Definition: An area that is inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.
Definition: An area that is inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.
Definition: An area that is inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.
Definition: A desert biome is a terrestrial biome which loses more liquid water by evapotranspiration than is supplied by precipitation and includes communities adapted to these conditions.
Definition: A desert biome is a terrestrial biome which loses more liquid water by evapotranspiration than is supplied by precipitation and includes communities adapted to these conditions.
Comment: "Small" is ambiguous. For details on "Small rivers" (e.g. the Salween river) see http://worldwildlife.org/biomes/small-river-ecosystems. This class will be replaced with a less ambiguous class.
Definition: A wetland, featuring grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, and other herbaceous plants (possibly with low-growing woody plants) in a context of shallow water.
Definition: A wetland, featuring grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, and other herbaceous plants (possibly with low-growing woody plants) in a context of shallow water.
Definition: A forest biome is a terrestrial biome which includes, across its entire spatial extent, densely packed vegetation which strongly limits light penetration to the forest floor.
Definition: An area of land of low topographic relief that historically supported grasses and herbs, with few trees, and having generally a mesic (moderate or temperate) climate. Dominated by tall grasses (contrast steppe).
Definition: A grassland biome is a terrestrial biome which includes, across its entire spatial extent, an unbroken layer of grasses (Gramineae), sedges (Cyperaceae) or rushes (Juncaceae).
Definition: The liquid produced when water percolates through any permeable material. It can contain either dissolved or suspended material, or usually both.
Definition: A linear shoaling landform feature within a body of water. Bars tend to be long and narrow (linear) and develop where a current (or waves) promote deposition of granular material, resulting in localized shallowing (shoaling) of the water. Bars can appear in the sea, in a lake, or in a river. They are typically composed of sand, although could be of any granular matter that the moving water has access to and is capable of shifting around (for example, soil, silt, gravel, cobble, shingle, or even boulders). The grain size of the material comprising a bar is related: to the size of the waves or the strength of the currents moving the material, but the availability of material to be worked by waves and currents is also important.
Definition: A forest biome is a terrestrial biome which includes, across its entire spatial extent, densely packed vegetation which strongly limits light penetration to the forest floor.
Definition: Sediment is an environmental substance comprised of any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bedor bottom of a body of water or other liquid.
Definition: A grassland biome is a terrestrial biome which includes, across its entire spatial extent, an unbroken layer of grasses (Gramineae), sedges (Cyperaceae) or rushes (Juncaceae).
Definition: A habitat of rolling or flat terrain where grasses predominate. Typically, what is called a meadow has more biodiversity than a grassland as the former contains not only grasses but a significant variety of annual, biennial and perennial plants.
Definition: A mixed forest biome is a forest biome which contains densely packed populations or communities of broadleaf and coniferous trees, strongly limiting light penetration to the forest floor.
Definition: A forest biome is a terrestrial biome which includes, across its entire spatial extent, densely packed vegetation which strongly limits light penetration to the forest floor.
Definition: A landform consisting of loose rock particles such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, cobble, or even shell fragments along the shoreline of a body of water.
Definition: A step-like feature between higher and lower ground: a relatively flat or gently inclined shelf of earth, backed and fronted by steep slopes or manmade detaining walls.
Definition: A flat expanse of ground covered with salt and other minerals, usually shining white under the sun. A salt pan is formed where water pools. A saline pan would be a lake or a pond if it were located in a climate where the rate of water evaporation were not faster than the rate of water precipitation, i.e., if it were not in a desert. If the water is unable to drain into the ground, it remains on the surface until it evaporates, leaving behind whatever minerals were dissolved. Over thousands of years, the minerals (usually salts) accumulate on the surface.
Definition: A landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill, but there is no universally accepted standard definition for the height of a mountain or a hill although a mountain usually has an identifiable summit and a local relief of more than 300m.
Comment: "Large" is ambiguous. For details on "Large rivers" (e.g. the Mekong river) see http://worldwildlife.org/biomes/large-river-ecosystems This class will be replaced with a less ambiguous class.
Definition: A landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill, but there is no universally accepted standard definition for the height of a mountain or a hill although a mountain usually has an identifiable summit and a local relief of more than 300m.
Definition: A plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally considered as being dominated by tall grasses, while short grasses are said to be normal in the steppe. It may be semi-desert, or covered with grass or shrubs or both, depending on the season and latitude.
Definition: A soil consisting of the upper layer of soil on the surface consisting of loose material capable of supporting life composed of a mixture of mineral and organic matter.
Definition: A habitat that is in or on a body of water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids (<0.5 grams dissolved salts per litre).