Partial Pc Glossary

Alley Cropping - Rows of trees separating bands of crops.

Aquaculture - Food production using water as the medium.

Carbon-Nitrogen ratio - Ratio of C to N in organic matter, useful in composting.

Chicken tractor - A portable, fenced pen structure which holds small numbers of poultry or other animals.

Chinampa - Series of channels of water between fingers of land, useful in aquaculture.

Companion plants - Plants which are beneficial to others nearby by repelling pests, providing nutrients, etc.

Compost - A mixture of decaying plant & animal material.

Coppicing - Chopping trees down at stump level, where respouting occurs via branches or root suckers.

Cover crops - Plants grown to protect soil from erosion & to provide organic material.

Ecovillage - Community of people who live in buildings & surroundings which are designed to be energy efficient & have a low impact on the environment.

Edge - The junction/zone that lies between two media or landscape forms; a border where materials or resources accumulate.

Espalier - Trees, usually fruit, which are pruned & trained to grow flat against a wall, fence or trellis.

Green Manure - Plants which are turned into the soil to enhance fertility; mostly legumes.

Greywater - All waste water, except toilet water, which can be reused for other purposes.

Guild - An assembly of elements like plants, animals, & inorganic matter which are mutually beneficial.

Keyhole bed - A garden bed surrounding a keyhole shape for efficient access to the plantings.

Keyline - System of water conservation developed by P A Yeomans using undergound channels to recharge groundwater supplies.

Legume - Plant which can manufacture its own Nitrogen with the help of bacteria living in the plant roots.

LETS - Local Exchange (or Economic) Trading System.

Microclimate - Local climate differences which occur in a confined or small area.

Monoculture - Growing only one type of crop on a particular area of land.

Mulch - Natural or artificially applied protective covering to the soil.

Multistory - A mixture of plant species comprising a ground layer, shrubs, & trees of varying heights.

Nurse plants - Pioneer species used to provide green manure, nutrient, or shade for succeeding crops or trees.

Polyculture - The growing of several different crops, plants or animals on a common area of land.

Rotational Grazing - Moving livestock from one paddock to another.

Sheet mulching - A technique of garden building where layers of mulch & compost are used over ground for garden beds.

Shelterbelt - Grouping of trees which protect stock as well as acting as windbreaks.

Stacking - The placing & layering of as many plants as possible in a particular area.

Succession - Progressive change from one plant (& animal) community to another; pioneer to climax species.

Suntrap - Semi-circular structure, usually as a row of trees, which reflects sunlight & contains it to create a warmer microclimate.

Swale - Ditch dug on a contour so that runoff water can be held long enough to soak into the ground & be used by plants.

Wildlife Corridors - Belts of trees, marsh, or river forest connecting two or more larger habitat areas.

Zone - Imaginary regions around a house, or other entity, indicating the location of elements in a design.