The
following terms
are specific to
this site and definitions
are drawn from:
Helms,
J. A. 1998. The
Dictionary of
Forestry.
Society of American
Foresters. 224pp
and Smith, D.M.
1986 The
Practice of Silviculture.
8th ed. John
Wiley and Sons.
New York . 527
pp.
Acre:
a unit of area equaling
43,560 square
feet or
10 square chains.
Apical
dominance:
the upward growth
of terminal shoot meristem(s)
at the expense
of lateral shoots
below whose development
they inhibit
Autoecology:
the ecology of an
individual organism
or taxonomic group
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Basal
area (BA):
the cross-sectional
area of a single
stem, including
the bark, measured
at breast height
(4.5 ft or 1.37
m above the ground)
Biodiversity:
The variety and
abundance of life
forms, processes,
functions, and structures
of plants, animals,
and other living
organisms, including
the relative complexity
of species, communities,
gene pools, and ecosystems at
spatial scales that
range from local
through regional
to global
Biological
legacy:
an organism,
a reproductive
portion of an
organism, or
a biological
derived structure
or pattern inherited
from a previous
ecosystem -note
biological legacies
often include
large trees, snags,
and down logs
left after harvesting
to provide refugia
and to structurally
enrich the new
stand
Blowdown:
tree or trees felt
or broken down off
by wind
Boardfoot:
the amount of wood
contained in an
unfinished board
1 in thick, 12 in
long , and 12 in
wide, abbreviated
bd ft
Bolt:
a short piece of pulpwood;
a short log
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Canker:
a disease of the
bark and cambium that
causes a usually
well defined sunken
or swollen necrotic
lesion
Cambium:
a layer of living, meristematic cells
between the wood
of a tree
Cavity
trees:
living specimens
of poor quality
which as a result
of low vigor and
or broken branches
allow invasion
of decay insects
and fungi, leading
to the formation
of decay cavities
used by wildlife
Chain:
a unit of length,
a surveyor's chain
equals 66 feet or
1/80-mile
Cleaning:
a release treatment
made in an age class
not past the sapling stage
to free the favored
trees from less
desirable individuals
of the same age
class that overtop
them or are likely
to do so
Clearcutting:
the cutting of essentially
all trees, producing
a fully exposed
microclimate for
the development
of a new age class
Codominant:
a tree whose crown
helps to form the
general level of
the main canopy
in even-aged
stands or
in uneven-aged
stands,
the main canopy
of the tree's
immediate neighbors,
receiving full
light from above
and partial
light from the
sides
Cohort:
a group of trees
developing after
a single disturbance,
commonly consisting
of trees of similar
age, although it
can include a considerable
range of tree ages
of seedling or sprout origin
and trees that predate
the disturbance
Commercial
thinning:
any type of thinning producing
merchantable material
at least equal to
the value of the
direct costs of
the harvesting
Community:
an assemblage of
plants and animals
living together
and occupying a
given area
Composition:
1. The constituent
elements of an
entity (e.g. the
species that constitute
a plant community)
2. The proportion
of each tree species
in a stand expressed
as a percentage
of the total
number, basal
area,
or volume of
all tree species
in the stand
Conk:
the visible fruiting
body of a wood-destroying
fungus which projects
to some degree beyond
the substrate (i.e.
tree stem)
Coppice:
to cut the main
stem (particularly
of broadleaved
species) at the
base or to injure
the roots to stimulate
the production of
new shoots for regeneration
Cord:
a stack of fuelwood, pulpwood or
other material
that measures 4
x 4 x 8 ft, or 128ft3
Course
woody debris
(CWD):
any piece(s) of
dead woody material
on the ground
in forest stands
or in streams
Cover:
any vegetation that
shelters wildlife
from predators or
climatic extremes
Crop
tree:
any tree selected
to become a component
of a future commercial
harvest
Cubic
foot:
a unit of true
volume that measures
1 x 1 x 1 feet
Cunit:
a unit of volume,
usually pulpwood,
consisting of
100 cubic feet
of solid wood (not
including bark
or air volume)
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Diameter
at breast height (DBH,
dbh): the diameter
of the stem of
tree measured
at breast height
(4.5 feet) from
the ground
Disturbance:
any relatively
discrete event in
time that disrupts
ecosystem,
community,
or population structure
and changes resources,
substrate availability,
or the physical
environment
Dominant:
an individual or
species of the upper
layer of the canopy
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Ecoregion:
a contiguous geographic
area having a relatively
uniform macroclimate,
possibly with several
vegetation types,
and used as an ecological
basis for management
or planning
Ecosystem:
a spatially explicit,
relatively homogenous
unit of the earth
that includes all
the interacting
organisms and components
of the abiotic environment
within its boundaries
Even-aged
stand:
a stand of trees
composed of a
single class in
which the range
of tree ages is
usually +/- 20
percent of rotation
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Flitch:
1. a large piece
from the side of
a log, which is
sawn or hewn on
two or more sides,
waney, bevel-edged
or square-edged,
and intended for
