living world

• What does the term abiotic refer to?

  Relating to non-living things
• What does the term biotic refer to?

  Relating to living things
• What is the role of a decomposer in an ecosystem?

  Breaks down dead tissue and recycles nutrients
• What is an ecosystem?

  A community of interacting plants and animals
• What does a food chain illustrate?

  The connections between organisms for food
• What is nutrient cycling?

  Processes that recycle minerals through ecosystems
• What is a global ecosystem?

  Large ecological areas with adapted flora and fauna
• What does biodiversity refer to?

  The variety of life in a habitat
• What is ecotourism?

  Responsible travel that conserves the environment
• What is selective logging?

  Cutting mature or inferior trees to aid growth
• What is soil erosion?

  Removal of topsoil faster than it can be replaced
• What is subsistence farming?

  Agriculture for the farmer's family benefit
• What does sustainability mean?

  Meeting present needs without harming future generations
• What is desertification?

  Land becoming drier due to climate change or human activity
• What is over-cultivation?

  Exhausting soil by over-cropping land
• What is overgrazing?

  Grazing too many livestock for too long
• What is a fragile environment?

  An easily disturbed environment that is hard to restore
• What is infrastructure?

  Basic structures needed for a region to function
• What is permafrost?

  Permanently frozen ground in polar regions
• What is tundra?

  Flat, treeless Arctic regions with frozen ground
• What defines a wilderness area?

  A natural environment not significantly modified by humans