, crystallization of rocks, etc. Endogenous processes include: tectonic movements, earthquakes, magmatism, metamorphism.

Epiphytes – plants living on other plants (on branches, tree trunks), without connection with the soil.

Ethology – the science of the behavior of organisms.

Estivation(from lat. " aestes" - summer) – summer hibernation of small mammals (mouse-like rodents, some ground squirrels, insectivorous little foxes, etc.) in deserts.

Ephemeroids – perennial herbaceous plants, which, like ephemera, characterized by a very short growing season.

Ephemera – annual herbaceous plants that complete a full development cycle in a very short and usually wet period.

Group effect – optimization of physiological processes leading to increased viability of individuals when living together.

Tiering – vertical structure biocenosis.

The science of relationships between living organisms and environmental conditions. Basic methods of science: observation, experiment, modeling, counting the number of individuals, etc. The term “ecology” was introduced by the German zoologist E. Haeckel (1866)

HABITAT- this is what surrounds the body. Main habitats: aquatic, ground-aquatic, ground-air, soil.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS- this is everything that has a direct or indirect effect on organisms.

ABIOTIC FACTORS- factors of inanimate nature - light, temperature, pressure, climate, water and air currents, composition of water, soil, air, etc.

BIOTIC FACTORS- factors of living nature, i.e. influence of plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, viruses.

ANTHROPOGENIC FACTORS- this is human influence (hunting, fishing, protection, extermination, pollution, plowing, logging, etc.).

BIOCENOSIS (COMMUNITY)- these are all species that live together in a certain territory and are interconnected (for example, the biocenosis of a lake, taiga forest, etc.).

BIOGEOCENOSIS (ECOSYSTEM) is a complex self-regulating system in which there is a relationship between living organisms and their living conditions ( biogeocenosis = biocenosis + environmental conditions).

BIOTIC CONNECTIONS- these are different types of relationships between living organisms.

PREDATION (-+)- a type of relationship when one organism eats another. There are predator-hunters (wolf, tiger, lion, etc.) and predator-gatherers (insectivores, herbivores). There are carnivorous plants (sundew, Venus flytrap, bladderwort, etc.)

COMPETITION (--) relations of rivalry, competition. Competition is most intense within a species and between related species, since they have common needs for food and living conditions. Examples: fox-wolf, owl - eagle owl, pine - birch, pike - perch, carp - crucian carp, etc.

NEUTRALISM (OO)- relationships when there are no direct connections between species (wolves and grasshoppers, moose and squirrels, bees and hares)

COMMENSALISM (O+)- a relationship where one species benefits from another without harming it. There are several varieties: lodgement (insects use burrows, nests of other animals as a home), freeloading (feeding of jackals, hyenas, vultures on the leftover food of predatory animals), communion (feeding on different parts of the same resource, for example, pine pine and bark beetles, soil inhabitants consuming various plant residues)

AMENSALISM (O-)- relationships when one species is oppressed, and another species is indifferent (for example, herbs growing under a spruce)

SYMBIOSIS (++)- mutually beneficial relationships between species. When joint life is obligatory for both species, this is mutualism (symbiosis of birch roots and boletus mycelium, mushrooms and algae in the body of a lichen); if it is optional, then it is protocooperation (for example, meadow plants and their pollinators).

BIOLOGICAL OPTIMUM- this is the presence of all favorable conditions for the life of the organism.

PHOTOPERIODISM- this is the adaptability of organisms to changes in the length of daylight hours, i.e. to seasonal changes (spring and autumn molting, hibernation, seasonal flights and migrations, leaf fall, breeding season, nesting, mating games).

ANABIOSIS- this is the ability of organisms to tolerate unfavorable conditions in a state in which metabolism decreases and all visible manifestations of life are absent (for example, the state of cysts in protozoa, spores in bacteria, winter and summer hibernation of animals)

ACCLIMATIZATION- physiological adaptation to endure heat or cold.

WINTERING- hibernation in winter.

DIAPAUSE- stop in development during unfavorable periods of the year.

ECOLOGICAL SURVIVAL STRATEGY- the desire of organisms to survive.

FOOD CHAINS (TROPHIC CHAINS)- these are sequential connections of organisms, when the organisms of the previous link are food for the next one.

