Description
The mixed community of animals and plants (a biotic community) occupying a major geographical area (e.g. on a continental scale) and processes affecting their potential evolution. Figure 1 shows how precipitation and temperature determine the type of biome in a particular terrestrial location.
Credit: Navarras, in the Public Domain, CC0.
Category
Categorisation as a Feature, Event and/or Process.
Features
are physical components of the disposal system and environment being assessed. Examples include waste packaging, backfill, surface soils. Features typically interact with one another via processes and in some cases events.Events
are dynamic interactions among features that occur over time periods that are short compared to the safety assessment timeframe such as a gas explosion or meteorite impact.- "Processes" are issues or dynamic interactions among features that generally occur over a significant proportion of the safety assessment timeframe and may occur over the whole of this timeframe. Events and processes may be coupled to one another (i.e. may influence one another).
The classification of a FEP as an event or process depends upon the assessment context, because the classification is undertaken with reference to an assessment timeframe. In this generic IFEP List, many IFEPs are classified as both Events and Processes; users will need to decide which of these classifications is relevant to their context and its timeframes.
- Feature
- Process
Comments
The “Comments” field, when present, contains any additional explanation of the IFEP, beyond that implicit in the FEP's description and provided in the “Relevance to Performance and Safety” field. This additional explanation may include, where appropriate, the IFEPs characteristics, the circumstances under which it might be relevant and its relationship to other (especially similar) IFEPs.
Each biome is characterised by similarity of vegetation structure or physiognomy rather than by similarity of species composition and is usually related to climate. Within a particular biome, the animals and plants are regarded as being well adapted to each other and to broadly similar environmental conditions, especially climate. Important factors influencing biome classification include temperature, precipitation, latitude and altitude. Anthropogenic activities may also influence the classification.
Relevance to Performance and Safety
The “Relevance to Performance and Safety” field contains an explanation of how the IFEP might influence the performance and safety of the disposal system under consideration through its impact on the evolution of the repository system and on the release, migration and/or uptake of repository-derived contaminants.
The biome assumed will influence the habits and dietary intake of both humans and non-human biota living in that area.
2000 List
A reference to the related FEP(s) within the 2000 NEA IFEP List.
Related References
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G.Shaw (), Radioactivity in the Terrestrial Environment, Elsevier Science, 10, 306, https://www.elsevier.com/books/radioactivity-in-the-terrestrial-environment/shaw/978-0-08-043872-6 , 1 March 2007
Related Media
Images
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Climate influence on terrestrial biome.
Credit: Navarras, in the Public Domain, CC0.