Forestry Terms for the Woodland Owner
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Forestry AGRICULTURAL MU Guide PUBLISHED BY UNIVERSITY EXTENSION, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA Forestry Terms for the Woodland Owner John P. Slusher School of Natural Resources As a woodland owner, you may hear foresters piece of wood one foot long, one foot wide and use unfamiliar terms or see new terms in your forest one inch thick (144 cubic inches). management plan or timber sale contract. Forestry is a specialized field with its own terms and abbrevia- tions. This guide defines many of the words common- ly used in forestry and woodland management. ACP (Agricultural Conservation Program) — A cost- sharing program for conservation and environ- mental protection, including forestry practices. Administered by the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS). Acre — An area of land containing 43,560 square feet. Board foot Advanced reproduction — Young trees established before a regeneration cutting. Bolt — A short log or a squared timber cut from a Aspect — The direction that a slope faces (north, log, usually less than 8 feet long. south, etc.). Browse — Twigs and buds of small shrubs and trees Basal area — The cross-sectional area of a tree, in that are eaten by deer and livestock. square feet, at 4.5 feet from the ground (breast Buck — To saw felled trees into shorter lengths. height). When the basal area of all the trees in a Buffer strip — A protective strip of land or timber stand are summed, the result is expressed as adjacent to an area requiring attention or protec- square feet of basal area per acre, which is a mea- tion. For example, a protective strip of unharvest- sure of a stand’s density. ed timber along a stream. Biltmore stick — A graduated stick used to estimate Cambium — The growing layer of cells beneath the tree diameters by holding it against the tree at bark of a tree from which new wood and bark breast height. develop. Canopy — The more or less continuous cover of branches and foliage formed collectively by the tops, or crowns, of adjacent trees. Cavity tree — See den tree. Chain — A unit of linear measurement; 66 feet. Clearcut — A harvest and regeneration technique that removes all trees from an area. Also called a regeneration cut. Clinometer — An instrument for measuring vertical angles or slopes. Co-dominant tree — Trees whose crowns form the general level of the forest canopy and receive full sunlight only from above. Conifer — A cone-bearing tree with needles, such as Biltmore stick pines, spruces and firs, that produces wood com- Board foot — A unit for measuring wood volumes. It monly known as softwood. is commonly used to express the amount of wood Cord — A stack of wood containing 128 cubic feet. A in a tree, sawlog or individual piece of lumber. A standard cord measures 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet $.50 G 5054 Printed with soy ink on recycled paper of wood and air. Forest inventory — See cruise. Crop tree — A tree identified to be grown to maturity Forest type — A group of tree species that, because of for the final harvest cut, usually on the basis of its their environmental requirements, commonly location with respect to other trees and its timber grow together. For example, the oak-hickory type. quality. Forester — A person who has been professionally Crown — The branches and foliage of a tree. educated in forestry at a college or university. Cruise — A survey of forest land to locate timber and Girdling — Completely encircling the trunk of a tree estimate its quantity by species, products, size, with a cut that severs the bark and cambium of quality or other characteristics; the estimate the tree, usually resulting in the death of the tree. obtained in such a survey. Grading — Evaluating and sorting trees, logs or lum- Cruiser stick — See Biltmore stick. ber according to quality. Cull — A tree or log of merchantable size that, Habitat — The type of place in which the plant or because of a defect, is useless for its intended pur- animal lives, such as forest habitat, grassland pose. habitat and marsh habitat. DBH — See diameter breast height. Hardwood — A term describing broadleaf trees, usu- Defect — That portion of a tree or log that makes it ally deciduous, such as oaks, maples and ashes. unusable for the intended product. Defects Harvest — In general use, the removal of all, or por- include rot, crookedness, cavities and cracks. tions of, the trees on an area. It can mean removing Den tree — A living tree with a hollow cavity in the trees on an area to (1) obtain income, 2) develop top large enough to shelter wildlife. Also called the environment necessary to regenerate the forest, cavity tree. and on occasions, (3) to achieve special objectives Dendrology — The study of the identification of such as