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Glossary definitions

The IPBES glossary terms definitions page provides definitions of terms used in IPBES assessments. Some definitions in this online glossary have been edited for consistency. Please refer to the specific assessment glossary for citations/authorities of definitions. 

We invite you to report any errors or omissions to [email protected].

Concept Definition Deliverable(s)
translocation

The human-mediated movement of living organisms from one area, with release in another.

Asia-Pacific assessment
tree-covered area

A land cover class that includes any geographic area dominated by natural tree plants with a cover of 10 percent or more. Areas planted with trees for afforestation purposes and forest plantations are included in this class.

Land degradation and restoration assessment
trees outside forest

All trees excluded from the definition of forest and other wooded lands. Trees outside the forest are located on other lands, mostly on farmlands and built-up areas, both in rural and urban areas.

Asia-Pacific assessment
trend

The general direction in which the structure or dynamics of a system tends to change, even if individual observations vary.

Sustainable use assessment, Scenarios and models assessment
trend

A general development or change in a situation or in the way that people are behaving.

Land degradation and restoration assessment
trend

temporal trends are directional long-term changes (i.e., decades to centuries) in numbers of species, populations or individuals introduced, or the spatial extent of colonization (Buckland et al., 2017). In this assessment report, trends are presented as indicators of species numbers (species richness) and rates of accumulation of species (e.g., first records of a species in a given location) over time.

Invasive alien species assessment
trophic cascades

The chain of knock-on extinctions observed or predicted to occur following the loss of one or a few species that play a critical role (e.g. as a pollinator) in ecosystem functioning.

Europe and Central Asia assessment, Asia-Pacific assessment, Sustainable use assessment
trophic level

The level in the food chain in which one group of organisms serves as a source of nutrition for another group of organisms (e.g. primary producers, primary or secondary consumers, decomposers).

Europe and Central Asia assessment, Americas assessment, Sustainable use assessment
trophic level

The level in the food chain in which one group of organisms serves as a source of nutrition for another group of organisms.

Global assessment (1st work programme), Land degradation and restoration assessment
trophic transfer

The transport of contaminants between two trophic levels (Suedel et al., 1994).

Global assessment (1st work programme)
trophy hunting

Trophy hunting is defined as the hunting for one or more individuals of a particular species with specific desired characteristics (such as large size or antlers) with the payment of a fee by a hunter for a hunting experience and trophy. The most common trophy is the mounted head with horns or antlers, although other parts of animal body ( skins, tails, teeth, heads) or even the whole bodies can be also appreciated as a trophy.

Sustainable use assessment
turbidity

Turbidity describes the cloudiness of water caused by suspended particles such as clay and silts, chemical precipitates such as manganese and iron, and organic particles such as plant debris and organisms.

Americas assessment