An extensive point-in-time survey to determine the presence/absence, location or condition of a biotic or abiotic resource.

A systematic process for continually improving management policies and practices by learning from the outcomes of operational programs. Its most effective form-"active" adaptive management-e [..]

A sampling frame that is designated by geographical boundaries within which the sampling unites are defined as subareas.

Any living or nonliving feature or process of the environment that can be measured or estimated and that provide insights into the state of the ecosystem. The term Indicator is reserved for a subset o [..]

An important finding from a biological point of view that may or may not pass a test of statistical significance.

Sampling of the same physical units in multiple monitoring protocols.

Purposeful representations of reality that provide a mental picture of how something works to communicate that explanation to others.

The major external driving forces that have large-scale influences on natural systems. Drivers can be natural forces or anthropogenic.

A concept that expresses the degree to which the physical, chemical, and biological components (including composition, structure, and process) of an ecosystem and their relationships are present, func [..]

Defined as, "a spatially explicit unit of the Earth that includes all of the organisms, along with all components of the abiotic environment within its boundaries" (Likens 1992).