› What are working forests?
Working forests in public and private ownership provide materials for the way we live, and in so doing generate economic benefits that enable owners to keep these forests working. Without these economic benefits, many owners would need to convert their lands to other uses. Yet in addition to materials we use every day, working forests provide:
- Clean water and air, fish and wildlife habitat and recreation opportunities.
- The “largest sustained mitigation benefit” to address climate change, according to the world’s leading scientific body on global warming.
- Jobs and other financial resources for families, communities and rural and regional economies.
The following terms are defined relative to their use in discussing forests and forest management.
Adaptive management — Using scientific research to manage forests, by monitoring conditions resulting from forest practices and using the results to put new knowledge into practice on the ground.
Biomass — The total weight (mass) of all living matter in a particular habitat or area at a given moment in time. Forests are biomass factories, producing plant, animal and microbial biomass.
Buffers/Buffer zone — The trees or forest adjacent to an area requiring attention or protection, such as the land along streams to protect and support fish habitat.
Board foot (bf) — A unit of wood equivalent to a piece of wood 12 inches square and 1 inch thick.
Carbon sequestration — The capture and storage of carbon dioxide from the air through photosynthesis, which is necessary for the growth of trees and helps reduce this greenhouse gas, which is thought to be a major contributor to climate change.
Carrying capacity — The maximum number of trees or other individuals of a given species that can survive in a particular ecosystem on a long-term basis.
Clearcutting — A method of harvest in which all the trees in a given area are removed, and the area is then replanted or allowed to regenerate. This method is usually used with shade-intolerant species.
Conservation — The use of natural resources in a way that assures their continuing availability to future generations; the intelligent use of natural resources for long-term benefits.
DBH — The diameter of a tree as measured at breast height. Standard DBH is measured at 4.5 feet above the ground.
Ecosystem — The interacting system of biological elements, such as plants, animals and microorganisms, with their non-living environment; also, the place where these interactions occur.
Forest management — The practical application of scientific, economic and social principles on forest landscapes to provide a sustained source of goods, services and other benefits for society.
Forestry — The art, science and practice of managing forest landscapes to provide a sustained production of a variety of goods and services for society.
Habitat — An area that provides an animal or plant with adequate food, water, shelter and living space in a suitable arrangement.
Harvest — Removing trees in an area to obtain an income and a usable product, and/or to protect forest health.
Old-growth forests — Forests containing trees that are often hundreds, sometimes thousands of years old.
Overstocked stand — Description of a forest in which trees are so closely spaced that they compete for resources and do not reach full growth potential.
Pulp — Fibrous material prepared from wood, recovered paper and other materials by chemical or mechanical processes for use in making paper or other products.
Regeneration — The renewal of vegetation by natural or artificial means.
Renewable resource — A naturally occurring raw material or form of energy, such as trees or water, that has the capacity to replenish itself through ecological cycles and sound management practices.
Riparian habitat — The area adjacent to and pertaining to the banks of streams, rivers or other water bodies that provide an organism with adequate food, water, shelter and living space; and/or the conditions of that environment, including the soil, vegetation, water and food.
Rotation — The planned number of years between the planting of trees and their final cutting at a specified stage of maturity.
Selective harvesting — The removal of individual or small clusters of trees to manage a forest stand for a mixture of age classes and products.
Sustained yield — A method of forest management that calls for an approximate balance between net growth and amount harvested.
Thin — To reduce the number of trees in an immature, overstocked stand to increase the stand’s health and value growth by providing better growing conditions for individual trees with the best potential.
Watershed — A sloping area of land that collects, directs, controls and discharges the flow of rainwater into a single main stream through a series of smaller tributaries, or all land and water within the confines of a drainage basin.
Woody biomass — Living material from trees, including chips, branches and other woody material from harvesting, thinning and related activities that can be used to generate energy.
