This glossary includes most relevant terms used in this handbook. First version of the glossary was created during the development of the ‘Wildlife and Traffic’ handbook (Action COST 341) and it has been expanded with contributions from partners of the project Horizon 2020 ‘BISON’. Terms definitions are provided by legal texts, reference documents or by agreement between experts from both ecology and infrastructure. The organisations IENE, PIARC, UIC, and ISO have also assisted and will contribute in future updates.
Last update: October 2023 – How to cite
There are currently 8 names in this directory beginning with the letter I.
Impact
The effect of an external factor on an organism, species or community which may result in wider consequences at the population level. Synonym: ‘Effect’.
Indicator
Measures of simple environmental variables used to denote some aspect of the state of the environment, e.g. the degree of habitat fragmentation.
Indicator species
Species indicative of (a) some current or historical environmental or historical influence (e.g. lichens can be atmospheric pollution indicators, and woodland ground-flora can be indicative of ancient woodland), or (b) a community or habitat type (e.g. some species can be used to classify invertebrate communities, or are indicative of particular habitats).
Infrastructure
The basic systems and services that allow humans to fulfil the need for transport (e.g.,roads, railways, water channels, airports and ports), energy (e.g., coal, wind, gas, solar, hydropower, waves, power lines, oil and gas pipelines), water (e.g., canals, dams), and telecommunications (e.g., internet cables).
Infrastructure life cycle
The stages that an infrastructure asset passes through during its life cycle. These phases are: 1) Strategic Planning, including Transport Policy; Strategic Transport Plan and Project Plan (Transport Area or Corridor Delimitation); 2) Design, including Area or Route Selection, Concept Design; Procurement and Detailed design (also called Constructive Project); 3) Construction; 4) Operation and Maintenance incluing adaptation and mitigation measures and; 5) Decommissioning.
Invasive Alien Species (IAS)
Animals and plants that are introduced accidentally or deliberately into a natural environment where they are not normally found, with serious negative consequences for their new environment. These species are subject to common action at a European Union level under the European regulation and included on the ‘List of invasive alien species of Union concern’. See also ‘Alien Species’.