Definitions
Abiotic: Not living
Acceptable Growing Stock: Trees of commercial species that meet specific quality standards
All-aged: Stand containing trees of most age classes
Appraisal: Finding the most likely selling price in the market (Klemperer 1996)
Aspect: Direction a slope faces
Basal Area: Cross section of tree stem at 4.5 feet off the ground
Biological Diversity: Variety of life and its organization. Includes richness (# of organisms) and evenness (distribution of organisms)
BMP (Best Management Practice): Recommendations for harvesting activities to reduce erosion and the resulting water pollution
Board Foot: Amount of wood in a board measuring 1" X 12" X 12"
Broad-Based Dip: Shallow ditch in road or trail to drain water while permitting vehicles to pass (Jones 1993)
Browse: Leaves and twigs of woody plants eaten by wildlife (Jones 1993)
Bucking: Cutting tree into merchantable sections for mill delivery. Occurs in woods or on landing
Buffer: Land that blocks or absorbs unwanted impacts of forestry activities
Bumper Tree: Tree used to block the impact of skidded logs, thereby protecting more valuable trees from damage (Jones 1993)
Capital: Store of wealth (Klemperer 1996)
Capital Budgeting: Deciding how to invest money (Klemperer 1996)
Capital Gain: Difference between sale price and purchase price of an asset (Klemperer 1996)
Cavity: Hole in a tree (is often wildlife habitat)
Clearcut: All or most of trees removed in one cut
Climax Forest: Stage of forest development that is relatively stable and self perpetuating (Lansky 1992)
CMAI (Culmination of MAI): Age of largest MAI (see MAI)
Coastal Wetland: According to Maine law, area with tidal flooding, having salt water vegetation, or area below the identifiable tidal debris line (Field 1994)
Commercial Clearcut: All marketable trees removed (Lansky 1992) also known as high-grading and diameter limit cutting.
Conifer: Tree producing cones
Conservation Easement: Giving or selling the development rights to your property. Any Maine municipality may purchase conservation easements for a period of at least 10 years (Field 1994).
Contour: Line of equal elevation on a topographic map
Cord: Stack of logs containing 128 cubic feet, usually measuring 4' X 4' X 8'
Cost Basis: Allocation of woodland's original purchase price to the resources of the woodland for tax purposes (land, white pine sawlogs, softwood pulp bolts, etc) (Klemperer 1996)
Cost-share: Government programs that fully or partially share the costs of an activity in order to provide an incentive for landowners to do that activity
Cover Type: Category of forest based on its mix of species
Crown: Upper part of a tree carrying the main branch system and foliage.
DBH: Diameter-Breast-Height: Diameter of tree stem 4.5 feet above the ground
Deer Yard: Area deer congregate during periods of deep snow or extremely cold weather. It has a thick and continuous evergreen cover to capture falling snow and insulate from severe cold.
Defoliator: Eats leaves (usually a catipillar)
Delimbing: Removing the branches from a tree. Occurs in woods or on landing. Next step is to buck the tree before trucking the wood away
Depletion: In income tax calculations, deducting original purchase cost from a harvest or land sale as determined by the cost basis (Klemperer 1996)
Diameter Limit Cut: Cutting all trees of below a specific DBH, can be species specific
Disturbance: Anything that alters a forest (fire, wind, insects, harvesting)
Edge: Where two types of vegetation meet (forest and meadow)
Ephemeral: Not permanent (usually in reference to streams)
Erosion: Wearing away by wind and water
Expensing: In income tax calculations, deducting costs from income to determine taxable income (Klemperer 1996)
Eutrophic: Rich in nutrients
Even-aged: Forest with trees having little age difference (<20 years)
Fair Market Value: Most likely price if offered for sale
Filter Strip: Area around a water body that filters out sediment from runoff. Its soil is not disturbed and its canopy is kept intact.
