March 2009 _ FM-1
Glossary of Forest Management Terms
Additional forestry terms, with supporting photographs, are defined in a glossary available within the water quality portion
of the N.C. Division of Forest Resources Web site, www.dfr.nc. gov. Also, there are more definitions of selected forestry
terms in the rules for the Forest Development Program
(ГОР):
Administrative Code 15A NCAC 09C .0903.
Basal Area (BA): The cross-sectional area in square feet of a tree trunk when measured at AZi feet above ground. This measurement is
used to estimate the stocking of trees per acre. A young, sapling-sized pine stand may have a BA of 200 square feet/acre, while a mature
pine stand that has been thinned and has large diameter trees may have a BA of 60 to 80 square feet/acre.
Board Foot (BF): A unit of wood measuring 1 inch thick by 12 inches by 12 inches. The volume of 1 BF = 144 cubic inches.
Canopy: The entire layer of tree crowns within a stand of trees. Can be sub-divided into overstory (the dominant upper tree crowns)
and understory (the lower, sub-level tree crowns.)
Chip-N-Saw (CNS): A type of lumber produced from medium-sized pine trees. At the sawmill, the CNS method grinds away the
outermost layer of wood in the log, then saws lumber from the interior wood of the log beam, making 2x4 boards and other lumber.
Clearcut: A harvesting and regeneration technique which removes all trees within a designated area. Clearcuts are a proven and sound
method of regenerating tree species that demand full exposure to sunlight to regenerate and grow, including pines and many hardwoods.
Clearcuts should not be confused with land clearing activities that strip the land of all features in order to convert the land to another use.
Competition: The struggle among trees and other vegetation for sunlight energy, water, nutrients, growing space and other site
resources. Competition usually refers to undesirable or non-marketable plants or vegetation within a stand of trees.
Cord: A stack of round or split wood containing 128 cubic feet of wood, bark and air space. A standard cord measures 4 feet high by
4 feet across by 8 feet wide. Firewood and sometimes pulpwood is bought and sold using “Cord” unit volume.
Crop Tree: A tree of desirable, high-value species whose crown is within or just below the overstory. A crop tree should be well
formed and free from defects, insects or disease. This term is usually used when managing hardwood timber.
Crown: All of the branches, limbs, needles or leaves of an individual tree. All of the crowns in a stand of trees comprise the canopy.
Cruise: A survey or sampling of standing trees to estimate their volume, product class, size, quality and/or financial value.
Cull: A tree or log that has a defect that makes it unusable for its original intended purpose. Cull may be caused by natural defects,
such as rotten wood or knots, or may be caused by mistakes made when the tree was harvested and prepared for shipment to the mill.
DBH: Diameter at Breast Height - The diameter of a tree when measured at a point 4
'/2
feet above the average ground surface. This is
the standard measure used in forestry to estimate tree diameter.
Hardwood: A general category to describe trees with broad, flat, or scalloped leaves. Hardwood trees have their seed contained within
a nut, fruit, berry or other outer casing. Most hardwoods are deciduous, meaning they drop their leaves each year, but some hardwoods
are evergreen, such as holly and magnolia. The actual hardness of the wood varies widely from species to species.
High-grading: High-grading is a tree removal practice in which only the best quality, most valuable timber trees are removed, often
without any thought put into regenerating new tree seedlings or effort to remove the remaining poor quality and suppressed understory
trees. High-grading usually does not result in a sustainable renewal or re-growth of high quality timber trees in the next cycle.
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