L
Ladder fuels	fuels that provide vertical continuity between the surface fuels and crown fuels in a forest stand, thus contributing to the ease of torching and crowning.
Lakeshore management area	the lands directly adjacent to a lake, in which forest practice standards are designed to maintain the unique combination of fish, wildlife, water, and recreation values that occur on and around lakes.
Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP)	a strategic, multi-agency, integrated resource plan at the subregional level. It is based on the principles of enhanced public involvement, consideration of all resource values, consensus-based decision making, and resource sustainability.
Land-use planning	the process by which decisions are made on future land uses over extended time periods, that are deemed to best serve the general welfare.
Landform	a landscape unit that denotes origin and shape, such as a floodplain, river terrace, or till plain.
Landing	an area modified by equipment that is designed for accumulating logs before they are transported.
Landscape	the fundamental traits of a specific geographic area, including its biological composition, physical environment and anthropogenic or social patterns.
Landscape ecology	the study of the distribution patterns of communities and ecosystems, the ecological processes that affect those patterns and changes in pattern and process over time.
Landscape inventory	See Visual landscape inventory.
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Landscape level	a watershed, or series of interacting watersheds or other natural biophysical (ecological) units, within the larger Land and Resource Management Planning areas. This term is used for conservation planning and is not associated with visual landscape management and viewscape management.
Landscape sensitivity	a component of the landscape inventory that estimates the sensitivity of the landscape based on: the visual prominence of importance of features; conditions that affect visual perception; and social factors that contribute to viewer perceptions.
Leader	the length of tree stem from the top of the tree down to the first set of branches, representing one year of growth and reflecting the tree's vigor and the site's growing potential.
Leave trees	all trees, regardless of species, age, or size, remaining on a harvested area as a result of a predetermined silviculture prescription to address a possible range of silviculture or resource needs.
Licence to cut	an agreement allowing a person who purchases or occupies land, and who does not otherwise have the right to harvest Crown timber from the land, to cut and/or remove timber on the land.
Lightning detection system	a network of electronic field sensors linked to a central computer to detect, triangulate, plot the location of and record cloud-to-ground lightning flashes in real time over a predetermined area.
Limiting factor	a factor present in an environment in such short supply that it limits growth or some other life process.
Linear developments	straight line industrial development that is typical of power lines, highways, gas lines, and seismic activities.
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Litter layer	the layer of organic debris, mainly bark, twigs, and leaves, on the forest floor.
Local Resource Use Plan (LRUP)	a plan approved by a district manager for a portion of a timber supply area or tree farm licence that provides management guidelines for integrating resource use in the area. Such a plan may become a higher level plan if declared to be so by the ministers or Cabinet.
Log boom	floating logs tied together in rafts to be towed by boat to their destination.
Logging	See Harvesting.
Logging (cutting) plan	a map, along with a written plan, describing the road building, harvesting, and other related operations that are submitted for a forest officer's approval to ensure that the applicable standards and obligations stated in the Pre-Harvest Silviculture Prescription and the harvesting agreement are met.
Logging trail	a narrow, temporary path used by harvesting equipment.
Long Run Sustainable Yield (LRSY)	the long run sustainable yield for any Timber Supply Area (TSA) is equal to the culmination of mean annual increment weighted by area for all productive and utilizable forest land types in that TSA including all not satisfactorily restocked, disturbed stocking doubtful, and potentially usable noncommercial cover.
Lopping	chopping branches, tops and small trees after felling into lengths such that the resultant slash will lie close to the ground.
Lopping and scattering	lopping the slash created after felling and spreading it more or less evenly over the ground without burning.
Loss factors	reductions made to gross timber volumes to allow for decay, waste, and breakage.
Low Ground Pressure (LGP) machines	machines that exert a total ground pressure of less than 43.4 KPa (6.3 pounds per square inch).
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M
Managed forest land	forest land that is being managed under a forest management plan utilizing the science of forestry.
Management plan	a management plan or management and working plan approved under a tree farm licence, woodlot licence, pulpwood agreement or forest licence. Contains inventory and other resource data.
Management area	stands or forest types that require similar management practices and can be grouped for treatment as a management unit.
Management assumptions	approximations of management objectives, priorities, constraints and other conditions needed to represent forest management actions in a forest planning model.
Management option	a prescription of management activities over time that will achieve specified management objectives.
Management plan	detailed long-term plan for a forested area. Contains inventory and other resource data.
