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A

Abiotic

 

All non-living objects, substances or processes of an ecosystem
 
Abrupt Climate Change

 

Sudden (on the order of decades), large changes in some major component of the climate system, with rapid, widespread effects.
 
Absorption

 

The process in which radiant energy is retained by a substance. A further process always results from absorption, that is, the irreversible conversion of the absorbed radiation into some other form of energy within and according to the nature of the absorbing medium. The absorbing medium itself may emit radiation, but only after an energy conversion has occurred.

 
Abundance

 

The number of individuals or related measure of quantity (such as biomass) in a population, community or spatial unit.
 
Acclimatization

 

The physiological adaptation to climatic variations.
 
Acid rain

 

Rain with a very low pH (often below 4.0) resulting from emissions to the atmosphere of oxides of sulfur and nitrogen.
 
Acidification

 

Change in environment’s natural chemical balance caused by an increase in the concentration of acidic elements.
 
Adaptation

 

Adjustment in natural or human systems to a new or changing environment, including anticipatory and reactive adaptation, private and public adaptation, and autonomous and planned adaptation.
 
Adaptive Capacity

 

The ability of a system to adjust to climate change (including climate variability and extremes) to moderate potential damages, to take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the consequences.

 
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)

 

Molecule composed of adenine, ribose and three phosphate groups bound by high-energy linkages and associated with energy transfer in living cells.
 
Adventitious roots

 

Roots that arise in ‘abnormal’ positions, e.g. from a stem or leaf. The contrast is with the primary roots that develop from the axis of a seedling and roots that arise from other roots.

 
Aerosols

 

Small particles or liquid droplets in the atmosphere that can absorb or reflect sunlight depending on their composition.
 
Afforestation

 

Planting of new forests on lands that historically have not contained forests.
 
Agroecology

 

Is the science of sustainable agriculture; the methods of agroecology have as their goal achieving sustainability of agricultural systems balanced in all spheres. This includes the socio-economic and the ecological or environmental.

 
Air pollution

 

Air is made up of a number of gases, mostly nitrogen and oxygen and, in smaller amounts, water vapour, carbon dioxide and argon and other trace gases. Air pollution occurs when harmful chemicals and particles are emitted to the air – due to human activity or natural forces – at a concentration that interferes with human health or welfare or that harms the environment in other ways.

 
Air quality

 

A measure of the level of pollution in the air.
 
Algae

 

Photosynthetic, often microscopic and planktonic, organisms occurring in marine and freshwater ecosystems .
 
Alien species

 

Species introduced outside its normal distribution.
 
Alpine

 

The biogeographic zone made up of slopes above the tree line characterised by the presence of rosette-forming herbaceous plants and low, shrubby, slow-growing woody plants.

 
Alternative energy sources

 

Energy that does not come from fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, gas), for example wind, flowing water, solar energy and biomass.
 
Anthropogenic

 

Made by people or resulting from human activities. Usually used in the context of emissions that are produced as a result of human activities.
 
Aquaculture

 

The farming of aquatic organisms in inland and coastal areas, involving intervention in the rearing process to enhance production and the individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated.

 
Aquatic ecosystem

 

An ecosystem that provides a habitat for aquatic plants and animals which also sustains aquatic ecological processes.
 
Aquifer

 

Rock formations under the ground that carry water - this water can be recovered and used for washing and cooking.
 
Arable land

 

Land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted only once), temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow (less than five years). The abandoned land resulting from shifting cultivation is not included in this category.