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Project calendar

21-23 MARCH 2017

Final OpenNESS Annual Meeting in Smolenice, Slovakia

OpenNESS Glossary beginning with B


Bayesian Belief Network search for term

A probabilistic graphical model for reasoning under uncertainty, consisting of an acyclic, directed graph describing a set of dependence and independence properties between the variables of the model represented as nodes, and a set of (conditional) probability distributions that quantify the dependence relationship.

Beneficiary search for term

A person or group whose well-being is changed in a positive way by an ecosystem service.

Beneficiary Approach search for term

The classification of ES according to beneficiary (sub-)categories.

Benefits search for term

[*] The direct and indirect outputs from ecosystems that have been turned into goods or experiences that are no longer functionally connected to the systems from which they were derived. Benefits are things that can be valued either in monetary or social terms.

Biodiversity search for term

The variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems. Biodiversity is a contraction of 'biological diversity'.

Biodiversity Offsets search for term

Conservation activities that are designed to give biodiversity benefits to compensate for losses from development. Offsets seek to enable creation of new, bigger or better nature sites in instances when prevention or mitigation are unable to stop damage to nature. Offsets are different from other types of ecological compensation as they need to show measurable outcomes that are sustained over time.

Bioenergy search for term

Renewable energy made available from materials derived from biological sources.

Biofuel search for term


Biogeographic Realm search for term

A large spatial region, within which ecosystems share a broadly similar biota. Eight terrestrial biogeographic realms are typically recognised, corresponding roughly to continents (e.g. Afrotropical realm).

Biological Diversity search for term

See 'Biodiversity'

Biomass search for term

The mass of tissues in living organisms in a population, ecosystem, or spatial unit derived by the fixation of energy though organic processes.

Biome search for term


Biophysical Structure search for term

The architecture of an ecosystem that results from the interaction between the abiotic, physical environment and organisms or entire biotic communities.

Biophysical Valuation search for term

A method that derives values from measurements of the physical costs (e.g., in terms of labour, surface requirements, energy and material inputs) of producing a given good or service.

Boundary Concepts search for term

Terms, such as “ecosystem services” that help to structure and ease exchange across policy fields, political-administrative levels, and stakeholder groups by providing the basis for a shared understanding, but are still sufficiently vague, so that they can be integrated into different backgrounds and contexts (Mollinga, 2010). As a boundary concept, the ES concept (see also Potschin and Haines-Young, 2014) enables researchers from other disciplines, policy makers and other stakeholders to speak a common language and each can select knowledge relevant to their particular field.

Boundary Facilitators search for term

Individuals with certain skill sets to facilitate the flow of information and communication processes between people or stakeholder groups, which are physically, geographically, cognitively or culturally separated. Boundary facilitators receive different names, such as bridges, brokers, boundary spanners or mediators, depending on their specific role and power in the process (Long et al., 2013). While bridges and brokers facilitate the communication between two unlinked social actors, a boundary spanner is able to overcome a cultural boundary by using an appropriate language and cultural style and, thereby, facilitate the communication across it (Harris and Lyon, 2013). When a boundary spanner is able to facilitate the (epistemic) process of joint knowledge generation plays also the relevant role of ‘epistemediator’.

Boundary Objects search for term

Collaborative products that are both adaptable to different viewpoints, and therefore commonly recognised and relevant for different actors and robust enough to maintain identity across them (Star and Griesemer 1989, Clark et al. 2011). Examples of boundary objects are conceptual frameworks, reports, models, forecasts, scenarios, newsletters and even conferences or workshops.

Bundles search for term

See term Ecosystem Service Bundle

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