Certain terms and expressions that relate to the environment are probl
ematic in that they vary widely in usage within and between discipline
s, and several have been used as synonyms. In an attempt to correct th
e problem and standardize usage, this paper defines or redefines 10 of
the most common environmental terms. Two of these terms, natural envi
ronment and environmental change, are defined on the basis of what is
meant by natural as reflected by common usage and dictionary entries.
The three degradation terms, environmental degradation, land degradati
on, and soil degradation, are defined as any change or disturbance to
the environment, land, or soil perceived to be deleterious or undesira
ble. A sixth term, soil regeneration, is defined as the reformation of
degraded soil through biological, chemical, and/or physical agencies.
The remaining four terms, environmental quality, air quality, soil qu
ality, and water quality, are defined as measures of the condition or
state of each relative to the requirements of one or more biotic speci
es and/or to any human need or purpose.