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Glossary of Forestry Terms - A - B
A-B
C
D-E
F
G-H
I-J-K
L-M
N-O
P-Q
R
S
T-U
V-W-Y
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A |
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Abiotic factors |
the non-living components of the environment, such as air, rocks, soil, water, peat, and plant litter. |
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Access management plan |
an operational plan identifying the requirements for all road construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and deactivation. |
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Active floodplain |
the level area with alluvial soils adjacent to streams that is flooded by stream water on a periodic basis and is at the same elevation as areas showing evidence of flood channels free of terrestrial vegetation, recently rafted debris or fluvial sediments newly deposited on the surface of the forest floor or suspended on trees or vegetation, or recent scarring of trees by material moved by flood waters. |
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Adaptive management |
rigorously combining management,
research, monitoring, and means of changing practices so that credible information is
gained and management activities are modified by experience. |
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Additive effects |
effects on biota of stress imposed by one mechanism, contributed from more than one source (e.g., sediment-related stress on fish imposed by sediment derived from streambank sources and from land surface sources). |
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Advanced regeneration: |
trees that have become established naturally under a mature forest canopy and are capable of becoming the next crop after the mature crop is
removed. |
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Adverse slope |
an uphill incline for hauling or skidding of logs or other loads. |
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Aerial photography |
photos taken from the air at regular, spatial intervals and used in photo interpretation to provide much information about forests and landforms. |
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Afforestation |
the establishment of trees on an area that has lacked forest cover for a very long time or has never been forested. |
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Age class |
ny interval into which the age range of trees, forests, stands, or forest types is divided for classification. Forest inventories commonly group trees into 20-year age classes. |
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Age class |
any interval into which the age range of trees, forests, stands, or forest types is divided for classification. Forest inventories commonly group trees into 20-year age classes. |
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Aggradation |
accumulation of sediment in a stream channel on an alluvial fan or on a floodplain. Also applied to sediment accumulation on slopes. |
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Aggregated retention |
retaining trees in patches throughout a cutblock or cutting unit. |
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Airtanker |
a fixed-wing aircraft fitted with tanks and equipment for dropping suppressants or retardants. |
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Alienation |
any land that has had its "right-to-use" transferred from the Crown through grant, lease, or permit or has a special interest noted, as in reserves. Land so designated may be permanent or temporary. |
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All-aged stand |
see uneven-aged stand. |
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Amortization |
a procedure by which the capital cost of projects, such as roads or bridges, is written off over a specified period of time as the timber volumes developed by the projects are harvested and extracted. |
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Analysis unit |
the basic building blocks around which inventory data and other information are organized for use in forest planning models. Typically, these involve
specific tree species or type groups that are further defined by site class, geographic
location or similarity of management regimes. |
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Aquatic habitat |
habitat where a variety of marine flora and fauna occur for long periods throughout the year. Examples include lakes, rivers, bogs, ponds and potential underwater diving areas. |
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Archaeological site |
a location that contains physical evidence of past human activity and that derives its primary documentary and interpretive information through
archaeological research techniques. These resources are generally associated with both
the pre-contact and post-contact periods and do not necessarily hold direct associations with living communities. |
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Artificial regeneration |
establishing a new forest by planting seedlings or by direct
seeding (as opposed to natural regeneration). |
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Aspect |
the direction toward which a slope faces. |
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Available timber |
timber which is available for harvest after
due recognition of constraints to protect the environment and other forest uses. |
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Available volumes |
the portion of total inventory volumes that is available for harvesting after all management constraints on timber harvesting have been considered, including definition of the timber harvesting land base, age of tree merchantability, deferrals and
any other priorities or constraints on timber harvesting. |
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Average long term yield |
the annual average of the total yield over the next 200 years minus unsalvaged losses. This figure is generally greater than the long run sustained
yield due to the influence of cutting old growth timber in the first few decades. |
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Avoidable waste |
the volume of timber left on the harvested area that should have been removed in accordance with the utilization standards in the cutting authority. It does not include the volume of timber that could not be removed because of physical
impediments, safety considerations, or other reasons beyond the control of the licensee.
