Natural Resources and Environment Search Terms

The following is a list of natural resources and environment terms used to index Resources and Learning searches.

Afforestation: The establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was not one previously.

Biodiversity: The variety of life on Earth, including plants, animals and microorganisms.

Carbon Sequestration: The uptake and storage of carbon in a carbon sink, such as the oceans, or a terrestrial sink such as forests or soils, in order to keep the carbon out of the atmosphere.

Drift/Runoff Buffers: Vegetative strips that prevent potentially harmful runoff or chemical sprays from entering unintended areas.

Grass Hedges: A line of grasses along the boundary of a field that can provide a number of services, including beneficial insect habitat and protection against wind damage, erosion and nutrient leaching.

Grass Waterways: A type of conservation buffer designed to prevent soil erosion while draining runoff water from cropland.

Habitat Enhancement: Any changes made to a habitat that improve its value and ability to meet the requirements of one or more organisms.

Hedgerows: A line of shrubs, grasses and trees along the boundary of a field that can provide a number of services, including beneficial insect habitat and protection against wind damage, erosion and nutrient leaching.

Indicators: A measurement, statistic or value that provides a proximate gauge or evidence of the effects of environmental management programs or of the state or condition of the environment.

Riparian Buffers: Streamside plantings of trees, shrubs and grasses that can intercept contaminants from both surface water and ground water before they reach a stream and that help restore damaged streams.

Riverbank Protection: The use of vegetative plantings to prevent sediment and nutrients from entering a waterway.

Soil Erosion/Stabilization: Any practice that improves the soil's resistance to erosion and compaction.

Strip Cropping: The growing of crops in a systematic arrangement of strips or bands which serve as vegetative barriers to wind and water erosion. The strips or bands may run perpendicular to the slope of the land or to the direction of prevailing winds.

Wetlands: An area that is saturated by surface or ground water with vegetation adapted for life under those soil conditions.

Wildlife: Undomesticated animals living in the wild.

Woody Hedges: A line of woody plants along the boundary of a field that can provide a number of services, including beneficial insect habitat and protection against wind damage, erosion and nutrient leaching.