further conversion
2. a package of
sheets of veneer laid
together in the
sequence of their
cutting
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Gap:
the space occurring
in forest stands
due to individual
or group tree mortality
or blowdown
Germination:
The beginning of
growth of a mature,
generally dormant
seed, spore, or
pollen grain
Girdle:
to make more or
less continuous
incisions around
a living stem,
through at least
both the bark and cambium,
generally with
the object of killing
the tree
Group
selection:
trees are removed
and new age classes
are established
in small groups
Growing
stock:
all the trees
growing in a forest
or in a specified
part of it, usually
commercial species,
meeting specified
standards of size,
quality, and vigor,
and generally
expressed in terms
of number or volume
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Habitat:
the place, natural
or otherwise, (including
climate, food,
cover, and water)
where an animal,
plant, or population naturally
or normally lives
and develops
Harvesting
schedule:
a process for
allocating cutting
and other silvicultural
treatments over
a forest with
emphasis on which
treatments to
apply and where
and when to apply
them
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Intermediate
crown class:
a tree whose crown
extends into the
lower portion
of the main canopy
of even-aged stands or,
in uneven-aged stands,
into the lower
portion of the
canopy formed
by the tree's
immediate neighbors,
but shorter in
height than the codominants and
receiving little
direct light from
above and none
from the sides
Intermediate
treatment:
Any treatment
or tending designed
to enhance the
growth, quality,
vigor, and composition
of the stand
after establishment
or regeneration and
prior to final
harvest
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J-roots:
a root that is bent
into a J-shape because
the seedling was
improperly planted
in a hole or slit
that was too shallow
or narrow
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Live
crown ratio (LCR):
the ratio of crown
length to total
tree height
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Mast:
the fruit of trees
considered as food
for livestock and
certain kinds of
wildlife
Mature:
pertaining to a
tree or even-aged stand
that is capable
of sexual reproduction,
has attained most
of its potential
height growth, or
has reached merchantability
standards
Mean
annual increment
(MAI): the total
increment of tree
or stand (standing
crop plus thinnings)
up to a given age
divided by the age
Mechanical
thinning:
the thinning
of trees in
either even-aged
or uneven-aged
stands, involving removal
of trees in
rows, strips,
or by using
fixed spacing
intervals
Meristem:
an organized, undifferentiated
plant tissue with
rapidly dividing
cells that differentiate
to form new tissues
or organs
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Overstory:
the portion of the
trees, in a forest
of more than one
story, forming the
upper or upper-most
canopy layer, e.g.,
in a two-storied
forest, seed-bearers
over regeneration
, or standards over coppice
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Pitch:
natural resins often
exude from wounds
and are obtained
commercially by
tapping or extraction
with solvents
Poletimber:
A tree of a size
between a sapling and
a sawtimber tree.
Hardwood trees
ranging in size
from 5 to 11 inches
dbh, and conifers
ranging in size
from 5 to 9 inches
dbh.
Population:
a group of similar
individuals sharing
a common gene pool,
delimited in range
by environmental
or endogenous factors,
and considered a
unit
Precommercial
thinning:
the removal of
trees not for
immediate financial
return but to
reduce stocking
to concentrate
growth of the
more desirable
trees
Pruning:
the removal, close
to branch or collar
or flush with the
stem, of side branches
(live or dead) and
multiple leaders
from a standing
tree – note
pruning is generally
done on plantations
to improve the tree
or its timber, or
on urban and rural
trees to improve
their aesthetics
or health
Pulpwood:
roundwood, whole-tree
chips, or wood residues
that are used for
the production of
wood pulp
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Regeneration:
seedlings or saplings existing
in a stand
Regeneration
method:
a cutting procedure
by which a new
age class is
created; the
major methods
are clearcutting, seed
tree, shelterwood,
selection and coppice
Release:
a treatment designed
to free young trees
from undesirable,
usually overtopping,
competing vegetation
Rhizome:
A modified stem
that grows below
ground, commonly
stores food materials,
and produces roots,
scale leaves, and
suckers irregularly
along its length
and not just at
nodes.
Root
collar:
the location on
a plant where
the primary vascular
anatomy changes
from that of a
stem to that of
a root
Rotation:
in even-aged systems,
the period between regeneration establishment
and final cutting
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Sapling:
a usually young
tree larger than
a seedling but
smaller than a pole
Sawlog:
a log that meets
minimum regional
standards of diameter,
length, and defect,
intended for sawing
Sawtimber:
trees or logs cut
from trees with
minimum diameter
and length and
with stem quality
suitable for conversion
to lumber. Hardwood
trees larger than
11 inches dbh,
and conifers larger
than 9 inches dbh.
