Glossary definitions

A mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets (dust, dirt, soot, or smoke) (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2018b).

A mixture of solid particles (dust, dirt, soot, or smoke) and liquid droplets.

Particulate matter (PM), also known as atmospheric particulate matter, or suspended particulate matter (SPM) are microscopic solid or liquid matter suspended in Earth's atmosphere. Sources of particulate matter can be natural or anthropogenic. They have impacts on climate and precipitation that adversely affect human health.

A mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets (dust, dirt, soot, or smoke).

The carbon content of particulate organic matter (Fiedler et al., 2008).

The large fraction (usually more than 7 micrometers) of soil organic matter (Fiedler et al., 2008).

See restoration.

Extensive livestock production in rangelands.

any action taken (single or via systems approach) towards a particular anthropogenic invasive alien species arrival pathway (e.g., trade) to prevent or address the threats and risks of an invasive alien species arriving and establishing via that pathway either between or within jurisdictions

In the context of the IPBES global assessment, trajectories toward the achievement of goals and targets for biodiversity conservation and management of nature and nature’s contributions to people.

“Pathways” consist of descriptions of different strategies for moving from the current situation towards a desired future vision or set of specified targets. They are descriptions of purposive courses of actions that build on each other, from short-term to long-term actions into broader transformation. They are closely related to normative or policy or target-seeking scenarios.

In the context of the IPBES global assessment, trajectories toward the achievement of goals and targets for biodiversity conservation, the management of nature and nature’s contributions to people, and, more broadly, the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

A rare or threatened species which needs local management and which may be a flagship species and may have cultural importance (Pervanchon, 2004).

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) are a specific class of approach, used to facilitate voluntary transaction between a provider and a user of a service, conditioned on natural resource management rules for dealing with environmental externalities. PES is created to deal with market failures, environmental externalities, property rights problems and asymmetric information between economic actors.

Voluntary transactions that generate offsite services and are established to enable service users to pay resource providers for the conditional provision of the desired ecosystem service.

A payment mechanism that involves a series of payments to land or other natural resource owners in return for a guaranteed flow of ecosystem services or certain actions likely to enhance their provision over-and-above what would otherwise be provided in the absence of payment.

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) is a term used to describe a process whereas a beneficiary or user of an ecosystem service makes a direct or indirect payment to a provider of that service. PES involve a series of payments to land or other natural resource owners in return for a guaranteed flow of ecosystem services or certain actions likely to enhance their provision over-¬and-above what would otherwise be provided in the absence of payment.

Wetlands which accumulate organic plant matter in situ because waterlogging prevents aerobic decomposition and the much slower rate of the resulting anaerobic decay is exceeded by the rate of accumulation.

A part of the Earth’s surface that contains the soil layer.

Organisms that live in the water column.

A collaboration initiated in 1992 between the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), UNESCO-MAB and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew on the promotion of ethnobotany and the equitable and sustainable use of plant resources.

The first stage of the human cognitive process. Perceptions are not neutral as they pass through rational and emotional filters which assess and interpret the relevancy of what people see. These filters are conditioned by individual experience, education, and by collective worldviews. See also Reality; Concepts”; Worldviews”.

See annual.

See Conservation agriculture.

Perennially frozen ground that occurs wherever the temperature remains below 0°C for several years.

Perennially frozen ground that occurs wherever the temperature remains below 0°C for several years. Ground (soil or rock and included ice and organic material) that remains at or below 0°C for at least two consecutive years.

The porosity of soils to allow water to pass through it.

Organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes. Because of their persistence, persistent organic pollutants bioaccumulate with potential adverse impacts on human health and the environment.

Organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes. POPs persist in the environment for long periods, are capable of long-range transport, bioaccumulate in human and animal tissue and biomagnify in food chains, and have potentially significant impacts on human health and the environment. Exposure to POPs can cause serious health problems including certain cancers, birth defects, dysfunctional immune and reproductive systems, greater susceptibility to disease and even diminished intelligence.

Chemicals of global concern due to their potential for long-range transport, persistence in the environment, ability to bio-magnify and bio-accumulate in ecosystems, as well as their significant negative effects on human health and the environment.

Organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes. POPs persist in the environment for long periods, are capable of long-range transport, bioaccumulate in human and animal tissue and biomagnify in food chains, and have potentially significant impacts on human health and the environment. Exposure to POPs can cause serious health problems including certain cancers, birth defects, dysfunctional immune and reproductive systems, greater susceptibility to disease and even diminished intelligence.

An animal, plant, fungus, or other organism that thrives in places where it is not wanted by people, e.g. in fields, with livestock, in forests, gardens, etc.

A substance that kills pests (q.v.). Pesticides may be synthetic chemicals, natural chemicals, or biological agents.

A pesticide is any substance used to kill, repel, or control certain forms of plant or animal life that are considered to be pests.

Changes in species phenology, mostly as a result of climate change (Scranton & Amarasekare, 2017).

The study of the relationship between climate and the timing of periodic natural phenomena such as migration of birds, bud bursting, or flowering of plants.

The study of the relationship between climate and the timing of periodic natural phenomena such as migration of birds, bud bursting, or flowering of plants (IUCN, 2012a).

The timing of seasonal activities of animals and plants such as bud burst, flowering, fruiting, migration. Also used to refer to the study of such natural phenomena that recur periodically (e.g. development stages, migration) and their relation to climate and seasonal changes.

The characteristics of an individual resulting from interaction between its genotype (genetic constitution) and its environment (IUCN, 2012a). These characteristics often include behavior, physiology (e.g. oxygen consumption, heart rate), life history (e.

The characteristics of an individual resulting from interaction between its genotype (genetic constitution) and its environment (IUCN, 2012a).These characteristics often include behavior, physiology (oxygen consumption, heart rate), life history (e.g. body size, age, offspring number), or morphology (e.g. body proportions).

A distinct variant of a phenotypic characteristic of an organism; it may be either inherited or determined environmentally, but typically occurs as a combination of the two (Lawrence, 2005).

A distinct variant of a phenotypic characteristic of an organism; it may be either inherited or determined environmentally, but typically occurs as a combination of the two.

An ability to alter growth form to suit current conditions without genetic change.

The capacity of a single genotype to exhibit a range of phenotypes in response to variation in the environment (Whitman & Agrawal, 2009).

Although species richness is a commonly used measure of biodiversity, it fails to capture the reality that species without close relatives contribute more uniqueness than do species with many close relatives. Phylogenetic diversity is used as a general term for a range of measures that consider the total length of all the branches linking a set of species on their phylogeny (“evolutionary tree”) and so reflect species’ evolutionary uniqueness. One of the first such measures is simply the sum of the branch lengths.

Although species richness is a commonly used measure of biodiversity, it fails to capture the reality that species without close relatives contribute more uniqueness than do species with many close relatives. Phylogenetic diversity is used as a general te.

Phylogenetic diversity (PD) describes the breadth of evolutionary history that is represented among the organisms found in a particular area. It can capture both the diversity of ecological functions that are represented, and perhaps more importantly for human well-being, the evolutionary potential of a community to respond to future stressors.

Is a measure of spatial restriction of phylogenetic diversity. In other words, PE is a relative measure of endemism that represents the degree to which lineages or branches of the tree of life (calculated in my) are restricted spatially.

A major taxonomic grouping of animals linked by having a similar general body plan and thought to be a clade. In plants the similar category is called a division (Lawrence, 2005).

The positive effect of green vegetation in landscapes on human beings.