Glossary
A
Autonomy - (noun) the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomy can be practiced at any scale, from the individual to broader communities. Autonomous bodies are independent or self-governing.
B
Burl— (noun) a woody, rounded swelling at the base or underground stem of many chaparral plants (like manzanita, chamise, and scrub oak). It’s made up of dense, knotted tissue filled with dormant buds and stored carbohydrates. Burls are helpful adaptations, especially in places like Southern California, where wildfires and drought are common. When the above-ground parts of certain plant species burn, dry out, or get damaged, the burl can re-sprout new shoots from its protected buds — allowing the plant to regenerate quickly after disturbance. This resprouting ability gives burl-bearing species a strong competitive advantage over plants that rely only on seeds (which may not survive every fire).
E
Ecosystem service — (noun) the direct and indirect benefits that humans receive from an ecosystem. Examples include the cooling effect trees have in urban areas, increased productivity of agricultural systems due to pollination by local animals, and the cleansing of river water by plants before it reaches the ocean. Degradation of an ecosystem can reduce the value of ecosystem services, resulting in unequal access to the services needed for human well-being.
Environmental apartheid — (noun) the deliberate and unequal distribution of ecosystem services and pollution burdens to marginalize and segregate a racially defined group of people. Environmental apartheid also includes the resulting social, health, and economic consequences of marginalization and or segregation. Environmental apartheid can manifest in many ways across different societies’ social structures. In South Africa, environmental apartheid occurred by the forcible relocation of Black South Africans away from White-controlled economic and social centers and into distant and least productive rural spaces. In Los Angeles, environmental apartheid occurred once redlining prevented and reinforced people of color from being able to move away from high pollution burdened areas.
Environmental justice — (noun) a social movement first started by Black and indigenous communities to address systemic environmental apartheid and environmental racism. The environmental justice movement calls for all communities across the world to receive equitable protections of their environment, just treatment to mitigate the cumulative socioeconomic and health impacts from pollution burdens, and meaningful involvement in the decision-making needed to achieve equitable access to a healthy, sustainable, and resilient environment in which to live, play, work, learn, grow, worship, and engage in cultural and subsistence practices.
F
Fire regime — (noun) the natural pattern, frequency, and intensity of brushfires and wildfires that occur in a given area over long periods of time. Humans have changed fire regimes across California by modifying fuel loads via the introduction of annual invasive species, artificially increasing the risk of ignition sources, and by increasing the durations and intensity of droughts with increasing climate change.
H
Habitat fragmentation — (noun) the process of dividing large and continuous areas of habitat into smaller, more isolated habitat fragments. Habitat fragmentation is largely caused by human activities, like urbanization, agriculture, and infrastructure development and expansion (think dams, highways, even hiking trails!). Habitat fragmentation increases the chance that animal and plant species become locally extinct because it can reduce the quality of remaining habitat, prevent individuals of a given species from escaping big disturbances like wildfires, increases the risk of inbreeding depression, and can disrupt successful reproduction or social behaviors.
Heterodichogamy — (noun) a reproductive timing strategy employed by some wind- or animal-pollinated trees to prevent self-fertilization. In heterodichogamous species, there are two types of individuals: one is male-first (protandrous), releasing pollen before its female flowers become receptive, and the other is female-first (protogynous), whose flowers are receptive before they release pollen. After a period of time, each individual transitions to the opposite sexual phase, allowing it to fulfill both reproductive roles. This spatial and temporal separation of male and female function minimizes inbreeding and promotes cross-pollination, thereby increasing genetic diversity in new generations. Heterodichogamy has evolved independently in several plant lineages, including walnuts (Juglans spp.), maples (Acer spp.), and avocados (Persea spp.).
S
Sclerophyllous — (adjective) describes plants that have hard, thick, and leathery leaves adapted to dry or nutrient-poor environments — like many shrubs and trees in Mediterranean climates (for example, eucalyptus or coast live oak). These tough leaves help reduce water loss and resist heat or drought, but it also provides a strong secondary advantage as a defense mechanism against herbivory.