Environmental

Urban- an area that contains a city.

2. Rural- an area of open land that is often used for farming.

3. Ecosystem services- the role organisms play in creating a healthful environment for humans.

4. Urbanization- an increase in the ratio or density of people living in urban areas rather than in rural areas.

5. Infrastructure- the basic facilities of a country or region, such as roads, bridges, and sewers.

6. Urban Sprawl- the rapid spread of a city into adjoining suburbs and rural areas.

7. Heat Island- an area in which the air temperature is generally higher than the temperature of the surrounding rural areas.

8. Land-use planning- a set of policies and activities related to potential uses of land that is put in place before an area is developed.

9. Geographic Information System (GIS)- an automated system for capturing, storing, retrieving, analyzing, manipulating, and displaying geographic data.

10. Overgrazing- the depletion of vegetation due to continuous feeding of too many animals.

11. Deforestation- the process of clearing forests.

12. Reforestation- the reestablishment and development of trees in a forest land.

13. Wilderness- a region that is not cultivated and that is not inhabited by humans.

1. Famine- widespread malnutrition and starvation in an area due to a shortage of food, usually caused by a catastrophic event.

2. Malnutrition- a disorder of nutrition that results when a person does not consume enough of each of the nutrients that are needed by the human body.

3. Diet- the type and amount of food that a person eats.

4. Yield-the amount of crops produced per unit area.

5. Arable land- farmland that can be used to grow crops.

6. Topsoil- the surface layer of the soil, which is usually richer in organic matter than the subsoil is.

7. Erosion- a process in which the materials of Earth’s surface are loosened, dissolved, or worn away and transported from one place to another by a natural agent, such as wind, water, ice, or gravity.

8. Desertification- the process by which human activities or climatic changes make arid or semiarid areas more desertlike.

9. Compost- a mixture of decomposing organic matter, such as manure and rotting plants, that is used as fertilizer and soil conditioner.