bio-, bi-, -bia, -bial, -bian, -bion, -biont, -bius, -biosis, -bium, -biotic, -biotical +

1. A mixture of methane and carbon dioxide along with traces of other gases, such as nitrogen, hydrogen, and water vapor, that is produced during anaerobic digestion.
2. A combustible gas produced by microbial activity, usually referring to methane produced by microbial fermentation of organic wastes.
3. Any gas fuel derived from the decay of organic matter, as the mixture of methane and carbon dioxide produced by the bacterial decomposition of sewage, manure, garbage, or plant crops.
4. A gaseous fuel of medium energy content, composed of methane and carbon dioxide; produced from the anaerobic decomposition of organic material in land fills.

The conversion of organic matter into biogas.

1. The generation of living things from other pre-existing life forms.
2. The principle that living organisms develop only from other living organisms and not from nonliving matter.
3. The theory that living things can arise only from other living things and cannot be spontaneously created.

A term presented by Thomas Huxley to the principle that life originates from pre-existing life only and never from nonliving material.

A reference to the principle that all living organisms have derived from previously existing living organisms not through spontaneous generation.

Naturally occurring hydrocarbon compounds, including VOCs (volatile organic compounds) that are emitted from trees and vegetation.

High VOC-emitting tree species; such as, eucalyptus can contribute to smog formation, and therefor the relative emission rates of various species can be a consideration in large-scale tree plantings.

1. Produced by the activity of living organisms.
2. That part of biology that seeks to account for the resemblances and the differences in organisms related by descent.

It is the science that simply studies in living organisms such genetic phenomena as heredity and evolution, development and variation; whereas the doctrinal movement that tries to anticipate or enforce the practical utilization of the scientific principles studied is eugenics.

Produced by a living organism or resulting from the actions of living organisms; such as, fermentation, necessary for life processes, including food and water.

The theory that fossil fuels represent the altered remains of ancient plant and animal life deposited in sedimentary rocks, and therefore have a biological origin.

Generally accepted in preference to the abiogenic theory that hydrocarbon deposits became part of the earth as it formed.

1. Originating from life or producing life.
2. Living on or in other organisms.

A reference to the science dealing with the relationship between the geochemistry of a given region and its flora and fauna, including the circulation of such elements as carbon and nitrogen between the environment and the cells of living organisms.

1. The circulation of chemical components through the biosphere from, or to, the lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere.
2. The exchange of elements; for example, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, etc., in the environment between storage pools; such as, the atmosphere, biota, oceans, soils, the earth's crust, and human society.

1. The branch of biochemistry that deals with the relation of chemicals found in the soil to living organisms; the biological application of geochemistry.
2. The study of the influence of living organisms and life processes on the chemical structure and history of the earth.
3. The study of interactions between the biosphere and its mineral environment; for example, the study of the effect of living organisms on the weathering of rocks and of the concentration of elements by living systems.
4. The branch of science that studies the biological, chemical, and geological aspects of environmental processes.

The study of ecosystems.

The science of the geographical distribution of living things, animal and vegetable.

A specialist in biogeography or someone who studies the distributions of living things; such as, plant and animal life in the earth's environment and the biological and historical factors that produced such distributions.

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