Geography - Terminology For Final Exam

LOCKIN (im cooked)

Biomes

large-scale regions of the earth classified by similar climate, vegetation and animal life. examples: desert, tundra, rainforests, grasslands

Ecosystem

a community of living organisms (plants, animals, microorganisms) interacting with each other and with their non-living environment (soil, water, climate). Ecosystems can be as small as a pond or as large as a rainforest

Climate Change

long-term shifts in global or regional climate patterns, largely driven today by human activities (like burning fossil fuels and deforestation). It includes rising global temperatures, melting ice caps, sea level rise, and changes in weather extremes

Biophysical Processes

natural processes that shape and sustain environments, involving the interaction of various systems. The four main ones are: atmospheric, hydrological, geomorphic and biological

Environment

the total surroundings in which living things exist, including both natural (air, water, land, ecosystems) and human-made (cities, infrastructure) components

Biodiversity

the variety of life on earth at all levels: genetic diversity (differences within species), species diversity (range of species in an area) and ecosystem diversity (variety of habitats)

Absolute Poverty

a lack of access to the minimum or essentials for living

Cash Crops

crops grown for sale rather than consumption

Colonialism

the practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it and exploting it economically

Debt Bondage

an arrangement wereby a person is forced to pay off a loan with direct labour in place of currency, over an agreed or indeterminate period of time 

Developed World

the industralised and economically advanced countries of the world

Developing World

the low middle-income countries of the world 

Development

a process of change that results in an improvement in the quanlity of a life of a community. It usually involves reducing poverty

Economic Growth

the growth in the productive capacity of the economy (and in national income)

Fertility Rate

the average number of children born to each woman

Indentured Servitude 

a abour system wereby a person is bound to work for another for a specific period of time 

Industrial Revolution

a period of major industrialisation that took palce in Britian and the rest of Europe during the late 1700s and early 1800s

Life Expectancy

the average period that a person may expect to live

Maternal Mortaility

the death of a mother during childbirth

Middle Class

the social class positioned between the upper and working class 

Relative Poverty

a condition in which people are unable to maintain the average standard of living in the society they live in

Sanitation

the infrastructure related to the collection and disposal of human waste

Slavery

a person being owned as property by another person

Slum 

a run-down established neighbourhood in which most people live in poverty 

Social Infrastructure

the basic facilities nevessary for human development; includes health (hospitals), education (schools) and housing

Subsistence Production

production at a level sufficient for a person’s own use or consumption, without any surplus for trade