The variety of industrial activities that employ enzymes, living micro or higher organisms for the manufacturing of intermediate and/or end products. Bioprocessing is the upstream conversion of basic material. It is usually followed by downstream purification. Bioprocessing results in the creation of value to basic material.
The value that people place on knowing that future generations will have the option to enjoy something. Thus, it is measured by peoples ‘willingness to pay’’ to preserve the natural environment for future generations.
Techniques used to measure the effect of environmental change on the biological species present. This may be measured in terms of numbers present, or diversity, or more often by indicator species, whose disappearance or disturbance gives an early warning of the degradation of an ecosystem.
The increase in concentration of a chemical in organisms. Also used to describe the progressive increase in the amount of a chemical in an organism resulting from rates of absorption of a substance in excess of its metabolism and excretion.
(1) Renewable energy produced by living organisms. (2) Energy derived from any form of biomass such as recently living organisms or their metabolic by- products.
(1) Stabilized organic solids derived from sewage treatment processes (mostly resulting from the biological treatment of wastewater) which can be managed safely to be used beneficially for their nutrient, soil conditioning, energy, or other values (2) Sludge and other residue deposits obtained from residual water treatment plants and from treatment applied to urban and industrial wastes (food industries or other types of industry). Nutrient-rich organic materials resulting from the treatment of sewage sludge (the name for the solid, semisolid or liquid residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment facility).
The state of bacterial cells that are no longer growing, either because they have reached the stationary phase or because a bacteriostatic agent has been added.
A hard engineering structure built in the sea which, by breaking waves, protects a harbour, anchorage, beach or shore area.
a subsurface soil layer that is immediately beneath the A horizon from which it obtains organic matter chiefly by illuviation and is usually distinguished by less weathering.
Addition to the contaminated soil of living cells able to degrade the target contaminant.
A phenomenon occurring when corals under stress expel their mutualistic microscopic algae, called zooxanthellae. This results in a severe decrease or even total loss of photosynthetic pigments. Since most reef-building corals have white calcium carbonate skeletons, these then show through the corals’ tissue and the coral reef appears bleached.
Samples taken from areas that are not suspected of being contaminated and therefore provide a measure of the natural level of the contaminants from the surrounding area.
Bioaccumulation refers to the gradual build-up over a period of time of a chemical in an organism's body. When an organism absorbs a substance - in this case, a pollutant - from a medium such as water, that pollutant is then distributed throughout the organism's system. Predators that consume these organisms can receive the pollutants as well. The phenomena can cause significant environmental health risks. A variety of different pollutants commonly cause problems with bioaccumulation.
A major ecological community or complex of communities, extending over a large geographical area and characterized by a dominant type of vegetation. This reflects the ecological and physiognomic characteristics of the vegetation and broadly corresponds to climatic regions of the Earth.
Materials that are capable of being degraded by biological mechanisms.
Zoonotic tuberculosis is a form of tuberculosis in people caused by Mycobacterium bovis, which belongs to the M. tuberculosis complex. It often affects sites other than the lungs, but in many cases is clinically indistinguishable from TB caused by M. tuberculosis. Within animal populations, M. bovis is the causative agent of bovine TB. It mainly affects cattle, which are the most important animal reservoir, and can become established in wildlife. The disease results in important economic losses and trade barriers with a major impact on the livelihoods of poor and marginalized communities.
(1) Sites recognized under UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme which innovate and demonstrate approaches to conservation and sustainable development. (2) Areas of terrestrial and coastal/marine ecosystems where, through appropriate zoning patterns and land management, the conservation of ecosystems and their biodiversity is combined with the sustainable use of natural resources for the benefit of local communities.
Of, or relating to, or caused by living organisms.
The state against which change is measured. In the context of transformation pathways, the term ‘baseline scenarios’ refers to scenarios that are based on the assumption that no mitigation policies or measures will be implemented beyond those that are already in force and/or are legislated or planned to be adopted. Baseline scenarios are not intended to be predictions of the future, but rather counterfactual constructions that can serve to highlight the level of emissions that would occur without further policy effort. Typically, baseline scenarios are then compared to mitigation scenarios that are constructed to meet different goals for greenhouse gas emissions, atmospheric concentrations or temperature change. The term ‘baseline scenario’ is used interchangeably with ‘reference scenario’ and ‘no policy scenario’. In much of the literature the term is also synonymous with the term ‘business as usual (BAU) scenario’, although the term ‘BAU’ has fallen out of favour because the idea of ‘business-as-usual’ in century-long socioeconomic projections is hard to fathom.
