Glossary

Lawn sods are small square pieces of grass, which are mainly used for greening sports fields and gardens.

Mediterranean climate refers to the macro climate in the subtropical areas. Characteristic of this are mild winters with many hours of sunshine and hot, rainy summers. The areas characterised by a Mediterranean climate are located near the 40th degree latitude.

“Used land” refers to areas that have been directly and permanently changed by humans for construction, transport, leisure, other purposes through construction or through mining areas and have lost their biological productivity.

Herbicides are chemical weed killers used primarily in agriculture to damage or kill plants that compete with crops.

The water and air-filled cavities in the soil are called “soil pores”. The pore space represents the entirety of all soil pores. Pore spaces and pore size distributions can be very different depending on the grain size distribution, the soil structure, the content of organic matter and the humus form.

Recycling means the treatment and reuse of waste for new products.

Due to the filter function of the soil, even very small dirt or pollutant particles can be bound in seeping water. This prevents contamination of the groundwater.

The adjective “eutrophic” has a Greek origin and means “rich in nutrients” but also “over-fertilised”. The process of eutrophication describes the excessive growth of plants in lakes due to an increased nutrient intake. Nitrogen and phosphorus compounds in particular cause eutrophication. The degradation of the plant masses leads to a drop in the oxygen content

The fauna – also called “animal world” – includes all animals and their habitat.

Nutrients and energy are passed on in cycles in almost all ecosystems. Producers are the organisms that produce biomass. These are mainly plants and bacteria. Consumers consume this biomass and are dependent energy-wise on the producers. Consumers are mainly humans and animals. Decomposers are the creatures in the producer-consumer-decomposer cycle that are responsible for breaking

The soil’s buffering function describes its ability to neutralise acids in order to keep the pH constant.

Acids are substances that cause a pH value of less than 7 in an aqueous solution. The pH of bases is between 7 and 14. Acids and bases usually react with one another in what is known as an acid-base reaction and can neutralise one another.

The term refers to the formation of the earth’s surface or the shape of a terrain and can be described, for example, on the basis of differences in height, slope and distance.