Environmental Science Vocab!

Herbicide
Pesticides used to kill unwanted plants or weeds
Ex. I went to the store and bought some herbicide to kill plants.

Compost 
A mixture of decaying organic substances
Ex. Go throw that organic substance in the compost pile so it will decay with the mix of others.

Wildlife 
Wild animals and plants collectively
Ex. There is so much wildlife in the Yosemite National Forrest!

High Nitrogen Fertilizer 
Any substance of nitrates used to make soil fertile with a high nitrogen content
Ex. Go put for HNF on those bushes to help them grow.

Horticultural
The cultivation of plants.
Ex. In order to be a gardener you need to be horticultural

Hyphae 
Each of the branching filaments that make up the mycelium of a fungus
Ex. Go grab a hyphae from inside the mycelium!

Aphids
Any of various small plant-sucking insects
Ex. Get the aphid off of my plant or it will eat it.

Pesticides
A substance used for destroying insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants or to animals.
Ex. Omg, a pest! Go grab pesticide and kill it.

Insecticides
A substance used for killing insects
Ex. Omg, an insect! Go grab an insecticide and kill it.

Fungicides
A chemical used to kill fungus
Ex. Omg, a fungi! Go grab a fungicide and kill it.

Herbicides
A chemical agent that inhibits plant growth
Ex. Herbicide will kill those plants.

Pest
Any unwanted creature
Ex. Those rabbits keep destroying my crops, what pests!

Silviculture
The branch of forestry dealing with the development and care of forests
Ex. I want to join the silviculture branch to care for forests!

Viniculture
The cultivation of grapevines and grapes
Ex. I enjoy grapes, thats why I am a viniculturist.

Agriculture
Cultivating the land or raising stock.
Ex. Im an agriculturist, I have a nice farm I enjoy cultivating.

Rototilling
Using a rototiller
Ex. I just used my rototiller to churn my backyard's soil.

N-P-K
Stands for Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium
Ex. Key ingredients for fertilizer are N-P-K.

Cation
A positively charged ion
Ex. That atom has seven positively charged cations

Anion
A negatively charged ion
Ex. That atom has seven negatively charged anions.

Kingdoms
One of the three primary divisions into which natural objects are commonly classified
Ex. That plant is in the third kingdom that natural objects are placed in.

Archaebacteria
A group of microorganisms that have different inner workings that other organisms
Ex. THose archaebacteria are pesky because of their RNA

Eubacteria
A large group of bacteria having rigid cell walls
Ex. Those eubacteria's cell walls sure are rough!

Animals
Any such living organism other than a human being.
Ex. Animals aren't only fun to eat, you can play with some too!

Plants
A living organism with chlorophyll
Ex. Plants grow with water and sunlight

Fungi
The kingdom in which fungus are classified
Ex. There are fungi all over that decomposing log.

Protists
Free-living or colonial organisms with diverse modes
Ex. These protists sure are diverse.

Micrometer
A gauge that measures small distances or thicknesses or one millionth of a meter.
ex. I measured a small cell with my micrometer.

Flora
The plants of a particular region
Ex. Those flora are very red.

Fauna
The animals of a particular region
Ex. THose fauna are extra furry today.

Protozoa
A major grouping of the kingdom Protista
Ex. THose protozoa are so small and kind.

Nematodes
Unsegmented worms with elongated rounded ends
Ex. All of the the nematodes are destroying my garden.

Food web
A system of interlocking food chains
Ex. The food web cannot be messed with or off balance
Microarthropods
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton.
Ex. Those shrimp are microarthopods because of their genus

Photosynthesis
The process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water
Ex. The sunflower grew five feet from photosynthesis.

Exudates
A mass of cells that seep out of plant's roots
Ex. Those exudates attracted so many nematodes

Rhizosphere
The region of soil in the vicinity of plant roots.
Ex. There are too many phosphates in the plants rhizosphere

Amoeba
Naked freshwater parasitic protozoa
Ex. That amoeba is in the river to fee and reproduce

Paramecium
Ciliated freshwater protozoan,
Ex. That paramecium has a long, deep, oval groove

Flagellates
A protozoan that has one or more flagella used for swimming.
Ex. That sperm has three flagella for swimming! Deng!

Ciliates
A single celled animal of the phylum Ciliphora.
Ex. What a small ciliate, only one cell!

Microbes
A microorganism, esp. a bacterium causing disease or fermentation
Ex. That microbe is causing so much pain to that bird!

Chemosynthesis
The synthesis of organic compounds by energy derived from chemical reactions, typically in the absence of sunlight.
Ex. That organic compound is going through chemosynthesis

Wax and wane
waxes: grows larger
wanes: gets smaller
Ex. The tide is waxing and waning today

Fertilizer
A chemical or natural substance added to soil to increase its fertility
Ex. I added fertilizer to my tomatoes and they grew five feet in one week!

Arthropods
Invertebrate having jointed limbs and a segmented body with an exoskeleton made of chitin.
Ex. That small no-spine creature is an arthropod

Aggregates
A whole formed by combining several (typically disparate) elements
Ex. That large molecule is an aggregate

Fodder
Food, esp. dried hay or feed, for cattle and other livestock
Ex. I feed my mule fodder for all three meals.

Mycorrhiza(e)
A fungus that grows in association with the roots of a plant in a symbiotic or mildly pathogenic relationship.
Ex. That mycorrhiza is growing at the same pace as my elm tree.

Inhibitory
restrictive of action; "a repressive regime"; "an overly strict and inhibiting discipline".
Ex. That plant is inhibitory because of the wooden barrier I placed around it.

Streptomycin
An antibiotic produced by the bacterium Streptomyces griseus
Ex. A good antibiotic to cure your streptthroat would be streptomycin.

Ammonium
The cation NH4+, present in solutions of ammonia and in salts derived from ammonia.
Ex. I found quite a bit of ammonium while looking at that salt under the microscope.

Ecosystem
A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.
Ex. All of these beautiful organisms work so well together in the mountainous ecosystem.