PASTURE CHAINS (grazing chains)- food chains in which the first link is green plants (grass---caterpillar---tit----falcon)

DETRITAL CHAINS (decomposition chains)- food chains that begin with dead organic matter (leaf litter -> earthworm -> tit -> falcon)

TROPHIC LEVEL- all species that consume similar food (for example, all herbivores form one trophic level; carnivores form another level)

BENTHOS- all inhabitants of the bottom part of the reservoir (crabs, bivalves, sea anemones, octopuses, coral polyps, etc.)

PLANKTON- microscopic algae and animals living in the water column. Consists of phyto- and zooplankton.

NEKTON- large inhabitants of the water column (fish, squid, dolphins, whales, etc.)

PERIPHYTON- organisms attached to aquatic plants or underwater rocks (crustaceans, bivalves, sea acorns, ascidians)

PLAYSTONE- a collection of aquatic organisms floating on the surface of the water or in a semi-submerged state.

RULE OF THE ECOLOGICAL PYRAMID- when moving from one level of nutrition to another, the biomass, number of individuals and amount of energy decreases several times (about 10 times). The reason for this pattern is that organisms spend 90% of food energy on vital processes (energy of “breathing”) , and only 10% goes to body growth and only this part goes to the next link in the food chain.

TOLERANCE- the ability of organisms to withstand changes in environmental conditions. Organisms with high tolerance can withstand changes in conditions over a wide range, and they are therefore more likely to survive, while those with low tolerance can only live in certain conditions.

BIONT- an inhabitant of the environment (hydrobiont - an inhabitant of the aquatic environment, geobiont (edaphobiont, pedofauna) - the soil environment, stenobiont - an organism that requires strictly defined conditions, i.e. with low tolerance; eurybiont - an organism capable of living in different conditions, etc. .)

LIFE FORM OF AN ORGANISM- type of adaptation of organisms to environmental conditions. For example, life forms in plants: trees, herbs, shrubs, vines, succulents, etc.; in animals by method of movement - flying, jumping, crawling, burrowing, running, swimming, attached, by habitat - waterfowl, forest, steppe, soil, etc.

TIERS- plant adaptability, allowing more complete use of environmental resources: light, heat, moisture, soil nutrients. Layering can be horizontal or vertical (in the soil).

FUNCTIONAL GROUPS OF THE ECOSYSTEM- these are three groups of organisms in any ecosystem that carry out the main processes in the ecosystem: producers, consumers, decomposers. Thanks to them, a flow of substances and energy occurs in the ecosystem through food chains, which forms the basis of the circulation of substances and the self-reproduction of the ecosystem.

PRODUCERS- these are producers of organic matter (autotrophs), i.e. plants, chemosynthetic bacteria and blue-green algae.

CONSUMERS- these are consumers of organic matter, i.e. herbivores, carnivores, omnivores. Consumers are of the 1st order (herbivorous insect, bird, etc.), 2nd order (insectivores, piscivores or predators), 3rd order (predators).

REDUCENTS- these are destroyers of organic matter (rotting and fermentation bacteria, mold fungi, soil mites, worms, carnivorous insects, animals that feed on the secretions of other animals, etc.).

ECOSYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY- this is the ability of an ecosystem to withstand various impacts, maintain relative constancy in the number of species and maintain basic processes in balance. Sustainability directly depends on the number of species! The greater the species diversity, the more sustainable the ecosystem! The reason for this pattern: the more species there are in an ecosystem, the more opportunities organisms have to have alternative types of food, and the greater the chance of survival - if there is a shortage of one food, it is possible to eat another food. Therefore, biodiversity in nature is very important, because... This is an important condition for ecological balance throughout nature, in the biosphere.

SELF-REGULATION OF ECOSYSTEM- the property of an ecosystem to maintain the number of individuals in populations at a relatively constant level. Self-regulation occurs due to the presence in the ecosystem of direct, reverse and indirect connections between organisms. For example, an increase in the number of plants leads to an increase in the number of herbivores, and this leads to an increase in the number of predators (direct connections). But an increase in the number of predators will lead over time to a decrease in the number of herbivores, and an increase in the number of herbivores will lead to a decrease in the number of plants (feedback). Predators influence plant numbers through herbivores (indirect connection).

ECOSYSTEM INTEGRITY- this is the interconnectedness of organisms in an ecosystem, which does not allow them to exist without each other and ensures the flow of all processes in the ecosystem (flow of substances and energy through food chains, self-regulation, circulation of substances).

