Glossary of Nature Conservation
Table of Contents
- Terms under A
- Terma under B
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Adaptation (Simplified Explanation)
Adaptation means finding ways to adjust and cope with the changes happening in our planet’s climate. It’s about helping nature, animals, and people continue to live and thrive even as the world gets hotter, wetter, or drier. The goal is to stay strong and recover quickly when the climate changes.
Examples
When ocean temperatures rise, coral reefs start to bleach and die. Some corals can survive by forming new types of partnerships with algae that handle heat better — that’s nature’s adaptation.
Similarly, when forests face longer dry seasons, certain trees start growing deeper roots to find water. This helps the forest — and all the creatures that depend on it — survive.
In places where droughts are becoming more common, farmers are switching to crops that need less water, like millet instead of rice. This helps them keep growing food even when the rains are unpredictable — and keeps local ecosystems stable too.
Agroecology (Simplified Explanation)
Agroecology is a way of farming that works with nature, not against it. It looks at how plants, animals, people, and the environment all depend on each other. The goal is to grow food in a way that keeps the land healthy, protects biodiversity, and uses the natural strengths of ecosystems instead of chemicals or heavy machinery.
Examples
In a forest, fallen leaves become nutrients for the soil, insects help pollinate plants, and birds control pests — everything supports everything else. Agroecology tries to copy this natural balance on farms, turning them into small, living ecosystems instead of factories for food.
A farmer might plant different crops together — like beans, corn, and squash — so they help each other grow. The beans add nitrogen to the soil, the corn provides shade, and the squash keeps weeds away. This makes the soil richer and reduces the need for fertilizers or pesticides, while feeding both people and the planet.
Anthropocene (Simplified Explanation)
The Anthropocene is the name scientists give to the current period in Earth’s history — the time when human activity has become powerful enough to change the whole planet. It began around the Industrial Revolution, when factories, machines, and mass use of fossil fuels started to reshape the air, land, oceans, and climate.
Examples
Because of human actions, the climate is warming, glaciers are melting, and oceans are becoming more acidic. Animals are moving to new areas, and some ecosystems are disappearing — all signs that Earth’s natural systems are being altered on a global scale.
Humans have built huge cities, changed rivers with dams, mined deep into the ground, and covered large areas with roads and farms. These changes leave marks that will be visible in Earth’s rocks and soil for millions of years — a clear sign of the Anthropocene.
🌎 Why It Matters
The Anthropocene reminds us that humans are now a planet-shaping force. Understanding this helps us act more responsibly, so we can protect the Earth systems that support all life — not just our own.
Biodiversity erosion means the loss of life’s variety on Earth — when species disappear, and even the remaining ones lose their natural strength and differences. This happens when ecosystems are damaged or changed too quickly for life to adapt. Over time, the living web of the planet becomes thinner and weaker.
🌀 Simple Visual Idea
Imagine nature as a necklace of green beads (forests, rivers, meadows). Corridors are the threads that connect them — without the threads, the beads fall apart, and the necklace breaks.
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