Forage: Plants eaten by wildlife or livestock
Forest Management: Application of forest science to achieve objectives
Forestry: Science and art of managing forests to satisfy desires
Fragmentation: When harvesting leaves islands of wildlife habitat (Hunter 1990)
Freshwater Wetland: According to Maine law, area >10 acres (can be < 10 acres if adjacent to a water body) having wetland vegetation due to periodic flooding (Field 1994)
Gap: Opening in the forest canopy
Girdle: Remove a ring of bark around the tree that kills the tree by interrupting food and water transport. To be successful, the ring should be at least an inch wide and deep. Preferably, two adjacent rings should be made. Girdling during the growing season is more successful. Some species (maple, beech, birch) take 2-3 years to die (Perkey et al. 1993).
Grapple Skidder: Skidder with tongs-like device to grab logs instead of cables or chains (Jones 1993)
Great Pond: According to Maine law, any inland body of water which in a natural state have a surface area in excess of 10 acres and inland bodies of water artificially formed or increased which have a surface area in excess of 30 acres (Field 1994).
Group Selection: Trees are periodically removed in small groups
Habitat: Area where plant or animal lives
Hardwood: Referring to the timber from broadleaved trees and the trees themselves. According to Maine law, a stand is considered hardwood if greater than 75% of the trees are hardwood (Field 1994)
Herbaceous: Plants with soft stems (non-woody)
High-grading: Taking the best trees and leaving the rest
Intermediate Cut: Tree removal done sometime between the formation of the stand and the regeneration of the stand
Intolerant: Unable to grow in shade
Landing: Where cut timber is assembled to be loaded onto trucks (also called a yard)
Layering: When bottom branches of a tree spread across the ground and take root to form a new tree. Black spruce and larch do this in bogs and mountain tops.
Litter: Freshly fallen and slightly decomposed plant matter on top of the forest floor
Lop: to cut the limbs of a felled tree, so that they are close to the ground (Jones 1993)
Lumber: Refers to wood products used for construction
Lump Sum Sale: Sale of standing timber for a fixed amount, as agreed upon before cutting
LURC (Land Use Regulation Commission): State planning and zoning board for plantations, unorganized townships, and unorganized coastal islands in Maine
MAI (Mean Annual Increment): Average growth rate of a tree or group of trees
Mast: The fruit of trees
Maturity: Tree has attained full height development and full seed production. This is often followed by a decline in vigor.
Merchantable: Having economic value (Jones 1993)
Mixedwood: Having a relatively even mix of needle-leaved and broadleaved trees. According to Maine law, a stand is considered mixedwood if less than 75% of the trees are softwood or hardwood (Field 1994)
Mixedwood: Stand with fairly even proportion of softwoods and hardwoods. Softwoods and hardwoods comprise no more than 70% of the basal area (percentages vary).
Overstory: Upper canopy layer
Parent Material: Mineral or organic matter from which the upper layers of soil are formed
Peeler: High quality tree used to produce veneer
Pest: Organism capable of causing damage. Includes insects and diseases.
Pioneer: Fast-growing, early successional plant species. Found in disturbed areas (Lansky 1992)
Pole: Tree stem ranging from 6-12 inches DBH (numbers vary)
Precommercial: Harvest costs exceed potential revenue
Precommercial Thinning: Thinning where stumpage prices are negative, so that cut trees are left in the woods (Klemperer 1996)
Prescription: Recommendation of activities and their times for a piece of woodland
Pulp: Liquefied wood fiber used to make paper products
Pulpwood: Logs used for making paper. Usually of smaller size and poorer quality than sawlogs
Regeneration: The new generation of trees (tree children)
Release Cut: Freeing favored trees from overtopping growth
Removal Cut: Last of shelterwood cuts that removes the last of the overstory trees
Residual: Trees left standing after harvest
Resilience: Ability to recover from disturbance
Riparian: Area in close proximity to water course or body
River: According to Maine law, free flowing water and associated floodplain wetlands that drains >25 square miles (Field 1994)
Rotation: The number of years in a stand's or tree's life, after which the stand is harvested and a new stand is established
Salvage Cut: Removal of timber to realize its value before it becomes worthless because of injurious agents (fire, insects, wind, disease)
Sanitation Cut: Removal of dead, damaged, or susceptible trees to prevent the spread of an insect or disease
Sapling: Tree stem ranging from 1-6 inches DBH (numbers vary)
Sawlog: Cut log of suitable size and quality to produce sawn timber.
