A Place to Call Home Glossary

Condition that is lacking molecular oxygen. Under this condition, organisms that do not require molecular oxygen will survive and funtion well.

(Plant community). An assemblage of plants occurring together at any point in time, while denoting no particular ecological status. A unit of vegetation.

The process by which soil particles are rearranged to decrease void space and bring them into closer contact with one another, thereby increasing the bulk density.

A characteristic that distinguishes a herb from a woody; no persistant, woody tissue above ground.

A plant that lives three or more years.

Negative log of the hydrogen ion concentration (pH = -log [H⁺]), the higher the pH of an environment the less H⁺ ion concentration, the more basic the environment becomes.

Spaces in soil, between the mineral and organic matter, that are filled with water or air.

The amount of water held in soil pores against the pull of gravity.