| Term |
Description |
|
Adventive |
Spreading from a native or naturalized source, but not yet well
established. |
|
Annual |
A plant with a life span of one growing season. |
|
Biennial |
A plant that completes its life cycle in two growing seasons,
usually flowering and fruiting
during the second season. |
|
Biodiversity |
The variety of living things, both plants and animals, that
live in a particular place. |
|
Biomass |
The total quantity or weight of organisms in
a given area or of a given species. |
|
Clay |
An inorganic soil component having particles that are less than
0.002 millimetres in diameter. |
|
Cool season |
Describes a plant that achieves most of its growth early in
the growing season, and then later in the cool fall season. |
|
Core species |
Species that are common in a particular ecological community
and geographical area. Planting projects should make use of
the core species occurring within the county or municipality
where the project is located in order to complete a locally
appropriate, balanced and diverse planting. |
|
Damping off |
The collapse of seedling plants at the soil level; caused by
fungal growth and encouraged by overwatering, poor drainage,
overcrowding or poor handling techniques. |
|
Diatomaceous earth |
A substance made from the silica cell walls of microscopic algae
that kills soft-bodied invertebrates by puncturing their skin. |
|
Dibble |
A hand-held tool with a pointed end; used for making holes in
the ground for plug plants. |
|
Ecological community |
A naturally occurring group of organisms that live and interact
together. |
|
Ecology |
The study of plants and animals and their environment. |
|
Endangered |
Describes a plant, animal or ecological community threatened
with extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its
range. |
|
Exotic |
Describes a plant (i.e., most weeds) or animal that is not native
to the region in question, having originated in another region. |
|
Firebreak |
A barrier that stops a fire and contains it in a controlled
area. A firebreak can be a road, a river, a ploughed strip of
ground or a bare, burned patch of ground. |
|
Flora |
The plants of a particular geographical area, or a document
listing the plant species found in a
particular area. |
|
Forb |
A specialized term for any non-grassy herbaceous plant. Used
particularly for the broad-leaved plants of prairies. |
|
Genetic diversity |
The variability, within a species, of the genetic material that
forms the basis of inherited qualities. |
|
Germination |
The beginning of the growth of a seed into a plant. |
|
Girdle |
To kill a woody plant by removing bark in a ring around the
trunk. |
|
Grass |
Any plant having narrow leaves with parallel veins, small flowers
and stems with joints that appear as easily visible bulges where
the leaves attach – that is, any plant of the Grass family
(whose botanical name is Poaceae). |
|
Habitat |
The place where a plant or animal lives. |
|
Harden off |
Adjusting plants that are raised indoors or in a greenhouse
to outdoor conditions. This is usually achieved by gradual exposure
to outdoor conditions. |
|
Herbaceous |
Describes an annual, biennial or perennial plant that is not
woody and dies back at the end of the growing season. |
|
Herbicide |
A chemical that is used to kill plants. |
|
Invasive plant |
A plant that reproduces so aggressively that it displaces other
plant species in the area. |
|
Invertebrate |
An animal that does not possess a backbone – for example,
insects and spiders. |
|
Legume |
A plant having seeds in pods and usually root nodules able to
“fix” nitrogen from the air – that is, any
plant of the Pea, Bean or Legume family (whose botanical name
is Fabaceae, formerly Leguminosae). |
|
Loam |
A class of soil texture that is composed of sand, silt and clay.
Silt is an inorganic soil component with particles ranging between
0.002 and 0.02 millimetres in diameter. |
|
Mesic |
Habitat containing a moderate amount of moisture – that
is, having average moisture conditions. |
|
Natural gardening |
A gardening approach that involves the use of mostly native
plants, usually with emphasis on form, colour and texture. Arrangement
of plants is usually based on naturalistic rather than formal
patterns. Plants are not necessarily native to the place where
they are planted. |
|
Naturalization |
Any effort to convert managed landscapes to more natural and
naturally evolving landscapes, relatively free of human intervention. |
|
No-Pest® strip |
A resin vaporizer strip impregnated with insecticide, which
is typically used to kill flies and mosquitoes indoors. |
|
No-till |
A technique used to plant seed or plants in the soil without
turning over the soil (i.e., no ploughing or discing). This
technique helps reduce soil erosion and seed-bank germination. |
|
Perennial |
A plant that has a life span of more than two growing seasons. |
|
pH |
A number used to indicate the degree of acidity or alkalinity
of soils and solutions. Values lower than about 7 indicate acidity;
higher values indicate alkaline conditions. |
|
Plug |
A seedling plant growing in a cylinder of soil, with roots fully
formed and some top growth unless dormant. Plugs are grown individually
in separate cells in a tray. Trays vary in depth, size and number
of cells. |
|
Prescribed burn |
A carefully planned and authorized set and controlled fire. |
|
Remnant |
The small portion that remains of an ecological community that
was once much larger but that is now nearly destroyed. |
|
Restoration |
The process of renewing and maintaining ecosystem health by
turning a degraded or altered site back into a biologically
diverse natural state. More precisely, it restores an ecosystem
that formerly existed on the site, with the use of appropriate
native plant material from local sources. |
|
Reverse fertilization |
See soil impoverishment. |
|
Sand |
An inorganic soil component whose particles range between 0.02
and 2 millimetres in diameter. |
|
Savanna |
A type of ecological community that is similar to prairie but
also contains widely spaced oak, red cedar, hickory, ash, plum
or hawthorn trees. |
|
Sedge |
A grass-like herbaceous plant having stems that are triangular
in cross-section; found mainly in damp and marshy habitats. |
|
Soil impoverishment |
A technique that temporarily reduces the amount of nitrogen
available to plants. This is done by incorporating high-carbon
material, such as sawdust, into the soil of the planting site.
Nitrogen in the soil assists in the decomposition of this material
and is unavailable to plants during the time it does so. |
|
Stewardship |
The process and attitude of taking responsibility for fostering
a healthy environment and for passing such an environment on
to future generations. Stewardship is an especially important
aspect of landownership. |
|
Stratification |
The simulation of the soil conditions of fall and winter. Seeds
are placed in a moist, sterile potting medium or sand, or kept
in a cold dry place – depending on the treatment strategy
(see Appendix B). |
|
Succession |
A series of natural changes that occur in an ecological community
over time – for example, the changes that occur as a piece
of bare ground eventually turns into a forest. |
|
Threatened |
Describes a plant or animal that is likely to become endangered
if limiting factors are not reversed. |
|
Topography |
The surface features of a landscape. |
|
Viability |
Describes the likelihood that a seed will germinate. |
|
Vulnerable |
xA species of special concern because of characteristics that
make it particularly sensitive to human activities or natural
events. |
|
Warm season |
Describes a plant that starts its growth relatively late in
the spring, after the soil has warmed up, and typically remains
active even through dry periods of the summer (e.g., many species
of prairie ecosystems). |
|
Weed |
A plant that is growing where it is not wanted. |
|
Weed diversity |
The variety of weed species in a particular area or planting. |
|
Wildlife |
Term for all wild living animals and plants. |
|
Wildlife diversity |
The variety of species of wild living things in a particular
ecosystem. |