Management unit plan	A plan prepared for a timber supply area which takes into account regional goals and land use interactions. Management unit plans provide a basis for forest service programs. The annual allowable cut for the management unit is calculated on the basis of the management unit plan.
Management zone	the outer portion of a riparian management area situated adjacent to a stream, lake, or wetland and established to conserve and maintain the productivity of aquatic and riparian ecosystems when harvesting is permitted.
Map folio	a series of maps bound together, often produced as overlays of information, e.g., soils, fish, water, forest, and wildlife.
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Marine-sensitive zones	fish spawning areas, shellfish beds, marsh areas, aquaculture sites, juvenile salmonid rearing areas, and adult salmon holding areas.
Mature	trees or stands that are sufficiently developed to be harvestable.
Mature timber	stands of timber where the age of the leading species in a stand is greater than the specified cutting age. Cutting ages are established to meet forest management objectives. Usually stands with leading species are classified as mature timber when the stand age is greater than 80 years.
Maximum density	the maximum allowable stand density above which stands must be spaced to a target density of well-spaced acceptable stems to achieve free-growing status.
Mean Annual Increment (MAI)	the average annual increase in volume of individual trees or stands up to the specified point in time. The MAI changes with different growth phases in a tree's life, being highest in the middle years and then slowly decreasing with age. The point at which the MAI peaks is commonly used to identify the biological maturity of the stand and its readiness for harvesting.
Mechanical site preparation	any activity that involves the use of mechanical machinery to prepare a site for reforestation.
Mechanized access and use	refers to access and use by, for example, mountain bikes and other bicycles, hang gliders, and other human-powered mechanized equipment. Associated facilities include aircraft landing facilities, boat docks, and heliports.
Mechanized stand tending treatment	any stand tending activity that involves the use of mechanical machinery to treat a stand.
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Memorandum of understanding (MOU)	an agreement between ministers defining the roles and responsibilities of each ministry in relation to the other or others with respect to an issue over which the ministers have concurrent jurisdiction.
Merchantable timber	a tree or stand that has attained sufficient size, quality and/or volume to make it suitable for harvesting.
Merchantable volume	the amount of sound wood in a single tree or stand that is suitable for marketing under given economic conditions.
Meridian line	a north-south reference line often appearing on maps. Meridian lines are also etched into the bearing plate on a compass.
Microclimate	generally the climate of small areas, especially insofar as this differs significantly from the general climate of the region. Stands often create microclimates.
Microsite	a small area which exhibits localized characteristics different from the surrounding area. For example, the microsites created by a rock outcrop with thin soils, or the shaded and cooled areas created on a site by the presence of slash.
Mineral soil	soil consisting predominately of, and having its properties determined by, inorganic matter. Usually contains less than 20 per cent organic matter.
Minimum utilization standard	included in every licence authorizing the harvesting of timber, a standard which is expressed as a maximum stump height, diameter at stump height, and top diameter and which can vary by species and timber supply area (and supply blocks within timber supply areas).
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Mixed stand	a stand composed of two or more tree species.
Modified burning zone	a zone within or adjacent to a smoke-senstive area that requires special considerations and burning techniques, even under favourable conditions, to maintain air quality within a smoke-sensitive area.
Monoculture	in general, even-aged, single-species forest crops.
Mortality	death or destruction of forest trees as a result of competition, disease, insect damage, drought, wind, fire and other factors (excluding harvesting).
Motorized access and use	refers to access and use by, for example, float planes, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, motorboats, motor bikes, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, and motorized equipment.
Multiple use	a system of resource use where the resources in a given land unit serve more than one user. Multiple use can be effected in three ways: different uses of adjacent sub-areas which together form a composite multiple use area; the alternation in time of different uses on the same areas; and more than one use of an area at one time. In multiple use planning, where differing resource uses are conducted at the same time on the same area and conflicts between users will occur, one resource is determined to be the dominant use and all other secondary uses are integrated only in-so-far as they are compatible with the first. Often multiple use planning sacrifices the production of the individual resources in favour of the over-all mix of resource uses that brings the greatest social and economic benefits.
Multiple Use Sustained Yield Calculation (MUSYC)	a linear programming forest planning model developed by the United States Forest Service. MUSYC is currently used by most provinces as the standard forest planning model for carrying out TSA timber supply computer analysis.
Mycorrhiza	a rootlet of a higher plant modified through integral association with a fungus to form a constant structure which differs from either component but is attached to the root system and functions somewhat as a rootlet. It is usually considered to be beneficial to the associated plant.
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