VOCABULARY - E
Ecological Diversity - variety of biological communities or ecosystems in a given area.
Ecological Principle - governing principles about natural systems and how they operate (e.g., food chains, predation, water cycle).
Ecological Value - the worth of a forest in terms of what it contributes to an ecosystem as a whole.
Ecology - the branch of biology that studies relationships between living organisms and the non-living components of the environment in which they live.
Economic Value - the worth of forest in financial terms (dollars and cents).
Ecosystem - an area that contains organisms (e.g., plants, animals, bacteria) interacting with one another and their non-living environment. Ecosystems can be of any size (e.g., forest, meadow, and log).
Ecotone - the transition zone between two adjacent ecological systems.
Edge Species - plant or animal species which thrive on the edges of habitats such as a forest which provide them with access to cover and food sources. Examples include: sumac, white-tailed deer, and cowbirds.
Educational Value - the worth of a forest in terms of its benefits for teaching and learning.
Endangered Species - a species of plant or animal that is in danger of becoming extinct throughout all or in a significant portion of its range.
Entire - a type of leaf edge that is smooth and has no wavy or rough edges.
Environment - the air, water, soil, and organisms that surround and affect us.
Ephemeral - short-lived; completing one life cycle within a brief period.
Even-age - a group of trees that are nearly all the same age.
Even-age Management - forest management technique used to maintain a forest stand.
Evenness - a comparison of the number of individuals of each species in a forest.
Evergreen - a tree that bears cones and has needles. Also called coniferous.
Exotic Species - a species that has been introduced from another geographic region to an area outside its natural range.