development of special wildlife habitat trees. needs. Contrast with intermediate cuttings. Diameter breast height (DBH) — The diameter of a Heel-in — To store young trees before planting by tree at 4.5 feet above the ground. placing in trench and covering roots with soil. Diameter inside bark (DIB) — The diameter inside Height, merchantable — Tree height up to which a the bark; used in log scaling. particular product may be obtained. For example, Diameter tape — A specially graduated tape used to if 8-inch minimum diameter sawlogs were being determine tree diameter when stretched around cut from a tree, its merchantable height would be the circumference of the tree stem. its height up to a diameter of 8 inches. Dibble bar — A flat or round metal tool used to Height, total — Tree height from ground level to top. make holes for planting seedlings. High-grading — Cutting only the high value trees Dominant tree — Tree with its crown above the gen- from a forest property. eral level of the canopy that receives full sunlight Hypsometer — A graduated stick used to estimate from above and partial light from the sides. tree height. It is often combined with a Biltmore Edge — In wildlife management, the area where the stick. variety of types of food, cover, water or terrain Increment borer — An augerlike instrument with a required by a particular species come together. hollow bit that Even-aged management — Forest management with is used to periodic harvest of all trees on part of the forest at extract cores one time or over a short period to produce stands from trees for containing trees all the same or nearly the same growth and age age or size. determination. Face cord — A stack of wood 4 feet high and 8 feet Intermediate cut — long composed of logs of varying length. Removing Felling — The process of cutting standing trees. immature trees FIP (Forestry Incentive Program) — A cost-sharing from the forest program that encourages landowners to plant sometime trees and to perform timber stand improvement between estab- work. Administered by the Agricultural lishment and Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS). stand harvest to Increment borer Firebreak — A natural or constructed barrier used to improve the quality of the remaining forest stand. stop or check fires. Contrast with a harvest cut. Firsts and seconds (FAS) — The highest standard Intermediate trees — Trees with crowns below the grade for hardwood lumber. general level of the canopy that receive some sun- Forest — A plant community dominated by trees and light from above but none from the sides. other wood plants. Landing — A place where logs are taken to be loaded Page 2 G 5054 on trucks for transport to the mill. stand. (Also called variable plot sampling or Log rules — A table showing estimated amount of prism cruising.) lumber that can be sawed from logs of given Pole saw — A saw attached to a long pole for prun- lengths and diameters. Two log rules are com- ing tree limbs without using a ladder. monly used in Missouri: Pole timber — Trees from 6 inches to 12 inches in 1. Doyle rule is a simple formula rule used in the diameter at breast height. eastern and southern United States. It underesti- Prescribed burning — Use of controlled fire to dis- mates the amount of lumber in small logs and pose of unwanted material. This method includes overestimates large logs. following a planned prescription of fuel, weather 1 2. International ⁄4-inch rule is a formula rule and other conditions. 1 allowing ⁄2-inch taper for each 4 feet of length and Props — In mining, a round, squared or split timber 1 ⁄16-inch shrinkage for each one-inch board. This that supports the roof. measure closely approximates the actual sawmill Prism, wedge — An instrument that incorporates a lumber tally. fixed angle and can be used to determine basal Logger — An individual whose occupation is har- area. See point sample cruise. vesting timber. Pruning — Removing live or dead branches from Lump sum timber sale — Standing timber is sold for standing trees to improve wood quality. a fixed amount agreed upon in advance; the sale Pulpwood — Wood cut primarily for manufacture of may cover a given acreage, tracts, certain species paper, fiberboard or other wood fiber products. or diameter classes of trees. Distinguished from a Regeneration cut — See clearcut. scale or unit sale in which payment is based on Release — To free trees from competition by cutting, the amount harvested (e.g., so much per thou- removing or killing nearby vegetation. sand board feet). Reproduction — Young trees. The process by which a Mast — Nuts of such trees as oak, walnut and hicko- forest is renewed, either artificially by direct seed- ry that serve as food for many species of wildlife. ing or planting, or naturally by self-sown seeds Mature tree — A tree that has reached the desired and sprouts.