glossary of terms Ecosystem – a community of organisms and its nonliving, physical environment; a dynamic complex of plant, animal, fungal, and microorganism communities and their associated non-living environment interacting as an ecological unit. Ecosystem engineer – any organism that creates or modifies habitats by either mechanically changing materials from one form to another, as beavers do, or by modifying themselves, such as trees that create habitat for other living things. Ecosystem services – benefits to humans from a multitude of resources and processes that are supplied by natural ecosystems, such as clean drinking water and processes such as the decomposition of wastes. Ecosystem services are divided into four broad categories: provisioning, such as the production of food and water; regulating, such as the control of climate and disease; supporting, such as nutrient cycles and crop pollination; and cultural, such as spiritual and recreational benefits.
Functional taxonomy – a function-based organization scheme exploring how organisms meet different challenges. Information on AskNature.org is organized by this taxonomy, also called the Biomimicry Taxonomy. Habitat – the natural environment or place where an organism, population, or species lives. Key slow variable – a crucial, key element involved in a gradual change occurring in an ecosystem. The element can either act as a driver in the functioning of a system, or be involved in a process that produces a negative outcome such as the gradual rise in the salt-water table to the surface in agricultural lands. Some examples of slow variables include climate, land use, nutrient stocks, human values, and policies. Slow variables are difficult to track and detect and usually only recognized after a threshold has been crossed and large-scale ecological and social changes have occurred.
Ecosystem structure – the physical patterns of life forms at all scales from the individual physiognomy of an organism to the vertical layers of vegetation to the horizontal distribution across the landscape.
Keystone species – a species that has a disproportionate effect on its environment relative to its biomass. Such species play a critical role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community, affecting many other organisms in an ecosystem and helping to determine the types and numbers of various other species in the community.
Ecotone – a transition area between two adjacent but different patches of landscape, such as forest and grassland.
Life, nature – interchangeable terms referring to biota and the community and ecosystems in which it lives.
Emulate – to mimic deep patterns or principles rather than directly copy them.
Life’s Principles – a set of patterns exhibited by life that contributes to life’s ability to survive and thrive.
Food web – the complex network of interactions among species observed in nature that represent food relationships such as herbivory and predation.
Nature as model, measure, mentor – • Model – applying, imitating or taking inspiration from nature’s designs and processes to solve human problems. • Measure – using an ecological standard to judge the “rightness” of our innovations. • Mentor – valuing nature for what we can learn from it and not for what we can extract from it.
Function – the action for which an organism is specifically fitted or used, or for which a thing exists; purpose. The mode of action by which something fulfills its purpose. Also in generalized application, as contrasted with structure.
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APPENDICES
Niche – the functional role of a species within a community, dependent on the organism’s structural adaptations, physiological responses, and behavior.