Avoidable waste volumes are billed monetarily, as well as for cut control. |
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Azimuth |
the horizontal angle or bearing of a point measured from the true north. Used to refer to a compass on which the movable dial (used to read direction) is
numbered in 360 . See: Bearing and Compass. |
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B |
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Backpack sprayer |
spray unit with plastic containers on a backpack frame. Used by individual operator to apply chemicals, such as herbicides. |
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Bank full height |
that elevation which characterizes the cross-sectional area of the active stream channel. |
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Bareroot seedling |
stock whose roots are exposed at the time of planting (as opposed to container or plug seedlings). Seedlings are grown in nursery seedbeds and lifted from the soil in which they are grown to be planted in the field. |
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Basal area per hectare |
the area of the cross-section of tree stems near their base, generally at breast height and including bark, measured over 1 ha of land. |
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Base case |
the current socioeconomic conditions related to the existing forest land management strategy and the expected socioeconomic conditions if the strategy remains unchanged. |
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Baseline information |
information collected to provide a standard against which future measurements can be compared. |
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Basic silvicultural practices |
maintenance of the productivity of forest sites, restocking of denuded forest lands with commercial tree species within three years for areas west of the Coast Range and five years for areas in the Interior, protection against damage by fire, insects and diseases to predetermined standards. |
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Basic silviculture |
harvesting methods and silviculture operations including seed collecting, site preparation, artificial and natural regeneration, brushing, spacing and stand
tending, and other operations that are for the purpose of establishing a free growing crop
of trees of a commercially valuable species and are required in a regulation, pre-harvest
silviculture prescription or silviculture prescription. |
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Bearing |
a direction on the ground or on a map defined by the angle measured from some reference direction: this may be true (geographic) north, magnetic north, or grid north. |
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Biodiversity |
the diversity of plants, animals, and other living
organisms in all their forms and levels of organization, including genes, species,
ecosystems, and the evolutionary and functional processes that link them. |
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Biogeoclimatic classification system |
a hierarchical classification system of ecosystems
that integrates regional, local and chronological factors and combines climatic, vegetation
and site factors. |
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Biogeoclimatic unit |
part of the biogeoclimatic ecosystem classification system. The recognized units are a synthesis of climate, vegetation and soil data and defined as classes of geographically related ecosystems that are distributed within a vegetationally inferred
climatic space. |
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Biogeoclimatic zone |
a geographic area having similar patterns of energy flow,
vegetation and soils as a result of a broadly homogenous macroclimate. |
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Biological control |
the use of biotic agents such as insects, nematodes, fungi, and viruses for the control of weeds and other forest pests. |
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Biological herbicide |
a naturally occurring substance or organism which kills or controls undesirable vegetation. Preferred over synthetic chemicals because of reduced toxic
effect on the environment. |
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Biological legacies |
features which remain on a site or landscape after a natural disturbance. These legacies include live and dead trees, coarse woody debris, soil organic
matter, plants, fungi, micro-organisms and seeds. |
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Biomass |
the dry weight of all organic matter in a given ecosystem. It also refers to plant material that can be burned as fuel. |
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Biosphere |
that part of the earth and atmosphere capable of supporting living organisms. |
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Biota |
all living organisms of an area, taken collectively. |
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Birddog aircraft |
an aircraft carrying the air attack officer who directs fire bombing action on a wildfire. |
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Blowdown |
uprooting by the wind. Also refers to a tree or trees so
uprooted. |
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Bole |
tree trunk. |
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Botanical forest products |
prescribed plants or fungi that occur naturally on Crown forest land. There are seven recognized categories: wild edible mushrooms, floral greenery,
medicinal products, fruits and berries, herbs and vegetables, landscaping products and
craft products. |
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Breast height |
the standard height, 1.3 m above ground level, at which the diameter of a standing tree is measured. |
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Broadcast burning |
a controlled burn, where the fire is intentionally ignited and allowed to proceed over a designated area within well-defined boundaries, for the reduction of
fuel hazard after logging or for site preparation before planting. Also called slash
burning. |
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Browse |
shrubs, trees and herbs that provide food for wildlife. |
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Brush rake |
a blade with teeth at the bottom, attached to a tractor or skidder, used in mechanical site preparation. It penetrates and mixes soil and tears roots. |
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Brushing |
a silviculture activity done by chemical, manual, grazing, or mechanical means to control competing forest vegetation and reduce competition for space, light, moisture, and nutrients with crop trees or seedlings. |
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Bucking |
cutting a felled tree into specified log lengths for yarding and hauling; also, making any bucking cut on logs. |
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Buffer strip |
a strip of land (often including undisturbed vegetation) where disturbance is not allowed or is closely monitored to preserve or enhance aesthetic and other qualities along or adjacent to roads, trails, watercourses and recreation sites. |
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Burning permit |
a permit required under legislation for authorizing open burning during the fire season, for purposes other than cooking or obtaining warmth. |
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