WACE Geography ATAR key terms

The study of the distribution of plants and animals across space and through time, and the processes such as climate, soil and dispersal that produce those patterns.

A functioning unit of interacting living organisms and their non-living surroundings, such as climate, soil and water, exchanging energy and matter within a defined area.

A large-scale community of plants and animals shaped by regional climate, such as tropical rainforest, savanna or tundra, recognised by its dominant vegetation structure.

The variety of living things at genetic, species and ecosystem levels within a place; high diversity usually indicates complex habitats and stable, productive ecological conditions.

A region with exceptionally high numbers of endemic species under severe habitat loss; conservation planners use hotspots to prioritise limited protection funding globally.

A species found naturally in one restricted area and nowhere else; endemism often results from long isolation, such as on islands or isolated mountain ranges.

The gradual, directional change in species composition at a site over time, from pioneer communities through to a relatively stable climax community.

The maximum population of a species that an area can support indefinitely without degrading the resources on which that population depends.

A paired bar graph showing the age and sex structure of a population; its shape reveals past fertility, mortality and migration trends.

A four or five stage model tracing how birth and death rates change as a society urbanises and develops, explaining shifts in natural increase.

The growth of a population calculated as births minus deaths, usually expressed as an annual rate per thousand people, excluding migration.

The number of people too young or too old to work compared with the working-age population; a high ratio places pressure on services and taxpayers.

A population structure with a rising share of older people, produced by falling fertility and longer life expectancy, creating health and pension pressures.

Conditions that drive people away from a place, such as conflict or unemployment, and conditions that attract them elsewhere, such as jobs or safety.

The permanent or semi-permanent movement of people between places, which may be voluntary or forced, internal or international in scale.

A person forced to flee across an international border because of war, persecution or disaster, and therefore entitled to protection under international law.

The increasing proportion of a population living in towns and cities, driven by rural-to-urban migration and natural growth within urban areas.

A city that is disproportionately larger than the second city of its country, concentrating political, economic and cultural power in one urban centre.

An urban agglomeration with more than ten million residents, typically associated with rapid growth, informal housing and severe infrastructure strain.

The outward, low-density expansion of a city into surrounding rural land, increasing car dependence, infrastructure costs and loss of farmland.

Disagreement between groups who want a place used for incompatible purposes, such as housing, farming, mining or conservation, requiring planning resolution.

Meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs, balancing environmental, social and economic outcomes.

The theory that Earth's lithosphere is broken into rigid plates that move over the asthenosphere, generating earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain belts at their boundaries.

A boundary where one denser plate sinks beneath another, producing deep ocean trenches, explosive volcanism, earthquakes and fold mountain chains.

A boundary where two plates move apart, allowing magma to rise and create new crust, typically forming mid-ocean ridges and rift valleys.

A boundary where two plates move towards each other, causing collision, subduction, folding, faulting and often powerful earthquakes and volcanic activity.

A boundary where two plates slide horizontally past each other, releasing energy as shallow earthquakes along features such as the San Andreas Fault.

A fracture in rock along which movement has occurred; sudden slippage on a fault releases stored elastic energy as an earthquake.

The point on Earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake, usually where shaking and damage are greatest.

A logarithmic measure of earthquake magnitude based on seismic wave amplitude; each whole number increase represents roughly thirty times more released energy.

The degree to which people and assets are exposed to and unable to cope with a natural hazard, shaped by wealth, building quality and preparedness.

The probability of harmful consequences from a hazard, calculated from the likelihood of the event and the vulnerability of what is exposed.

The continuous movement of water between ocean, atmosphere and land through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff and storage.

The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries, bounded by a drainage divide, within which all precipitation flows to a common outlet.

The volume of water passing a point in a river per unit time, usually measured in cubic metres per second and varying with rainfall and catchment conditions.

A graph plotting river discharge against time after rainfall; its lag time and peak show how quickly a catchment delivers water downstream.

Water stored in pores and fractures within rock and soil below the water table, recharged slowly by infiltration and vulnerable to over-extraction.

The accumulation of salts in soil or water, often caused by irrigation in dry regions or rising water tables, reducing agricultural productivity.

The decline in the quality and productivity of land through erosion, salinity, nutrient loss or vegetation removal, often accelerated by human activity.

Computer software for capturing, storing, analysing and mapping spatial data in layers, used to reveal patterns and support planning decisions.

Collecting information about Earth's surface from satellites or aircraft using sensors that record reflected or emitted energy without direct contact.

The arrangement of features across space, described by distribution, density, clustering or dispersion, and central to geographic explanation.