Environment and Ecology short notes for UPSC Civil Service Examination.
Aquifer: An underground layer of rock or sand that contains water.
Asbestos: A fibrous silicate mineral used as construction material and insulation. It is very dangerous to health when the fibres are inhaled.
Autotroph: Green plant or producer that makes its own food.
Abiotic components or conditions: The non-living components or conditions of an ecosystem such as the natural resources and the atmospheric conditions.
Abyssal zone: The cold and dark zone at the bottom of the ocean.
Acid rain: Rain, mist, or snow formed when atmospheric water droplets combine with a range of man-made chemical air pollutants.
Adaptation: Adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities.
Agro forestry: A system of land use that combines growing crops along with trees.
Albedo: The reflection of light from a surface, measured as the fraction of the incident light that a surface reflects back.
Algal bloom: A population explosion of some pigmented marine algae seen as an explosion of colour on the ocean - orange, red, or brown.
Allopatric speciation: The process of one species becomes two due to the formation of geographical barriers such as land separation, mountain formation, emigration, or human interference.
Anthropocene: The new geological epoch in which humanity has overwhelmed the forces of nature.
Aquaculture: The artificial production of fish in ponds or underwater cages.
Aquatic life zone: The non-terrestrial part of the biosphere including wetlands, lakes, rivers, estuaries, inter-tidal zone, coastal ocean, and open ocean .
Aquifer: An underground layer of rock or sand that contains water.
Asbestos: A fibrous silicate mineral used as construction material and insulation. It is very dangerous to health when the fibres are inhaled.
Autotroph: Green plant or producer that makes its own food.
Abiotic components or conditions: The non-living components or conditions of an ecosystem such as the natural resources and the atmospheric conditions.
Abyssal zone: The cold and dark zone at the bottom of the ocean.
Acid rain: Rain, mist, or snow formed when atmospheric water droplets combine with a range of man-made chemical air pollutants.
Adaptation: Adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities.
Agro forestry: A system of land use that combines growing crops along with trees.
Albedo: The reflection of light from a surface, measured as the fraction of the incident light that a surface reflects back.
Algal bloom: A population explosion of some pigmented marine algae seen as an explosion of colour on the ocean - orange, red, or brown.
Allopatric speciation: The process of one species becomes two due to the formation of geographical barriers such as land separation, mountain formation, emigration, or human interference.
Anthropocene: The new geological epoch in which humanity has overwhelmed the forces of nature.
Aquaculture: The artificial production of fish in ponds or underwater cages.
Aquatic life zone: The non-terrestrial part of the biosphere including wetlands, lakes, rivers, estuaries, inter-tidal zone, coastal ocean, and open ocean .