The systematic process of observing, mapping, and evaluating forest resources.
What is forest exploration?
The study of relationships between organisms and their forest environment.
What is forest ecology?
Non-living factors in a forest ecosystem such as sunlight, soil, and water.
What are abiotic factors?
The practice of managing the growth, composition, and health of forests.
What is silviculture?
A harvesting method that removes all trees in an area at one time.
What is a clearcut?
The measurement of tree diameter at 4.5 feet (1.37 m) above the ground using a special tape.
What is DBH (diameter at breast height)?
The tallest layer of trees forming a continuous cover in the forest.
What is the canopy?
Living factors in a forest ecosystem, including trees, animals, fungi, and bacteria.
What are biotic factors?
The process of establishing a new generation of trees after harvesting or disturbance.
What is forest regeneration?
A system that removes trees in several stages to allow seedlings to grow under mature trees.
What is the shelterwood system?
This instrument is commonly used to measure the height of a tree.
What is a clinometer?
The layer beneath the canopy with smaller trees and shrubs.
What is the understory?
Organisms like fungi and bacteria that break down dead organic matter and recycle nutrients.
What are decomposers?
This type of regeneration occurs when trees grow from naturally dispersed seeds.
What is natural regeneration?
A system where individual trees or small groups are harvested periodically.
What is the selection system?
A survey that records the number, size, and condition of trees in a forest.
What is a forest inventory?
The bottom layer of the forest including soil, seedlings, and leaf litter.
What is the forest floor?
The process by which plants make food using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water.
What is photosynthesis?
This type of regeneration involves planting seedlings or sowing seeds by people.
What is artificial regeneration?
This system produces a forest with trees of many different ages.
What is an uneven-aged management system?
Forest exploration helps foresters plan harvests, maintain forest health, and ensure this.
What is sustainable forest management?
The gradual change in plant and animal communities in a forest over time.
What is forest succession?
Forests provide these to wildlife and help maintain ecosystem stability by preventing erosion and filtering water.
What are habitat and ecosystem services?
A forest area with trees of similar age and size is called this type of stand.
What is an even-aged stand?
Trees that can grow well under the shade of other trees are called this.
What are shade-tolerant species?