Glossary

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

Expanded shale consists of crushed shale. The grains have a plate-like shape and are very light.

See P – producer-consumer-decomposer cycle

Synthetic fertilisers or mineral fertilisers are inorganic plant fertilisers that can be used in conventional agriculture. The most common ingredients are nitrogen and phosphate compounds.

The habitat and the organisms living in it are called ecosystems. The plants, animals, microorganisms and the non-living environment all interact.

Fossils are the remains of living things or traces of living things that are more than 10,000 years old. The formation of fossils is called “fossilisation”. Fossils are formed when dead living beings are sealed off from oxygen in sediment and no more change processes take place in the earth’s crust.

Mapping means the graphic representation of objects and facts of the earth’s surface on maps or in plans.

Sod tiles are pieces of grass separated from the ground with a thin layer of soil in which the roots are located.

In botany, transpiration describes the evaporation of water through the leaves of plants.

All atmospheric circulation systems are summarized under the term “planetary circulation” (also called general, planetary or global circulation). The weather dynamics in the earth’s atmosphere are determined by their interaction.

Physical influences such as wind, water, heat and cold, or chemical processes such as chalk leaching from limestone mountains cause cracks in the rock. When it rains on limestone, carbonic acid (H2CO3) is formed from H2O and CO2 and dissolves limescale. Soil organisms can also alter the soil chemically and roots can mechanically reshape the

The adjective anthropogenic denotes changes in the environment caused by humans.

A person’s ecological footprint is a measure of the space required to support their lifestyle. This includes food, clothing, mobility and various resources. If one divides the biologically productive usable area of the earth (2010: 11.9 billion ha) among the earth’s population, about 1.7 ha are allotted to each person. The average footprint of Austrians

This chemical substance is better known by its trivial name, laughing gas. The chemical molecular formula is N2O. Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas and contributes to global warming. The gas is mainly used as an anaesthetic.

Volatile organic compounds – VOCs for short – are organic substances with a low boiling point. They are found in many solvents, woods, paints and sealants.

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.

In conventional farming it is permissible to use artificial fertilisers, pesticides* and herbicides* as well as artificial feed additives in the prescribed amounts in order to increase yield. Livestock may be treated with stronger drugs than in organic farming. This puts a strain on the environment and brings lower prices for the products compared to

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.