8.0   definitions

Acre: An acre is a unit of land measurement equal to 43,560 square feet.

Acute Exposure: Either a single or short-term exposure to a compound.

Adjuvant: A substance added to a solution to aid its action. Surfactants and colorants are adjuvants added to herbicides.

Adsorption: Adhesion of a gas, liquid, or dissolved substance to a surface, such as the surface of a soil particle.

Archaeological Resource: means any material remains of past human life or activities including (but not limited to): pottery, basketry, bottles, weapons, weapon projectiles, arrowheads, tools, structures or portions of structures, pit houses, rock paintings, rock carvings, intaglios, graves, human skeletal materials, or any portion of the foregoing items at least 100 years of age. Defined by Section 4(a) of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act and 43 CFR Part 7.3.

Atlantic cordgrass: Refers to Spartina alterniflora (Lois). In this report, Atlantic smooth cordgrass is used.

Atlantic smooth cordgrass: Common name use within this report for Spartina alterniflora (Lois). Other names include Atlantic cordgrass, smooth cordgrass, salt-water cordgrass, and saltmarsh cordgrass.

Beneficial Impact: An impact that has beneficial consequences.

Bioaccumulation: an increase in the concentration of a chemical in a biological organism over time, compared to the chemical's concentration in the environment.

Bioconcentration: The degree to which a chemical can be concentrated in the tissues of organisms.

Biodegradation: Capable of being decomposed by biological agents, especially bacteria or other microorganisms.

Brackish: Marine or estuarine water salinity between 0.5 and 30 parts per thousand, due to ocean-derived salts.

California cordgrass: Refers to Spartina foliosa Trin. In this report, Pacific cordgrass is used.

Chilean cordgrass: Common name use within this report for Spartina densiflora Brongn. Other names include dense-flowered cordgrass and denseflower cordgrass.

Chronic Exposure: A long-term exposure to a chemical, either continuously or periodically through that period.

Common cordgrass: Refers to Spartina anglica  C..E. Hubbard. In this report, English cordgrass is used.

Contain: To prevent from spreading to new sites.

Control: Reduce infestations to manageable levels.

Cultural Resources: The physical remains, objects, historic records, and traditional lifeways that connect us to our nation’s past.

Cumulative Impact: A cumulative impact refers to two or more individual effects which, when considered together, are considerable or which compound or increase other environmental impacts. The individual effects may be changes resulting from a single project or a number of separate projects. The cumulative impact from several projects is the change in the environment, which results from incremental impacts of the project when added to other closely related past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future projects. Cumulative impacts can result from individually minor but collectively significant projects taking place over a period.

Dense-flowered cordgrass: Refers to Spartina densiflora Brongn. In this report, Chilean cordgrass is used.

Denseflower cordgrass: Refers to Spartina densiflora Brongn. In this report, Chilean cordgrass is used.

Direct Impact: Environmental effects that are caused by a project and occur at the same time and place.

Endangered [species]: A species of animal or plant that is in danger of becoming extinct.

English cordgrass: Common name use within this report for Spartina anglica C.E. Hubbard. Another name is common cordgrass.

Epifauna: Animals that live on the surface of marine or freshwater sediment or mud.

Eradication: To destroy; to remove by the roots; exterminate.

Estuary: An inlet or arm of the sea.

Exotic [species]: A species of animal or plant that is not indigenous to the region.

Half-life: Half-life is the length of time required after application for a chemical to decrease to one-half of its original concentration.

Hectare: A hectare is a metric unit of land measurement equal to 10,000 square meters or approximately 2.5 acres.

Herbicide: A chemical substance used to destroy plants, especially weeds.

Historic Property: The term used to describe any prehistoric or historic district, site, building structure, or object included in, or eligible for inclusion in, the National Register. The term includes artifacts, records, and remains that are related to such properties. As a general guideline, and cultural resource should be at least 50 years old to be considered as a historic property.

Hybrid: The offspring produced by crossing two individuals of unlike genetic constitution; specifically the offspring of two animals or plants.

Identification Inventory or Field Survey (Cultural Resources): This involves background research and in-field inspection of the area of potential effects (APE) to seek and record historic properties.

Impact: To have an effect on.

Indirect Impact: Effects that are caused by the action and are later in time or farther removed in distance, but are still reasonably foreseeable. Indirect effects may include growth-inducing effects and other effects related to induced changes in the pattern of land use, population density or growth rate, and related effects on air and water and other natural systems, including ecosystems.

Infauna: Animals that burrow into marine or freshwater sediment and live beneath the mud surface.

Inflorescence: The arrangement of flowers on a stem or axis.

Intertidal: The shore zone between the highest and lowest tides.

Introduced [species]: Species of animals or plants intentionally or unintentionally released into an area or region where it is not indigenous. Introduced species may or may not become invasive once established.

Invasive [species]: Typically an exotic species of animal or plant that establishes and spreads over time, ultimately forming a population.

