RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

College of Engineering and Industrial Technology

Glossary of Terms used in Environmental Engineering

ES213| 4:30PM – 6:00 PM TF

Submitted by:
Gemmica G. Pilitro
CEIT-03-FS702P

Submitted to:
Zorahayda V. Concepcion
A Community
Adaptation
- The evolution of features that make a
group of organisms better suited to
live and reproduce in their
environment.
- A peculiarity of structure, physiology,
or behavior that aids the organism in
its environment.
B populations using the same resource,
Biogeochemical Cycle
- The various nutrient circuits, which
involve both biotic and abiotic
components of ecosystems.
Biological Evolution
- defined as any genetic change in a
population that is inherited over
several generations. These changes
may be small or large, noticeable or
not so noticeable. In order for an
event to be considered an instance of
evolution, changes have to occur on
the genetic level of a population and
be passed on from one generation to
the next. This means that the genes,
or more specifically, the alleles in the
population change and are passed on.
These changes are noticed in
the phenotypes (expressed physical
traits that can be seen) of the
population.
Biome
- One of the world's major
communities, classified according to
the predominant vegetation and
characterized by adaptations of
organisms to that particular
environment.
C with their environments.
Climax Community
- A climax community is the final stage
of succession, remainingrelatively u
nchanged until destroyed by
an event such as fire or human interf
erence.
- all the organisms that inhabit a
particular area; an assemblage of
populations of different species living
close enough together for potential
interaction.
Competition
- Interaction between members of the
same population or of two or more
often present in limited supply.
Consumer
- A heterotroph that derives its energy
from living or freshly killed
organisms or parts thereof. Primary
consumers are herbivores; higher-
level consumers are carnivores.
D
Decomposer
- A decomposer is an organism that
decomposes, or breaks down,
organic material such as the remains
of dead organisms. Decomposers
include bacteria and fungi. These
organisms carry out the process of
decomposition, which all living
organisms undergo after death.
E
Ecological Niches
- The sum total of an organism's
utilization of the biotic and abiotic
resources of its environment.
Ecological Succession
- Transition in the species composition
of a biological community, often
following ecological disturbance of
the community; the establishment of
a biological community in an area
virtually barren of life.
Ecology
- The study of how organisms interact
Ecosystem
- A level of ecological study that
includes all the organisms in a given
area as well as the abiotic factors
with which they interact; a
 community and its physical
environment.
Evolution
- All the changes that have
transformed life on Earth from its
earliest beginnings to the diversity
that characterizes it today.
Food Chain
- The pathway along which food is
transferred from trophic level to
trophic level, beginning with
producers.
Food Web
- he elaborate, interconnected feeding
relationships in an ecosystem.
Emigration
- Emigration is migration seen as an
the exit of individuals from one region
(to another where they will settle
permanently or temporarily)
Environment
- Environment, the complex of
physical, chemical, and biotic factors
that act upon an organism or an
ecological community and ultimately
determine its form and survival.
Environmental Engineering
- Environmental Engineering is the
application of engineering principles
to improve and maintain the
environment for the protection of
human health and at-risk
ecosystems.
Environmental Science
- Environmental science is defined as
a branch of biology focused on the
study of the relationships of the
natural world and the relationships
between organisms and their
environments.
G
Global Climate Change
- Global climate change is a change in
the long-term weather patterns that
characterize the regions of the
world.
Global Warming
- a gradual increase in the overall
temperature of the earth's
atmosphere generally attributed to
the greenhouse effect caused by
increased levels of carbon dioxide,
chlorofluorocarbons, and other
pollutants.
Greenhouse Effect
- The warming of planet Earth due to
the atmospheric accumulation of
carbon dioxide, which absorbs
infrared radiation and slows its
escape from the irradiated Earth.
H
Habitat
- The place in which individuals of a
particular species can usually be
found
N
Natality
- The birthrate, which is the ratio of
total live births to total population in
a particular area over a specified
period of time; expressed
as childbirths per 1000 people
(or population) per year
Niches
- the position or function of
an organism in
a community of plants and animals.
Nonpoint-source
- Non-point sources of pollution are
often termed ‘diffuse’ pollution and
refer to those inputs and impacts
which occur over a wide area and are
not easily attributed to a single
source.
Nonrenewable Resource
- a resource of economic value that
cannot be readily replaced by natural
means on a level equal to its
consumption.
Natural Selection
- The process in nature by which,
according to Darwin's theory of
evolution, only the organisms best
adapted to their environment tend to
 survive and transmit their genetic
characters in increasing numbers to
succeeding generations while those
less adapted tend to be eliminated.
O -
Organism
- An individual living thing, such as a
bacterium, fungus, protist, plant or
animal.
Ozone
- a colorless, odorless reactive gas
comprised of three oxygen atoms. It
