Glossary on biodiversity related terms

Biological diversity (biodiversity): the variability among living organisms from all sources including, among other things, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems (Convention of Biological Diversity).

Biome: the largest reasonable subdivision of the terrestrial ecosystem, including total assemblages of plants and animals (Bailey, 1995).

Community: the plants, animals, and other organisms that live in association with each other in a given place (Bailey, 1995).

Corridor: a strip of a particular land type that differs from the adjacent land (Forman, 1997). The Isthmus of Panama served as a corridor between North and South America for many species of mammal; a hedgerow may serve as a corridor between forests for species that live in forest habitat.

Division: describes a subdivision of a domain determined by isolating areas of definite vegetation affinities that fall within the same regional climate (continents) or areas of similar water temperature, salinity, and currents (oceans, Bailey, 1998).

Domain: groups of ecoregions with related climates (continents) or water masses (oceans, Bailey, 1998).

Ecoregion: a major ecosystem, resulting from large-scale predictable patterns of solar radiation and moisture, which in turn affect the kinds of local ecosystems and animals and plants found there (Bailey, 1998).

Ecosystem: a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit (Convention of Biological Diversity).

Endemic species: species which are only found in a certain strictly limited geographical region, i.e. they are restricted to a specified region or locality (FAO-FRA 2000).

Exotic or alien species (non-native, non-indigenous, foreign): a species, subspecies, or lower taxon occurring outside of its natural range (past or present) and dispersal potential (i.e. outside the range it occupies naturally or could not occupy without direct or indirect introduction by humans). This includes any part, gametes or propagule of such species that might survive and subsequently reproduce (IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group).

Habitat: the place or type of site where an organism or population naturally occurs (Convention of Biological Diversity).

Habitat fragmentation: the breaking up of a habitat, ecosystem, or land-use type into smaller parcels. This is considered to be one of several spatial processes in land transformation (Forman, 1997).

Habitat type: describes a plant association based on a climax overstory species and indicator understory species (Bailey, 1995).

Indicator species: species which can provide information on ecological changes and give early warning signals regarding ecosystem processes in site-specific conditions (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA 5/12).

Invasive species: an exotic or alien species which becomes established in natural or semi-natural ecosystems or habitat, is an agent of change, and threatens native biological diversity (IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group).

Indigenous or native species: a species, subspecies, or lower taxon, occurring within its natural range (past or present) and dispersal potential, i.e. within the range it occupies naturally or could occupy without direct or indirect introduction or care by humans)(IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group).

Landscape: a mosaic where a cluster of local ecosystems is repeated in similar form over a kilometers-wide area (Forman, 1997).

Landscape element: each of the relatively homogeneous units, or spatial elements recognized at the scale of a landscape mosaic. This refers to each patch, corridor, and area of matrix in the landscape (Forman, 1997).

Landscape mosaic: a geographic group of site-level ecosystems (Bailey, 1998).

Matrix: the background ecosystem or land-use type in a mosaic, characterized by extensive cover, high connectivity, and/or major control over dynamics (Forman, 1997).

Migratory species: species are considered as migratory when a significant proportion of a population (or geographically isolated part of the population) cyclically and predictably cross one or more national jurisdictional boundaries (Definition of the Convention on Migratory species)

Mosaic: a pattern of patches, corridors, and matrices, each composed of small similar aggregated objects (Forman, 1997).

Natural ecosystem: an ecosystem not perceptibly altered by humans (IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group).

Patch: a relatively homogeneous nonlinear area that differs from its surroundings (Forman, 1997).

Pollinator species: agents, often bees, that causes pollen to be transferred from one flower to another (pollination means the transfer of pollen from a stamen to a stigma) (International Pollination Systems).

Potential vegetation: the vegetation that would exist if nature were allowed to take its course without human interference (Bailey, 1995).

Province: a subdivision of a division that corresponds to broad vegetation regions, which conform to climatic subzones (Bailey, 1995).

Region: an area composed of landscapes with the same macroclimate and tied together by human activities (Forman, 1997).

Semi-natural ecosystem: an ecosystem which has been altered by human actions, but which retains significant native elements (IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group).

Spatial element: each of the relatively homogeneous units recognized in a mosaic at any scale (see also landscape element for the landscape scale, Forman, 1997).

Species distribution: defines the known locations of a species within a designated region (Miller, 1994).

Species Richness: the number of species at a given site or in a given country (WCMC, 1994).

Stepping stone: an ecological suitable patch where an object such an animal temporarily stops while moving along a heterogeneous route (Forman, 1997).

Sustainability: the ability of an ecosystem to maintain ecological processes and functions, biological diversity, and productivity over time (Bailey, 1995).

Taxonomy: the science of classifying and understanding the structural differentiation that characterizes life (Miller, 1994).

Threatened species: According to the Red List of the IUCN, all species classified as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable are considered as threatened (IUCN Red List 2000).

Vascular plant: a fern or seed plant (Bailey, 1995).

Vegetation: plant covering of an area (Bailey, 1995).

References

Bailey, G.R. 1995. Ecosystem Geography. Springer-Verlag. New York

Bailey, G.R. 1998. Ecoregions. The Ecosystem Geography of the Oceans and Continents. Springer-Verlag. New York

Convention on Biological Diversity: see website

Convention on Migratory Species: see website

FAO-FRA 2000: see website (under definition-additional terms)

Forman, R.T.T. 1997. Land mosaics: the ecology of landscapes and regions. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK.

International Pollination Systems: see website

IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group: see website

Miller, R.I. 1994. Mapping the diversity of nature. Chapman&Hall. London

UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA: Publications available on the CBD website

World Conservation Monitoring Centre (Comp.), Groombridge, B., ed. 1994. Biodiversity Data Sourcebook No.1. In collaboration with IUCN, UNEP, WWF. World Conservation Press. Cambridge, UK.