Glossary

A volcanic eruption describes the partially explosive emergence of magma from a volcano.

This term describes chemical agents for the destruction of plant and animal pests of all kinds.

Sphagnum mosses feed their water balance solely from rainwater and are built up almost exclusively from peat-forming mosses. Due to the high-water level (lack of oxygen and increased acidity), organic residues hardly decompose, and peat build-up takes place very slowly (approx. 1 mm per year). Peat bogs develop on impermeable mineral soils or on fens.

Bogs are wet habitats overgrown with low vegetation. They consist of 95 percent water and are therefore large water reservoirs. Bogs are habitats in which more organic matter forms than is decomposed. In addition, peatlands are important carbon reservoirs. Almost half of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is bound in bogs.

See P – producer-consumer-decomposer cycle

The term “soil beings / creatures” (Edaphon) is used to refer to all the organisms living in the soil.

Biomass-based fuels (e.g., from grain, corn, sugar cane), which can be used for engines and are sometimes mixed with fossil fuels in Austria.

The adjective “biogenic” means “created by (the activity of) living beings, formed from dead beings”.

The southern hemisphere is the part of the earth located south of the equator.

“Edaphon” refers to all of the organisms living in the soil (soil beings/creatures).

Atmospheric deposition means the deposition of atmospheric air admixtures on natural and artificial surfaces.

Cellulose and lignin are components of the cell walls of plants. At around 50 percent, cellulose is the main component and is therefore the most common organic compound. Lignin is deposited in the cell walls and leads to wood formation, also called “lignification”, of the cell wall.

To classify different soils, a distinction is made between soil types such as brown soil, podzol, gley, etc. The soil types are systematically classified with diagnostic features and properties. The characteristic horizons and horizon sequences play a major role for the classification.

Meteorology is the study of the physical and chemical processes in the atmosphere. The people who work in this field are called meteorologists. They deal, for example, with weather forecasts and climatology.

Dioxin is a collective term for chemically similar, chlorine-containing and persistent organic substances, which are highly toxic even in small quantities. They are found everywhere in the environment and are ingested through food. Because of their high fat solubility, they accumulate in humans, animals and the environment.