Seed
bed: the
soil or forest
floor on which
seed falls
Seed
tree:
a tree left standing
for the sole or
primary purpose
of providing seeds
Seedling:
a usually young
tree smaller than
a sapling,
grown from a seed
Shade
tolerance:
the capacity of
trees to grow
satisfactorily
in the shade of,
and in competition
with, other trees
Shelterwood:
the cutting of most
trees, leaving those
needed to produce
sufficient shade
to produce a new
age class in a moderated
microenvironment
Shortwood: stem
wood less than 120
inches in length
Silvics:
the study of the
life history and
general characteristics
of forest trees
and stands,
with particular
reference to environmental
factors, as a
basis for the practice
of silviculture
Silvicultural
prescriptions:
a planned series
of treatments
designed to change
current stand
structure to
one that meets
management goals
-note the prescription
normally considers
ecological,
economic, and
societal constraints
Silvicultural
system: a planned
series of treatments
for tending,
harvesting, and
re-establishing
a stand -
note the system
named is based
on the number
of age classes
(coppice, even-aged, two-aged, uneven-aged)
or the regeneration
method (clearcutting, shelterwood, selection, coppice, coppice
with reserve)
used
Silviculture:
the art and science
of controlling the
establishment, growth,
composition, health,
and quality of forests
and woodlands to
meet the diverse
needs and values
of landowners and
society on a sustainable
basis
Single
tree selection:
individual trees
of all size
classes are removed
more or less
uniformly throughout
the stand,
to promote growth
of remaining
trees and to
provide space
for regeneration
Site:
the area in which
a plant or stand grows,
considered in
terms of its environment,
particularly as
this determines
the type and quality
of the vegetation
the area can carry - notes
sites are classified
either qualitatively,
by their climate,
soil, and vegetation,
into site types,
or quantitatively,
by their potential
wood production,
into site
classes
Site
class:
a classification
of site quality,
usually expressed
in terms of
ranges of dominant
tree height at
a given are or
potential mean
annual increment at
culmination
Site
index:
a species-specific
measure of actual
or potential
forest productivity
(site quality,
usually for even-aged
stands),
expressed
in terms of
the average
height
of trees included
in a specified stand component
(defined
as a certain
number of dominants, codominants,
or the largest
and tallest
trees per
unit area)
at a specified
index
or basal
area - note
site index
is used
as an
indicator
of site
quality
Site
index curve:
a curve showing
the expected
height growth
pattern for trees
of the specified stand component
in even-aged
stands of
a given site
index
Site
preparation:
hand or mechanized
manipulation
of site, designed
to enhance the
success of regeneration
Skidding:
dragging trees or
logs by means of
a self-propelled
machine
Slash:
the residue, e.g.,
treetops and branches,
left on the ground
after logging are
accumulating as
a result of storm,
fire girdling,
or delimbing
Snag:
a standing, generally
unmerchantable dead
tree from which
the leaves and most
of the branches
have fallen
Square
Foot:
A unit of area
equaling 144 square
inches.
Stand:
a contiguous group
of trees sufficiently
uniform in age-class
distribution, composition,
and structure,
and growing on
a site of sufficiently
uniform quality,
to be a distinguishable
unit
Stand
density:
a quantitative
measure of stocking
expressed either
absolutely in
terms of number
of trees, basal
area,
or volume per
unit area or relative
to some standard
condition
Stand
structure:
the horizontal
or vertical distribution
of a forest stand,
including the height,
diameter, crown
layers, and stems
of trees, shrubs,
herbaceous understory, snags,
and down woody debris
Stocking:
an indication of
growing-space occupancy
relative to a preestablished
standard
Stratification:
the exposure of
seed to a cold,
moist treatment
to overcome dormancy
and promote germination
Stump
Sprout :
Regeneration of
shoot growth from
either adventitious
or dormant buds
from a cut tree
stump
Succession:
the gradual supplanting
of one community of
plants by another
Sucker
(Root Sprout):
Shoots arising
from below ground
level either from
a rhizome or
from a root
Sustainability:
the capacity of
forests, ranging
from stands to ecoregions,
to maintain their
health, productivity,
diversity, and overall
integrity, in the
long run, in the
context of human
activity and use
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Tending:
any treatment designed
to enhance growth,
quality, vigor,
and composition of
the stand after
establishment
or regeneration
and
prior to final
harvest
Thinning:
a cultural treatment
made to reduce stand
density of
trees primarily
to improve growth,
enhance forest
health, or recover
material potential
mortality
Two-aged
stand:
a growing area
with trees of
two distinct age
classes separated
in age by more
than +/- 20 percent
of rotation
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Understory:
all vegetation growing
under an overstory
Uneven-aged
stand:
a stand with trees
of three or more
distinct age classes,
either intimately
mixed or in small
groups
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Variable
retention harvest
system:
an approach to
harvesting based
on the retention
of structural
elements or biological
legacies from
the harvested
stand for integration
into the new stand to
achieve various
ecological
objectives
Veneer:
a thin sheet of
wood of uniform
thickness, produced
by rotary cottoning
(peeling) or slicing,
and sometimes by
sawing
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Weeding:
a release treatment
in stands not past
the sapling stage
that eliminates
or suppresses
undesirable vegetation
regardless of crown
position
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