Sawtimber: Uncut trees fit to yield sawlogs
Scarification: Breaking up the organic mat on forest floor so seeds can easily send roots into the moist mineral soil underneath
Seeding: Planting vegetation to protect disturbed areas from erosion
Seedling: Tree stem with a DBH less than 1 inch (numbers vary)
Seedtree Cut: Removal of mature timber except a smattering of seed bearing trees meant to reseed the land
Silviculture: Science and art of cultivating forests for needs and desires
Site: The environment of an area. Environment includes soil type, soil moisture, soil drainage,soil fertility, temperature, humidity, terrain, aspect, and slope.
Site Index: An expression of site quality based on the average height of trees occupying the main crown canopy and their age. High quality sites have taller trees at younger ages because of factors like deeper soil, more soil nutrients, and better micro-climate. On a site index table, higher quality sites plot a larger site index.
Site Preparation: Removal of unwanted vegetation and debris from the land before reforestation
Single Tree Selection: Periodic removal of single trees
Skid Trail: Temporary road for skidder travel to landing (Jones 1993)
Skidder: Rubber tired machine made to skid logs or trees. Logs are either pulled by cables, chains, or a grapple (see definition above) (Jones 1993)
Skidding: Hauling logs or trees by sliding from stump to a collection point
Slash: Woody residue left on ground after harvesting
Slope: Change in elevation per change in horizontal distance. 100% slope means that for every 1' horizontal distance, the land rises 1' in elevation. Also is expressed in degrees
Snag: Standing dead tree
Softwood: Referring to the timber from needle-leaved trees and the trees themselves. According to Maine Law, a stand is considered softwood if greater than 75% of the trees are softwood (Field 1994)
Species: Basic unit of organism (tree) classification
Sprouting: New tree arising from an old tree or remnant of an old tree. Can occur from roots and stumps.
Stand: Section of a forest with sufficient uniformity to be distinguishable and to be managed as a single unit
Stream: According to Maine law, either an outlet of a great pond or drains at least two perennial streams on a USGS 7.5 minute series topographic map (Field 1994)
Strip Cuts: Narrow clearcuts
Succession: Natural replacement of one plant community by another over time
Suckers: See sprouting
Stumpage: Standing timber
Stumpage Price: $ received for standing timber (not cut)
Stumpage Sale: Only the stumpage that is cut is paid for upon cutting. Also known as "pay-as-you-cut"
Succession: Change in vegetation (tree species) over time. Often following a disturbance
Sustainable Forestry: Managing forests without compromising the needs of future generations
Sustained Yield: The amount of timber a forest can produce at regular intervals for perpetuity
Tax Credit: Direct reduction of taxes, i.e. a $100 credit reduces taxes by $100 (Klemperer 1996)
Tax Deduction: Indirect reduction of taxes, i.e. a $100 deduction, at a 10% tax rate, reduces taxes by $10
Thinnning: Partial harvest made to accelerate growth of residual trees, without starting the growth of new trees.
Thinning Regime: Prescribed schedule of thinning over time
Timberland: Forests available for commercial timber production
Tolerance: Ability to grown in shade
Topographic Map: Map having elevation contour lines
TSI (Timber Stand Improvement): Any harvest that improves the quality of the residual trees
Twitch: Bundle of logs a skidder pulls from the woods to the landing (Lansky 1992)
Understory: Lower canopy layer
Unven-aged: Stands composed of intermingling trees that differ markedly in age within a minimum range of 10 to 20 years.
Veneer: Thin sheets of wood peeled from high quality hardwoods
Viable: Able to sprout and grow
Vigor: Amount of energy available to fight disease
Water Bar: Dip in road to drain water from uphill side of road to downhill side (Jones 1993)
Watershed: Entire area drained by a watercourse
Weeding: Removing competition from seedlings
Wetland: Land saturated or covered with water for part of the year and supporting vegetation adapted to saturated soils (Lansky 1992)
Whole Tree harvesting: Cut tree is removed to landing with branches intact. Tree is delimbed and bucked at landing (Jones 1993)
Windbreak: Barrier of trees to slow down the wind and its erosive force
Windthrow: Trees blown over by wind
Woods Road: Connects landing to public road
Yard: See Landing
Yarding: See skidding
(Taken, in part, from SAF 1971)
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