Diffusivity (thermal) - The ratio of a material’s ability to transport energy over its capacity to store energy. Direct Radiation - Direct beam radiation which has not been previously reflected, scattered, or absorbed by other objects. Diurnal - Of or in the daytime. Diversity - A measure of the variety of species in a community that takes into account the relative abundance of each species. Ecosystem - An energy-driven complex of a community of organisms and its controlling environment. Emissivity - The fraction of blackbody emission at a given wavelength emitted by a surface. Energy Budget - Disposition of radiant energy and heat in an environment. Can be applied to the energy exchange between an organism and its environment. Environmental Radiant Temperature - Actual heat load of an environment. Equivalent to the measured radiation flux, and is computed as the black body temperature which emits the same total radiation flux. Ephemerals - Plants which exhibit above-ground biomass only in certain favorable seasons. Includes annuals and perennial forbs. Equinox - The time when the sun passes directly over the equator. Occurs twice annually. Evaporitivity - Potential evaporation. Evapotranspiration - The sum total of water lost by a given area of land over a given time period, taking into account evaporation from the soil and transpiration from plants. Field Capacity - The percentage of moisture when the drainage of a wetted soil diminishes sharply to a very slow rate. Indicates the point at which the forces of capillarity (cohesion) are equal to the forces of adhesion, and water becomes essentially immobile. Flux Rate - Rate of change with space and time of a variable such as heat, moisture, etc. Forbs - Non-grass herbaceous angiosperm plants. Herbaceous Plants - Non wood producing plants. Heteromyid Rodents - A family of rodents which includes the kangaroo rat {Dzpodomys spp.) and pocket mice (Perognathus spp.). Homoptera - A plant feeding order of insects which includes cicadas, hoppers, aphids, and scale insects. Hydrological Cycle - The cycle of water as it passes through the ecosystem. Incident Radiation - Total radiation from the sun, sky, and surrounding environment impinging upon a surface or body. Infiltration - The percentage of precipitation falling on a surface which enters the soil profile. Precipitation minus runoff.
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