Wetland Terms – A
Print version of "Glossary of Wetland Terms": PDF • Word
A [abiotic factors–autumn-flowering clematis]
- abiotic factors: physical environmental factors (e.g., water, temperature, soil, light) that influence the composition and growth of an ecosystem.
- adaptation: a specific structure or behavior that helps an organism survive and reproduce in a particular environment; the process that enables organisms to become better suited to their environment.
- aerobic: any process that requires oxygen.
- agriculture: the science or process of farming or cultivating the soil for the production of plants and animals that will be useful to humans in some way.
- alderfly: an aquatic macroinvertebrate of the order Megaloptera. Alderfly larvae have projections or filaments but no wings. They are somewhat sensitive to pollution.
- algae: varied aquatic protists, or phytoplankton, that lack vascular tissue, and are usually photosynthetic.
- algal bloom: an explosive population increase in algae that occurs when large amounts of phosphates and/or nitrates enter a body of water in the presence of warm temperatures.
- anadromous fish: fish that migrate up rivers from the sea to breed in fresh water.
- anaerobic: lacking or not needing oxygen.
- annelids: aquatic macroinvertebrates of the phylum Annelida; segmented worms with bilateral symmetry, closed circulatory systems, and complete digestive systems; includes leeches.
- apparent color: the color given to water by dissolved substances and suspended matter (e.g., metallic ions, plankton, algae, industrial pollution, and plant pigments). Apparent color provides useful information about the water's source and content.
- aquaculture: the production of fish, shellfish, invertebrates, and plants in marine, brackish, or freshwater environment.
- aquatic: living or growing in or on the water.
- aquatic worms: aquatic macroinvertebrates without legs, including flatworms (planaria), roundworms (nematodes), and freshwater earthworms (oligochaetes). They can tolerate pollution.
- arrow arum: Peltondra virginica or duck corn. Arrow arum is an emergent vegetation found in freshwater wetlands; its seeds develop in spike-shaped pods.
- assessment: an evaluation.
- atmosphere: the gaseous mass or envelope surrounding the earth.
- autumn-flowering clematis:Clematis maximowiscziana, exotic invasive plant that grows in swamp forests (intermittently flooded lowland forests).
View VDOE's Expenses