OPENNESS OF THE ECOSYSTEM- is that an ecosystem can only exist when there is an influx of energy from outside! (the openness of any system lies in the fact that it needs an influx of energy and nutrients from the outside)

SUCCESSION- this is a sequential change over time of some ecosystems by others in a certain territory in the course of their self-development. For example, a swamp may form on the site of a small lake due to gradual shallowing and drying out; in place of the swamp there is a meadow; in place of a forest there is a meadow, in place of a lifeless volcanic island a forest can grow in centuries, etc. During succession, processes always move towards achieving equilibrium in the ecosystem - climax!

CLIMAX- a state in an ecosystem when it is in equilibrium without outside intervention.

PRIMARY SUCCESSION- the process of development of various ecosystems in lifeless areas (on sand dunes, on volcanic islands, on the site of rocky mountains). This succession is the longest, because It takes time for the soil to form first. Sequence of processes:

“Pioneers”, the first settlers - blue-green algae and lichens - settle in lifeless places. When they die, they form a thin layer of soil on which mosses can first settle. Then, as the soil layer increases, grass, shrubs, and trees can grow.

SECONDARY SUCCESSION is the development of one ecosystem in the place of another. Causes of secondary successions: climate change (gradual swamping of the area due to a humid climate), natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, etc.), human activities (deforestation, pollution, plowing, mining, etc. .), pest or disease infestation. Note: if during secondary succession the soil layer has disappeared (due to soil erosion), the processes will follow the type of primary succession.

AGROCENOSIS (agroecosystems, artificial ecosystems)- ecosystems created by man (fields, gardens, aquarium, vegetable gardens, ponds, forest plantations, parks, etc.) Signs of agrocenoses: a small number of species; short power circuits; open cycle of substances (since some of the substances are carried out with the harvest and require the application of fertilizers to the soil); instability; processes are regulated by humans; In addition to solar energy, machine energy, human labor, etc. are used.

RESERVES- specially protected natural areas in which all types of human economic activity are prohibited. Only scientific research and observations are allowed.

RESERVES- these are specially protected natural areas in which, during a certain period of the year, certain types of human economic activity are allowed that do not cause severe harm.

BIOSPHERE- this is a special shell of the Earth inhabited by living organisms. The boundaries of the biosphere are determined in the atmosphere by the action of UV rays (up to the ozone layer, i.e. at an altitude of 20-25 km), in the hydrosphere by the action of high pressure and the absence of light and lack of oxygen (at a depth of 11 km), in the lithosphere by high pressure and temperature, lack of oxygen (at a depth of up to 3 km). The doctrine of the biosphere was created by V.I. Vernadsky, but the term “biosphere” was introduced by E. Suess (1873).

NOOSPHERE (“sphere of the mind”)- a new state of the biosphere, when its existence depends on reasonable human economic activity. The term was introduced by V.I. Vernadsky.

BIOMASS (living matter of the biosphere)- the mass of all living organisms. There are land biomass, ocean biomass, plant biomass, animal biomass, soil biomass, etc. The distribution of biomass is different: in the biosphere, land biomass predominates, on land, plant biomass predominates (since the accumulation of biomass in plants predominates), in the World Ocean, animal biomass predominates (since organic substances produced by plants (phytoplankton and algae) do not accumulate in them, and are immediately consumed by animals). From the equator to the poles, biomass decreases.

FUNCTIONS OF LIVING MATTER- these are the functions of living organisms on a planetary scale. There are 5 main biogeochemical functions:

1. Gas- living organisms, thanks to the processes of photosynthesis and respiration, and azotobacteria, due to their participation in the nitrogen cycle, maintain a certain composition of the atmosphere.
2. Concentration- Living organisms are capable of accumulating certain chemicals. Thanks to this, sedimentary rocks (chalk, lime from calcareous shells of mollusks and protozoa; silica - from radiolarian shells), iron and sulfur ores (the result of the vital activity of sulfur and iron bacteria), peat (from sphagnum deposits), coal deposits (from remains of ancient pteridophytes), etc. For example, carbon accumulates more in the body of plants, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus accumulate in animals.
3. Redox- thanks to metabolism in living organisms, some substances are formed (reduced), while others decompose (oxidize). For example, during photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is reduced to carbohydrates, and during respiration, they are oxidized to carbon dioxide.
4. Destructive- living organisms, participating in the destruction of dead organic matter into inorganic substances, contribute to the formation of soil and the biological cycle of substances in nature, and this is the basis for the stable existence of the biosphere.
5. Biochemical- Various biochemical reactions constantly occur in living organisms.

BIOLOGICAL CYCLE OF SUBSTANCES IN THE BIOSPHERE- these are global processes of transformation of substances in nature, occurring as a result of the movement of chemicals along trophic chains. This process is the basis for the stable existence of the biosphere, i.e. of all life on Earth.

