B
Data and Resources
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B horizon
a subsurface soil layer that is immediately beneath the A horizon from which...
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background sample
Samples taken from areas that are not suspected of being contaminated and...
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bacterial antagonism
The ability of certain bacterial species to inhibit the growth of others,...
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bacterial competition
The interaction between organisms or species in an attempt to utilize...
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bacteriolysis
A process that damages the bacterial cell envelope and allows the leakage of...
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bacteriostasis
The state of bacterial cells that are no longer growing, either because they...
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bare soil
A land cover class that includes any geographic area dominated by natural...
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Baseline/reference
The state against which change is measured. In the context of transformation...
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Behavioural nudging
In behavioural sciences, it is proposed that positive reinforcement and...
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bench
(1) A step cut into the hillside to develop a horizontal cultivable strip....
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beneficial consumption (of water)
It is the part of water withdrawn from its source for irrigation that is...
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Benthic
Of, relating to, or occurring at the bottom of a body of water.
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bequest value
The value that people place on knowing that future generations will have the...
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Billion
10^9 (1 000 000 000)
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Bioaccumulation
The increase in concentration of a chemical in organisms. Also used to...
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Bioaccumulation of pollutants
Bioaccumulation refers to the gradual build-up over a period of time of a...
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bioaugmentation
Addition to the contaminated soil of living cells able to degrade the target...
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Biocapacity
The capacity of ecosystems to produce useful biological materials and to...
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Biochemical oxygen demand
A measure of the organic pollution of water: the amount of oxygen, in mg per...
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biocultural community protocol
Tools that facilitate culturally rooted, participatory decision-making...
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biocultural diversity
(1) Diversity of life in all its forms: biological, cultural and linguistic...
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Biodegradability
The susceptibility of an organic substance to biodegradation.
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biodegradable
Materials that are capable of being degraded by biological mechanisms.
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biodegradable panel
Measure used as other technical means in some fisheries to prevent ghost...
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Biodiversity
(1) The variety of life on Earth, including diversity at the genetic level,...
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Biodiversity Net Gain
Biodiversity Net Gain is an approach to development that leaves biodiversity...
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Bioenergy
(1) Renewable energy produced by living organisms. (2) Energy derived from...
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Biofuel
Fuel produced from dry organic matter or combustible oils from plants, such...
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Biogas
Gas, rich in methane, which is produced by the fermentation of animal dung,...
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Biogeochemical cycles
(1) The flow of chemical elements and compounds between living organisms...
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biological contaminant
(1) The presence in the environment of living organisms or agents derived by...
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Biological crusts
Communities of living organisms on the soil surface in arid- and semi-arid...
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biological fertility
It is the carbon content and activity of micro-organism biomass, micro-...
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Biological leaching
A technique used by the mining industry to extract minerals such as gold and...
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Biomagnification
The build-up of certain substances in the bodies of organisms at higher...
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Biomass
Organic material, above and below ground and in water, both living and dead,...
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Biome
A major ecological community or complex of communities, extending over a...
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biomimetics
The design and production of materials, structures, and systems that are...
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biomonitoring
Techniques used to measure the effect of environmental change on the...
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bioplastic
A blend of one or more bio-based polymers and additives.
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bioprocessing
The variety of industrial activities that employ enzymes, living micro or...
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Biopulping
The treatment of lignocellulosic materials with lignin-degrading fungi prior...
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bioreactor
(1) Device in which materials are treated to promote biochemical...
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bioremediation
The use of living organisms (bacteria, fungi, plants or animals) to remove,...
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Biosecurity
A series of measures aimed at preventing the introduction and/or spread of...
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biosludge
Sludge formed in the aeration basin during biological waste water treatment...
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Biosolids (sewage sludge)
(1) Stabilized organic solids derived from sewage treatment processes (mostly...
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Biosphere
The part of the Earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist or...
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biosphere reserve
(1) Sites recognized under UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme which...
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biostimulation
Changes in the environmental conditions to favor the growth of local...
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biota
A collective term for the animal and plant life of a region.
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Biotechnology
Any technique that encompasses a mix of scientific and practical disciplines...
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Biotic
Of, or relating to, or caused by living organisms.
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Bioturbation
Refers to the reworking of soil and sediments by macrofauna, animals or...
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Black carbon
(1) Operationally defined aerosol based on measurement of light absorption...
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Bleaching (of coral reefs)
A phenomenon occurring when corals under stress expel their mutualistic...
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blend wall
Refers to short run technical constraints that act as an impediment to...
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Blowing dust
Dust storm when visibility at eye level is reduced but not to less than 1000...
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blue economy
(1) Ocean resources: Sustainability and distributional equity of ocean...
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Blue water
Fresh surface and groundwater, in other words, the water in freshwater lakes,...
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Bottom-up
Progressing upward from the lowest levels (as of a stratified organization or...
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Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)
Commonly known as ‘mad cow disease’, BSE is a progressive, fatal disease of...
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Bovine tuberculosis
Zoonotic tuberculosis is a form of tuberculosis in people caused by...
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breakwater
A hard engineering structure built in the sea which, by breaking waves,...
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brownfields
Brownfields sites are abandoned, idled, or underused industrial and...
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Brucellosis
A bacterial infection that spreads from animals to people. Most commonly,...
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bulk density
Bulk density is the mass of dry soil per unit volume, typically expressed as...
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Burden of Disease
The burden of disease can be thought of as the measurement of the gap between...
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buried genetic horizon
Used in mineral soils to indicate identifiable buried horizons with major...
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buried soil
A soil covered by younger deposits.
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By-catch
The unwanted fish and other marine creatures caught during commercial fishing...
Additional Info
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Source | https://wesr-staging.azurewebsites.net/glossary/ajax/ajax.searchbyindex.php?q=B |
| Author | UNEP GEO |
| Maintainer | UNEP GEO |
| Last Updated | January 26, 2023, 06:22 (UTC) |
| Created | September 13, 2022, 18:17 (UTC) |
| GUID | unep-geo-glossary-letter-b |
| Issued | 2022-07-04 17:15:02 |
| Language | en |
| Modified | 2022-11-09 17:41:18 |
| Publisher name | UNEP GEO |
| Theme | Glossary |
| data_type | webpage |
| spatial | Global |