Restoring the Soil - Canadian Foodgrains Bank

Annex 1: Glossary of Agricultural Terms77Annex 1: Glossary of Agricultural TermsAgrochemicals: Chemicals that are used in agriculture. These include chemical fertilizersand chemical-based pesticides, such as insecticides, fungicides and herbicidesAnnuals: Plants that die within one year or less of germinatingBiodiversity: Refers to an environment containing a wide variety of different speciesliving togetherDispersed shade: A condition of reduced sunlight in a field, produced by evenlyspaced trees that produce fairly light shadowsExotic plant: A plant that is not native to a given regionFallow: The practice of temporarily not planting a field for several years, usually forthe purpose of allowing natural vegetation to grow back and return the land to itsnatural state of fertilityGlobal warming: The gradual over-all increase of the world’s temperature that is beingcaused at least in part by people’s use of fossil fuels, by the destruction of the world’sforests and other natural environments and by the decreasing amount of organic matterin agricultural soilsGrain legumes: Leguminous plants (plants with seeds that grow inside an elongatedpod) whose seeds are eaten by humansGreen manure/cover crop, or gm/cc: A species of plant, usually a legume, whetherit is a tree, a bush, a vine, a crawling plant or an algae, which is planted by farmersto maintain or improve their soil fertility or to control weeds. Farmers may also havemany other reasons for growing these plantsHedgerow: A line of plants grown across a field to protect it from erosion or to providesome other agricultural or environmental benefitInoculant: Microorganisms (extremely small microscopic plants or animals) used toincrease the production of nitrogen on the roots or stems of certain legumesIntercrop: A crop grown simultaneously amongst another crop or crops, plantedwithin a month or two of the latterInvasive species: Plants that have gradually propagated themselves in areas wherethey were not planted or did not previously exist, and are damaging other humanproduction activities or the environment