Lipid: Any of a group of organic compounds consisting of the fats and other substances of similar properties: they are insoluble in water, soluble in fat solvents and alcohol, greasy to the touch, and are important constituents of living cells.

Marsh: A saturated, poorly drained area, intermittently or permanently covered with water; having aquatic and grass-like vegetation.

Mesic: Moderately moist.

Microorganism: An organism of microscopic or submicroscopic size, especially a bacterium or   protozoan.

Mitigation Measure: An action or change in a project designed to avoid, minimize, rectify, reduce, or compensate for a significant environmental impact.

Mudflat: An extensive flat tract of land alternatively covered and uncovered by the tide, and comprised mostly of unconsolidated mud and sand (i.e., tidal flat).

National Register Eligible: A property that meets the National Register Criteria. for Section 106 purposes, an eligible property is treated as if it were already listed.

No Effect (Cultural Resources): When no effect is determined, the agency finds that the undertaking will have no effect on historic properties and notifies the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) and interested persons of the findings. Unless the SHPO objects within 15 days of receiving such notice, the agency official is not required to take any further steps in the Section106 process.

Non-native: Plants or animals originating in a part of the world other than where they are growing.

Pacific cordgrass: Common name use within this report for Spartina foliosa Trin. Another name is California cordgrass.

Pacific Flyway: An avian migratory corridor along the eastern Pacific Basin and western coast of North America where seasonal migrations of waterfowl and shorebirds take place.

Persistence: Persistence is the length of time required for a chemical to degrade to the point where it can no longer be detected.

pH: The degree of acidity or alkalinity of a solution. Values from 0 to 7 indicate acidity, values from 7 to 14 indicate alkalinity.

Poison: A substance causing illness or death when eaten, drunk, or absorbed.

Population: Any group of organisms capable of interbreeding and coexisting at the same time and in the same place.

Propagule: Any of various usually vegetative portions of a plant, such as a bud or other offshoot, that aid in dispersal of the species and from which a new individual may develop.

Residual Impact: An impact that would still occur after applying mitigation at a treatment site.

Rhizome: An underground stem (as opposed to root) that runs horizontal beneath the ground.

Salinity: The total amount of solid material, in grams, contained in one kilogram of water when all the carbonate has been converted to oxide, the bromine and iodine replaced by chlorine, and all the organic matter completely oxidized.

Salt-meadow cordgrass: Common name use within this report for Spartina patens Aiton.

Salt-water cordgrass: Refers to Spartina alterniflora Lois. In this report, Atlantic smooth cordgrass is used.

Saltmarsh cordgrass: Refers to Spartina alterniflora Lois. In this report, Atlantic smooth cordgrass is used.

Sessile: Permanently attached; not moving.

Shoaling: The process of sediment accumulation that results in a shallow place in an aquatic system that may threaten navigation (such as a sandbar).

Significance: The importance of the impact on the resource. Significance is judged from the standpoint of the impacted resources. Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations specify several tests to determine whether an action will significantly affect the quality of the human environment. While these tests apply to the entire action, they can also be used in amended form to judge impact significance for individual resources. Significance is an either/or determination: the level of impact either is significant or is not significant. As specified in CEQ regulations, significance needs to be determined for each of three geographic areas: local, regional, and national. This places the impact into context. Significance is also determined in the terms of intensity. Archaeological sites are also described as significant or insignificant. Significant sites require protection (which can include mitigation excavations) while protection is not required for insignificant sites.

Smooth cordgrass: Refers to Spartina alterniflora Lois. In this report, Atlantic smooth cordgrass is used.

Special Status [species]: Species that are listed as threatened or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, or the California Department of Fish and Game.

Species: A fundamental category of taxonomic classification, ranking below a genus or subgenus and consisting of related organisms capable of interbreeding.

Surfactant: A substance added to a solution to aid its action (see Adjuvent). For the Spartina Control Program, surfactants will be added to glyphosate and water formulations to help solubilize the active ingredient in water and to help "spread" the spray droplets across a leaf surface for better coverage. Surfactants have various chemistries but all have several properties in common. For example, they all reduce the surface tension of water and they can disrupt the lipid layer of biological membranes. Everyday surfactants include soaps for hand washing, hair shampooing, and cleaning dirty dishes.

Threatened [species]: A species of animal or plant that is rare and may become an endangered species in the near future.

Treatment Method: A method used to treat infestations of non-native Spartina in the San Francisco Bay and Delta.

Toxicity: The degree to which a substance is toxic; poisonous.

Turbidity: Having sediment or foreign particles stirred up or suspended; muddy, turbid water.

Undertaking (Cultural Resources): Any project, activity, or program that can result in changes in the character of use of historic properties, if any such properties are located in the area of potential effect. The project, activity, or program must be under the direct or indirect jurisdiction of a federal agency or licensed or assisted by a federal agency. Undertakings include new and continuing projects, activities, or programs.

Wrack: Seaweed or other marine life cast upon the shore.

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