Cross-unit AP Environmental Science vocabulary spanning ecosystems, resources, and pollution used across the exam. Front: the term. Back: a plain-language definition.
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- Ecosystem
- A community of living organisms interacting with each other and their physical environment, including soil, water, and atmosphere.
- Biome
- A large geographic area with similar climate, vegetation, and wildlife; examples include rainforests, deserts, and tundra.
- Niche
- The specific role or function of an organism in its environment, including what it eats, where it lives, and how it interacts with other species.
- Habitat
- The physical place where an organism or population lives, characterized by specific environmental conditions.
- Population
- All the individuals of one species living in the same geographic area at the same time.
- Community
- All the different populations of species living and interacting together in the same area.
- Biodiversity
- The variety of different species, genes, and ecosystems in a region or on Earth.
- Succession
- The gradual change in species composition of a community over time, following a disturbance or on bare land.
- Primary succession
- The process of community development starting on bare rock or soil with no previous life, such as after a volcanic eruption.
- Secondary succession
- The process of community recovery and change on land that was previously inhabited but has been disturbed, such as after a forest fire.
- Climax community
- The final, stable community that develops after succession is complete and remains relatively unchanged without major disturbance.
- Pioneer species
- The first organisms to colonize bare or disturbed areas, typically hardy species like lichens and mosses that help build soil.
- Carrying capacity
- The maximum population size of a species that an environment can sustain indefinitely given available resources.
- Limiting factor
- Any resource or condition that restricts the growth or survival of a population, such as water, food, or space.
- Trophic level
- A feeding level in an ecosystem, such as producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, or decomposer.