ESS

Using global resources at a rate that allows regeneration without depleting the natural capital

Planet’s natural resources including renewable or non-renewable resources, e.g., trees, minerals, animal species

Value or goods/services derived from natural capital, growth per year, extraction of natural resources, e.g., timber, carbon sequestration

Restoration of a stock or supply to a former level or condition

Integrated approach focusing on economic sufficiency, environmental protection, and social well-being

Different kinds of life within an ecosystem, including organisms, plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms

Addition of a substance or agent to an environment to an extent that normal environmental processes are adversely affected

Discrete sources of contamination that can be represented by a single point on a map and tracked back to the source

More dispersed sources from which pollutants originate and enter the environment

Air pollutant emitted directly from a source

Arises from primary pollutants undergoing physical and chemical changes in the atmosphere

Occur after short, intense exposure, with symptoms experienced within a few hours

Occur after low-level, long-term exposure, with disease symptoms developing over time

Cannot be broken down by living organisms and accumulate in the food chain

Capable of being broken down by natural biological processes

Refers to the presence of potential partners for reproduction within a population.

Graphical representation showing initial rapid growth followed by a slowdown as the carrying capacity is reached.

Initial stage of population growth with low birth rates due to low population numbers.

Phase where the population grows rapidly without limiting factors, favorably abiotic components, and lack of predators or disease.

Population growth slows down considerably but continues to grow.

Population growth stabilizes around the carrying capacity, leading to fluctuations.

Organisms that convert abiotic components into living matter, also known as autotrophs.

Organisms that obtain energy and matter by consuming other organisms, known as heterotrophs.

Organisms that obtain nutrients from breaking down dead organic matter, improving soil nutrient capacity.

Position occupied by an organism in a food chain.

Representation of the number of individuals at each trophic level in an ecosystem.

Representation of biological mass at each trophic level in an ecosystem at a specific time.

Representation of energy flow through trophic levels in a food chain over time.

Gain in energy or biomass by producers per unit area per unit time.

Biomass gained by heterotrophic organisms through feeding and absorption.

Maximum flow of a resource that allows the stock to remain stable over time.

Processes that involve the movement and transformation of nutrients within ecosystems.

Collections of ecosystems sharing similar climatic conditions, categorized into aquatic, forest, grassland, desert, and tundra biomes.

Precipitation resulting from the upward movement of warm, moist air in the atmosphere.

Arrangement of communities in bands in response to environmental changes over a distance.

Long-term change in the composition of a community from pioneer to climax community.

Species with fast reproduction, producing many small offspring with little parental care.

Species with slow growth, producing few large offspring with extensive parental care.

Natural selection favoring species based on reproductive strategies and survival rates.

Stepwise tool for identification with binary choices based on characteristics.

Non-living components of ecosystems like temperature, pH, and salinity.

Measure of species diversity in an area based on total organisms and individuals of a species.

Method to estimate population size of motile animals using marking and recapture.

Method to measure population size of non-motile organisms in specific areas.

Vertical section through soil with distinct layers (horizons) showing soil formation processes.