is found naturally in the earth's
stratosphere, where it absorbs the
ultraviolet component of incoming
solar radiation that could be harmful
to life on earth.
P - a measure of the hydorgen ion
Parasite
- An organism that absorbs nutrients
from the body fluids of living hosts.
Parasitism
- A symbiotic relationship in which the
symbiont (parasite) benefits at the
expense of the host by living either
within the host (endoparasite) or
outside the host (ectoparasite).
Parent Material
- the underlying
geological material (generally
bedrock or a superficial or drift
deposit) in which soil horizons form.
Particulate Matter
- PM stands for particulate
matter (also called particle
pollution): the term for a mixture of
solid particles and liquid droplets
found in the air. Some particles, such
as dust, dirt, soot, or smoke, are large
or dark enough to be seen with the
naked eye. Others are so small they
can only be detected using an
electron microscope.
Peat
- A mass of partially
carbonised plant tissue formed by pa
rtial decomposition in water of
various plants and especially.
Photochemical Smug
a type of smog produced when
ultraviolet light from the sun reacts
with nitrogen oxides in the
atmosphere. It is visible as a brown
haze, and is most prominent during
the morning and afternoon,
especially in densely populated,
warm cities.
Photosynthesis
- The conversion of light energy to
chemical energy that is stored in
glucose or other organic compounds;
occurs in plants, algae, and certain
prokaryotes.
pH
concentration of a solution.
Population
- A group of individuals of one species
that live in a particular geographic
area.
Population Density
- The number of individuals of a
population per unit area or volume of
living space.
Porosity
- defined as being full of tiny holes that
water or air can get through.
Producer
- An autotrophic organism, usually a
photosynthesizer, that contributes to
the net primary productivity of a
community.
R
Respiration
- In aerobic organisms, the intake of
oxygen and the liberation of carbon
dioxide.
Risk
- broadly defined as the likelihood that
a harmful consequence will occur as
the result of an action or condition. It
involves the combined evaluation of
hazards and exposure.
Risk Assessment
- deals with the interactions of agents
or hazards, humans, and ecological
resources.
Run-off
- what occurs when rain is not
absorbed by the ground on which it
falls and so then flows downhill.
S - A biome at the extreme limits of plant
Salinization
- refers to a build up of salts in soil,
eventually to toxic levels for plants.
(3,000 - 6,000 ppm salt results in
trouble for most cultivated plants.)
Salt in soils decreases the osmotic
potential of the soil so that plants
can't take up water from it.
Soil Profile
- where the secrets of the soil and
landscape around it are hidden.
The soil profile is defined as a
vertical section of the soil that is
exposed by a soil pit. A soil pit is a
hole that is dug from the surface of
the soil to the underlying bedrock.
Speciation
- The origin of new species in
evolution.
Species
- A particular kind of organism;
members possess similar anatomical
characteristics and have the ability to
interbreed.
T W
Taiga
- The coniferous or boreal forest
biome, characterized by
considerable snow, harsh winters,
short summers, and evergreen trees.
Toxic Waste
- A general term used to refer to
chemical compounds produced by
industry which, if they are ingested or
breathed in by humans, can cause
physiological damage.
Tropic Level
- The position that an organism
occupies in a food chain - what it eats,
and what eats it. Wildlife biologists
look at a natural "economy of energy"
that ultimately rests upon solar
energy.
Tundra
growth; at the northernmost limits, it
is called arctic tundra, and at high
altitudes, where plant forms are
limited to low shrubby or matlike
vegetation, it is called alpine tundra.
U
Unconfine Aquifer
- are those into which water seeps
from the ground surface directly
above the aquifer
Underground Mining
- the process of extracting minerals
and ores that are buried too
far underground to be mined using
surface mining methods.
V
Vector
- an organism that does not cause
disease itself but which spreads
infection by conveying pathogens
from one host to another. Species of
mosquito, for example, serve
as vectors for the deadly disease
Malaria.
Water cable
- also called Groundwater Table,
upper level of an underground
surface in which the soil or rocks are
permanently saturated with water.
Water Waste
- ny water that has been affected by
human use. Wastewater is
"usedwater from any combination of
domestic, industrial, commercial or
agricultural activities, surface runoff
or stormwater, and any sewer inflow
or sewer infiltration".
Weathering
- is the breakdown of rocks at the
Earth's surface, by the action of
rainwater, extremes of temperature,
and biological activity. It does not
involve the removal of rock material.
Wetland
- Wetlands are areas where water
covers the soil, or is present either at
or near the surface of the soil all year
or for varying periods of time during
the year, including during the
growing season.
Wilderness
- an area of land that has not
been farmed or
had towns and roads built on it, esp.
because it is difficult to live in as
a result of its extremely
cold or hot weather or bad earth
Z
Zoning
- An encircling area or region of
growth, such as a zone
of grassland around a hill, or a
region with features characterizing
it from the other regions, such as
in Sea Zonation
Zooplankton
- a type of heterotrophic plankton that
range from microscopic organisms to
large species, such as
jellyfish. Zooplankton are found
within large bodies of water,
including oceans and freshwater
systems.