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Clearcutting

A timber harvesting technique that involves removing all or almost all the trees within an area.

Deforestation

The removal of trees faster than forests can replace themselves.

Ecological footprint

A measure of the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources.

Floodplain

The land area adjacent to a river that will flood at times.

Groundwater

Water that fills the cracks and spaces in underground soil and rock layers.

Heat island

An urban area with warmer temperatures than in the surrounding countryside due to concrete and asphalt.

Impervious

A hard area that doesn’t allow water to seep into the ground; water runs off instead.

Infiltration

Downward movement of water from the soil surface into lower layers.

Ogallala Aquifer

A large area of groundwater under the Great Plains; important freshwater source.

Prescribed burn

A controlled fire used to reduce fuel and the risk of large wildfires.

Recharge

The replenishment of an aquifer by absorption of water.

Restoration

The process of cleaning up and rehabilitating degraded land.

Rotational grazing

Confining animals to a small area for a short time, then moving them to a new area.

Runoff

Water that moves across land into rivers/lakes instead of soaking in.

Rural

Land with low population density and large open spaces.