A land cover class that includes any geographic area dominated by natural abiotic surfaces (bare soil, sand, rocks, etc.) where the natural vegetation is absent or almost absent (covers less than 2 per cent).
Fresh surface and groundwater, in other words, the water in freshwater lakes, rivers and aquifers. The blue water footprint is the volume of surface and groundwater consumed as a result of the production of a good or service. Blue water consumption refers to the volume of freshwater used and then evaporated or incorporated into a product. It also includes water abstracted from surface or groundwater in a catchment and returned to another catchment or the sea. It is the amount of water abstracted from groundwater or surface water that does not return to the catchment from which it was withdrawn.
Sludge formed in the aeration basin during biological waste water treatment or biological treatment process and separated by sedimentation. The sludge can be dewatered and further processed into solid biofuel.
Measure used as other technical means in some fisheries to prevent ghost fishing.
(1) The variety of life on Earth, including diversity at the genetic level, among species and among ecosystems and habitats. It includes diversity in abundance, distribution and behavior, as well as interaction with socio-ecological systems. Biodiversity also incorporates human cultural diversity, which can both be affected by the same drivers as biodiversity, and itself has impacts on the diversity of genes, other species and ecosystems. (2) The variability among living organisms from all sources, including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems, as well as the ecological complexes of which they are part. Biodiversity includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.
A process that damages the bacterial cell envelope and allows the leakage of intracellular constituents.
Fuel produced from dry organic matter or combustible oils from plants, such as alcohol from fermented sugar or maize, and oils derived from oil palm, rapeseed or soybeans.
A blend of one or more bio-based polymers and additives.
Used in mineral soils to indicate identifiable buried horizons with major genetic features that were formed before burial.
Bulk density is the mass of dry soil per unit volume, typically expressed as g cm^-3. The proportion of mineral versus organic particles, to a large extent, determine bulk density.
Brownfields sites are abandoned, idled, or underused industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination.
The treatment of lignocellulosic materials with lignin-degrading fungi prior to pulping.
A technique used by the mining industry to extract minerals such as gold and copper from their ores. Traditional extractions involve many expensive steps such as roasting and smelting, which requires sufficient concentrations of elements in ores. Low concentrations are not a problem for bacteria because they simply ignore the waste which surrounds the metals, attaining extraction yields of over 90% in some cases. These microorganisms actually gain energy by breaking down minerals into their constituent elements.
It is the carbon content and activity of micro-organism biomass, micro-organism community structure, presence of pathogens, etc.
The burden of disease can be thought of as the measurement of the gap between current health status and an ideal health situation where the entire population lives to an advanced age, free of disease and disability.
Organic material, above and below ground and in water, both living and dead, such as trees, crops, grasses, tree litter and roots.
The ability of certain bacterial species to inhibit the growth of others, through competition for food or release of toxic products.
Communities of living organisms on the soil surface in arid- and semi-arid ecosystems (e.g., algae, lichens, mosses).
The interaction between organisms or species in an attempt to utilize environmental resources common to two organisms or species.
The build-up of certain substances in the bodies of organisms at higher trophic levels of food webs. Organisms at lower trophic levels accumulate small amounts. Organisms at the next higher level of the food chain eat many of these lower-level organisms and hence accumulate larger amounts. The tissue concentration increases at each trophic level in the food web when there is efficient uptake and slow elimination
(1) Operationally defined aerosol based on measurement of light absorption and chemical reactivity and/or thermal stability. Black carbon is formed through the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuel and biomass, and is emitted as part of anthropogenic and naturally occurring soot. It consists of pure carbon in several linked forms. Black carbon warms the Earth by absorbing sunlight and re-emitting heat to the atmosphere and by reducing albedo (the ability to reflect sunlight) when deposited on snow and ice. (2) The substance formed through the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels, and biomass, which is emitted in both anthropogenic and naturally occurring soot. It consists of pure carbon in several linked forms. Black carbon warms the Earth by absorbing heat in the atmosphere and by reducing albedo – the ability to reflect sunlight – when deposited on snow and ice.
(1) The flow of chemical elements and compounds between living organisms (biosphere) and the physical environment (atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere). (2) The fluxes of chemical elements among different parts of the Earth: from living to non-living, from atmosphere to land to water, and from soils to plants.
(1) Device in which materials are treated to promote biochemical transformation by the action of living cells or by in vitro cellular components such as enzymes. They are widely employed in the food and fermentation industries, in waste treatment, and in many biomedical facilities. (2)An apparatus in which a suspension of microorganisms in a liquid are used to perform chemical reactions, as in synthesis of pharmaceutical agents or the conversion of harmful waste to less harmful substances. The reactor consists of a vessel to contain the suspension of microorganisms, plus a variety of attached devices used to control the reaction.
