Soil salinitySoil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization. Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salination can be caused by natural processes such as mineral weathering or by the gradual withdrawal of an ocean. It can also come about through artificial processes such as irrigation and road salt. Salts are a natural component in soils and water. The ions responsible for salination are: Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and Cl−.
Soil classificationSoil classification deals with the systematic categorization of soils based on distinguishing characteristics as well as criteria that dictate choices in use. Soil classification is a dynamic subject, from the structure of the system, to the definitions of classes, to the application in the field. Soil classification can be approached from the perspective of soil as a material and soil as a resource. Inscriptions at the temple of Horus at Edfu outline a soil classification used by Tanen to determine what kind of temple to build at which site.
Biological soil crustBiological soil crusts are communities of living organisms on the soil surface in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. They are found throughout the world with varying species composition and cover depending on topography, soil characteristics, climate, plant community, microhabitats, and disturbance regimes. Biological soil crusts perform important ecological roles including carbon fixation, nitrogen fixation and soil stabilization; they alter soil albedo and water relations and affect germination and nutrient levels in vascular plants.
Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forestsThe tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive several hundred centimeters of rain per year, they have long dry seasons that last several months and vary with geographic location. These seasonal droughts have great impact on all living things in the forest.
DeciduousIn the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous (dɪˈsɪdʒu.əs) means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flowering; and to the shedding of ripe fruit. The antonym of deciduous in the botanical sense is evergreen. Generally, the term "deciduous" means "the dropping of a part that is no longer needed or useful" and the "falling away after its purpose is finished".
Madagascar dry deciduous forestsThe Madagascar dry deciduous forests represent a tropical dry forest ecoregion situated in the western and northern part of Madagascar. The area has high numbers of endemic plant and animal species but has suffered large-scale clearance for agriculture. They are among the world's richest and most distinctive dry forests and included in the Global 200 ecoregions by the World Wide Fund. The area is also home to distinctive limestone karst formations known as tsingy, including the World Heritage Site of Bemaraha.
Species evennessSpecies evenness describes the commonness or rarity of a species; it requires knowing the abundance of each species relative to those of the other species within the community. Abundance values can be difficult to obtain. Area-based counts, distance methods, and mark–recapture studies are the three general categories of methods for estimating abundance. Species evenness is combined with species richness, (the number of species in the community), in order to determine species diversity, which is an important measure of community structure.
Agricultural landAgricultural land is typically land devoted to agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with both farmland or cropland, as well as pasture or rangeland.
Gamma diversityIn ecology, gamma diversity (γ-diversity) is the total species diversity in a landscape. The term was introduced by R. H. Whittaker together with the terms alpha diversity (α-diversity) and beta diversity (β-diversity). Whittaker's idea was that the total species diversity in a landscape (γ) is determined by two different things, the mean species diversity in sites at a more local scale (α) and the differentiation among those sites (β).
Atlantic ForestThe Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and the Misiones Province of Argentina, where the region is known as Selva Misionera. The Atlantic Forest has ecoregions within the following biome categories: seasonal moist and dry broad-leaf tropical forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, and mangrove forests.
