Forestry Terms

Artificial Regeneration
Establishing a new forest by planting or direct seeding
Basal Area

(a) The cross-sectional area (in square feet) of the trunk at breast height (4 1/2 feet above the ground). For example, the basal area of a tree 14 inches in diameter at breast height is about 1 square foot. Basal area = 0.005454 times diameter squared.

(b) Of an acre of forest: the sum of basal areas of the individual trees on the area. For example, a well stocked pine stand might contain 80 to 120 square feet of basal area per acre.

Best Management Practices (BMP)
A set of guidelines to protect water quality. BMPs focus on careful road construction and maintenance, careful timber harvesting, minimal impact site preparation and protection of streamside management zones and wetlands.
Biodiversity
A term for the number of species and communities of plants and animals in an area. The higher the biodiversity, the greater the probability of providing a livelihood for the greatest number of species in an area. The opposite of high biodiversity in monoculture.
Board Foot
A unit of wood equaling 144 cubic inches. The term is commonly used to measure and express the amount of wood in trees, sawlogs, veneer logs, or lumber. Board feet in a piece of wood is determing by length in feet x width in inches x thickness in inches divided by 12.
Clearcut
A harvesting and regeneration method which removes all the trees (regardless of size) on an area. Clearcutting is most commonly used with species like pine which require full sunlight to reproduce and grow well. Clearcutting also produces an even-aged forest stand.
Climax Forest
A forest with a combination of species that are able to reproduce themselves in their own shade and create a stable species distribution over time.
Cord
A stack of round or split wood containing 128 cubic feet including wood, bark, and air space. A standard cord measures 4 x 4 x 8 feet. A face cord or short cord is 4 x 4 x 8 feet of any length of wood less than 4 feet.
Cost-share Programs
Federal or state assistance programs that refund a portion of the cost of reforestation or timber stand improvement work on private lands under certain conditions.
Crown Classification

The differentiation of trees into classes based on the size, density, and position of their crowns relative to the crowns of other trees in the stand.

  • Dominant - Trees with crowns extending above the general level of crown cover and receiving full light from above and partly from the side; larger than the average trees in the stand, and with crowns well developed but possibly somewhat crowded on the sides.
  • Codominant - Trees with crowns forming the general level of the crown cover and receiving full light from above, but comparitively little from the sides; usually with medium sized crowns more or less crowded on the sides.
  • Intermediate - Trees shorter than those in the two preceding classes, but with crowns extending into the crown cover formed by dominants and codominants; receiving a little direct light from above, but none from the sides; usually with small crowns considerably crowded on the sides.
  • Suppressed - Trees with small, thin, crowns entirely below the general level of the crown cover, receiving virtually no direct light either from above or from the sides.
Cruise
A survey of forestland to locate timber and estimate its quantity of species, products, size, quality, or other characteristics; the estimate obtained in such a survey. Several different sampling techniques can be used in a cruise.
DBH
Abbreviation for tree diameter at breast height (4 1/2 feet above the ground). DBH is usually measured in inches.
Deciduous Tree
A tree which loses all its leaves at some time during the year. These are primarily hardwoods such as oak, hickory, ash, and sweetgum.
Diameter Class
A classification of trees based on the diameter outside bark measured at breast height (DBH)
Even-aged Forest Management
Forest management with periodic harvesting of all trees on part of the forest at one time or in several cuttings over a short time to produce stands containing trees all the same or nearly the same age.
Firebreak
Firelane - A natural or manmade barrier usually created by the removal of brush, trees, leaves, and other vegetation. Used to prevent the spread of fire.
Forest Management
The application of technical forestry principles and practices to the care of a forest property for the purposes of achieving the goals of the forest landowner.
Forest Stand
A unit or subdivision of a forest type. It is an aggregation of trees occupying a specific area and sufficiently uniform in composition of species, age arrangement, and condition to be distinguished from the forest on adjoining areas. It constitutes the smallest conventient natural division of the forest.
Forestland
Land at least 16 percent stocked by forest trees of any size, including land that formerly had such tree cover and is in the process of natural or artificial regeneration.
Forestry
The science, art, and practice of managing and using trees, forests, and their associated resources for human benefits.
Growing Stock
Live sawtimber trees and smaller trees capable of growing into sawtimber trees that meet certain standards of quality.
Habitat
The natural environment of a specific plant or animal. An area containing all the necessary resources for the plant or animal to live, grow, and reproduce.
Hardwood
A term describing broadleaf, usually deciduous, trees. The term does not necessarily refer to the hardness of the wood.
High Grading
The practice of removing only the biggest and best trees from a stand during a harvest operation and leaving only the poorest, lowest quality culls to dominate the site.
MBF
Thousand board feet. A unit of measure for tree colume or sawed lumber.
Natural Stand
A stand of trees resulting from natural seed fall or sprouting.
Plantation
An artificially forested area established by planting or direct seeding. it is usually made up of a single species.
Prescribed Burn
The controlled use of fire to achieve forest management objectives. Prescribed fire can be used to reduce hazardous fuel levels, to control unwanted vegetation, improve visibility, and imrpove wildlife habitat.
Pulpwood
Wood cut primarily to be converted into wood pulp for the manufacture of paper, fiberboard, or other wood fiber products. Pulpwood size trees are usually a minimum of 4 inches DBH and usually cut to a specified length.
Reforestation
Re-establishing a forest by natural or artificial means in an area where forest vegetation has been removed.
Sawtimber
Individual trees large enough to be sawed into lumber.
Selection Method
Harvesting individual trees or small groups of trees at periodic intervals (usually 5 to 15 years) based on their physical condition or degree of maturity. Frequently used in uneven-aged management.
Shelterwood Harvest
Removing trees on the harvest area in a series of two or more cuttings so new seedlings can become established from the seed of older trees. This method produces an even-aged forest.
Silviculture
The art and science of producing and tending a forest.
Site Index
A measure of a forest site based on the height (in feet) of the dominant trees at a specified age (usually 50 years for natural stands and 25 years for planted stands). A site index of 95 means that the expected height of the dominant trees at an index age of 50 years would be 95 feet on a particular area of land.
Site Preparation
Preparing an area of land for planting, direct seeding, or natural reproduction.
Softwood
A tree belonging to the order Coniferales, usually evergreen, cone-bearing, and with needles or scalelike leaves such as pine, spruces, firs, and cedars.
Stand