A measure of the organic pollution of water: the amount of oxygen, in mg per litre of water, absorbed by a sample kept at 20°C for five days.
Tools that facilitate culturally rooted, participatory decision-making processes within communities with the aim of asserting rights over their communally managed lands and traditional knowledge.
A bacterial infection that spreads from animals to people. Most commonly, people are infected by eating raw or unpasteurized dairy products. Sometimes, the bacteria that cause brucellosis can spread through the air or through direct contact with infected animals. The infection can usually be treated with antibiotics but treatment takes several weeks to months, and the infection can recur. Brucellosis affects hundreds of thousands of people and animals worldwide.
The susceptibility of an organic substance to biodegradation.
Progressing upward from the lowest levels (as of a stratified organization or system).
Of, relating to, or occurring at the bottom of a body of water.
A collective term for the animal and plant life of a region.
Changes in the environmental conditions to favor the growth of local microbial population.
Dust storm when visibility at eye level is reduced but not to less than 1000 metres.
Refers to the reworking of soil and sediments by macrofauna, animals or plants and may include displacing soil by plant roots, digging by burrowing animals (such as termites, earthworms, or rodents), pushing sediment aside (such as in animal tracks), or eating and excreting sediment, as earthworms do.
The design and production of materials, structures, and systems that are modelled on biological entities and processes.
Gas, rich in methane, which is produced by the fermentation of animal dung, human sewage or crop residues in an airtight container.
Refers to short run technical constraints that act as an impediment to increased ethanol use.
(1) Ocean resources: Sustainability and distributional equity of ocean resources. (2) Economy: Developing the green economy with entrepreneurship that draws on design principles provided by ecosystems.
The use of living organisms (bacteria, fungi, plants or animals) to remove, destroy or sequester hazardous substances from the environment.
(1) Diversity of life in all its forms: biological, cultural and linguistic diversity, inter- (and probably co-evolved) within a socio-ecological complex adaptive system. (2) It is considered as biological diversity and cultural diversity and the links between them.
Any technique that encompasses a mix of scientific and practical disciplines and employs living organisms, or parts of such organisms, to make or modify products, to improve plants or animals or to develop microorganisms for specific uses. Biotechnological methods range from the traditional (beer- and bread- making) to the most advanced (genetically modified plants and animals, cell therapies and nanotechnology).
The part of the Earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist or that is capable of supporting life.
It is the part of water withdrawn from its source for irrigation that is either consumed by crops as a result of transpiration or captured as biomass.
The unwanted fish and other marine creatures caught during commercial fishing for a different species.
A series of measures aimed at preventing the introduction and/or spread of harmful organisms in order to manage the risk to people, animals, plants and the environment. Biosecurity covers issues such as the introduction of plant pests, animal pests and diseases, and zoonoses, the introduction and release of genetically modified organisms and their products, and the introduction and management of invasive alien species and genotypes. The COVID-19 pandemic is a recent example of a threat that requires biosecurity policies and regulatory measures in all relevant sectors.
(1) The presence in the environment of living organisms or agents derived by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and mammal and bird antigens that can cause many health effects. (2) Any unwanted organism or substance included in the commerce of natural enemies that poses a risk to the health of natural enemies, humans and/or ecosystems.
(1) A step cut into the hillside to develop a horizontal cultivable strip. (2) Benches are long bowls, designed parallel to contour lines.
Biodiversity Net Gain is an approach to development that leaves biodiversity in a better state than before. Where a development has an impact on biodiversity it encourages developers to provide an increase in appropriate natural habitat and ecological features over and above that being affected in such a way it is hoped that the current loss of biodiversity through development will be halted and ecological networks can be restored.
The capacity of ecosystems to produce useful biological materials and to absorb waste materials generated by humans, using current management schemes and extraction technologies. The biocapacity of an area is calculated by multiplying the actual physical area by the yield factor and the appropriate equivalence factor. Biocapacity is usually expressed in units of global hectares.
In behavioural sciences, it is proposed that positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions can influence the behaviour and decision-making of groups or individuals. Nudging contrasts with other ways to achieve compliance, such as education, legislation or enforcement.
Commonly known as ‘mad cow disease’, BSE is a progressive, fatal disease of the nervous system of cattle caused by the accumulation of an abnormal protein called ‘prion’ in nervous tissue. First detected in 1986, the implementation of appropriate control measures resulted in the decline of classical BSE cases worldwide. BSE is considered zoonotic due to its assumed link with the emergence of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.