SOIL EROSION- the process of destruction of the fertile soil layer. Water erosion - washing away, wind erosion - weathering of the fertile layer. Reasons: lack of plants, improper irrigation, improper plowing and soil treatment, etc.

RESISTANCE- resistance of organisms to anything.

URBANIZATION is the growth and development of cities, an increase in the share of the urban population.

AGGLOMERATION- a cluster of nearby settlements around a large city.

MEGAPOLIS- large urban agglomerations with a population of more than 1 million people (Bombay, Cairo, New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Moscow, Beijing).

RESIDENTIAL ZONE (RESIDENTIAL ZONE)- area where residential and administrative buildings, cultural and educational facilities are located.

DEACTIVATION- removal of radioactive contamination from the surface of objects, structures, etc.

MEDIUM CAPACITY- the extent of the ability of the natural or natural-anthropogenic environment to provide normal life activity to a certain number of organisms or communities without noticeable disruption of the environment itself.

IMMIGRATION- the process of natural penetration and settlement of living organisms in places where they did not previously live.

INTRODUCTION- the process of artificially introducing species into places where they did not previously live (for example, the North American muskrat and mink in Siberia)

MELIORATION- a set of measures to improve the water and climate regimes of agroecosystems. There are hydromelioration (irrigation, drainage), agroforestry (creation of forest belts, consolidation of ravines, fight against erosion, landslides, etc.)

HEAVY METALS- metal with a density of more than 8 thousand kg/cubic. m. (lead, zinc, cadmium, cobalt, antimony, tin, bismuth, mercury, copper, nickel.)

CLEANING OF DRAINS- elimination of harmful impurities from wastewater in different ways: mechanical (settling, sedimentation, filtration, flotation), physical and chemical (coagulation, neutralization, chlorination, ozonation), biological (biofiltration, passing through aeration tanks).

PNEUMOCONIOSIS- a group of occupational diseases caused by inhalation of dusty air (sclerotic changes occur in the lungs): silicosis - when inhaling quartz, sand, mica; silicatosis - when inhaling silicate dust (talc, kaolin, etc.); anthracosis - when inhaling coal dust, aluminosis - aluminum dust; siderosilicosis - iron and quartz dust; anthrasilicosis - coal and quartz dust.

FUNGICIDES- chemicals for combating fungal diseases of cultivated plants.

INSECTICIDES- chemicals for insect control.

HERBICIDES- chemicals for weed control.

EUTROFICATION- “blooming” of a reservoir due to the rapid proliferation of algae in it as a result of pollution with mineral fertilizers.

EREMOPHYTES (psammophytes)- desert plants

EREMOPHILES- desert animals

RHEOPHYTES- plants of fast-flowing rivers or the surf of the sea (often have a ribbon-like shape).

EPHEMEROIDS- perennial organisms with a very short development period; they spend most of the year in a state of rest. For example, snowdrops, some insects (mayflies).

PATIENTS- plants that win the struggle for existence due to their endurance (a kind of “camels” of the plant world)

DEFLATION- the process of wind erosion (weathering of the fertile part of the soil)

SCIENCES AND THEIR OBJECT OF STUDY:

AUTECOLOGY (factorial ecology)- studies the ecology of individual individuals.

DEMECOLOGY- ecology of small groups (populations)

SYNECOLOGY (biocenology)- ecology of communities

GLOBAL ECOLOGY- ecology of the entire planet.

BIOSPHEROLOGY- ecology of the biosphere.

GEOECOLOGY- landscape (geographic) ecology.

SOCIAL ECOLOGY- deals with issues of environmental law, education, culture, medical ecology, environmental forecasting, industrial ecology, urban ecology, etc.

SYSTEMATIC ECOLOGY- ecology of various groups of organisms (fungi, plants, animals, etc.)

ETHOLOGY- a science that studies animal behavior.

ARACHNOLOGY- studies spiders

ALGOLOGY- studies algae

BRYOLOGY- studies mosses

LICHENOLOGY- studies lichens

MYCOLOGY- studies mushrooms

ORNITHOLOGY- studies birds

PROTOZOOLOGY- studies protozoa

ENTOMOLOGY- studies insects

PHENOLOGY- observation of seasonal changes in nature

DENDROLOGY- studies trees

DEMOGRAPHY- studies changes in the number of people, gender and age structure in urban countries, etc.

Information taken from publicly available sources