An area of forest that is relatively uniform in terms of tree species composition, age, size, and stocking, such that the same management recommendations would be appropriate for the entire area.

  • Mixed - A stand containing two or more species in the main canopy but with less than 80% made up of any one species.
  • Pure - A stand containing only one species or composed primarily of one species.
  • Fully Stocked - A stand with nearly all of the growing space effectively occupied but having ample room for the developing crop trees.
  • Understocked - A stand containing too few crop trees to effectively occupy the site, resulting in reduced yield and lower quality timber.
  • Overstocked - A stand containing too many trees, resulting in retarded growth; in extreme cases, growth could be virtually stopped and no trees would ever become merchantable.
Stewardship Program
A federal program designed to recognize and encourage private landowners to practice good multiple-use forest management. The program was modeled after Treasure Forest.
Streamside Management Zone
Buffer strips left along streams that protect stream banks and channels, provide shade and prevent logging debris and sediment from entering streams.
Stumpage
The value of a tree or group of trees as they stand in the woods uncut (on the stump).
Succession
The replacement of one plant community by another until ecological stability (climax forest) is achieved.
Thinning
Generally, a cutting in a timber stand to reduce the number of trees per acre. Hopefully, the remaining trees will grow faster and produce higher quality wood. A thinning will produce income.
Timber Stand Improvement (TSI)
Improving the quality of a forest stand by removing cull trees and brush, leaving a stand of good quality trees.
Tract
A parcel of land considered seperately from adjoining land because of differences in ownership, management objective, or other characteristics.
Treasure Forest
A program of the Alabama Forest Planning Committee which seeks to identify, verify, and publicly recognize private forest landowners who are doing a good job of multiple-use management of their lands. treasure is an acronym for Timber, Recreation, Environment, Aesthetics, for a Sustain, Usable REsource.
Tree Improvement Program
A program using genetics, forest tree breeding and silviculture to improve the volume growth, external characteristics and wood characteristics of forest trees.
Tree Key
A tree identification booklet that uses a series of questions about the tree's features to lead through various alternative until the sample is identified.
Uneven-aged Forest
A forest with many ages of trees present (technically, more than two age classes) and considerable differences in the ages.
Urban Forestry
The planning, establishment, protection, and management of trees and associated plants, individuallym in small groups, or under forest conditions, within cities, suburbs, or towns.
Wildfire
Uncontrolled fire in the forest that could damage present or future trees and wildlife habitat.