A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Age class
An age range in which forested stands are often classified for management purposes, since age can be a good indicator of size and merchantability.

Basal area
The cross sectional area of a tree, in square feet, measured at breast height. This is one method of measuring density in a given timber stand.

Black cherry
Commercially important hardwood tree species found in the Northeast; primarily used in the manufacture of fine furniture.

Board foot
Unit of measurement for lumber; 1 board foot equals a 1" thick board, 1' in width and 1' in length.

Buffer strip
An area of land left uncut next to a stream or road to minimize erosion, water pollution and/or enhance scenic considerations.

Cable logging
A system of logging using wire rope in which winches are in fixed positions and logs are transported partially or entirely off the ground. It is commonly used in the western U.S. on environmentally sensitive areas or areas inaccessible to conventional logging equipment.

Cambium
A cell layer in the outer part of the tree that produces new wood for the growth of a tree.

Canopy
An overstory or roof formed by intertwining tree branches.

Carbon sequestration
Process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in living systems like forests, or in deep oceans or underground. In the case of forests, sequestration occurs where there is a net growth of forests, or accumulation of carbon in forest soils.

Chip 'n' saw
Small sawtimber sufficient to produce some small dimension lumber, with the remainder chipped for pulp.

Clearcut
A logging technique in which all of the trees in a given area are harvested, regardless of size. It is used principally in even-aged stands of trees and is considered essential to the regeneration of tree species that are intolerant to shade.

Conifer
Any order of mostly evergreen trees and shrubs, including those with true cones such as pine, spruce and fir.

Cord
A unit of measurement equal to a stack of wood 4 x 4 x 8 feet or 128 cubic feet. Pulpwood is often measured in cords.

Crown
The upper part of the tree.

Crown classes
A grouping of trees according to their position in the forest canopy. Four classes are used: dominant, codominant, intermediate and suppressed.

Cruise
Term used to estimate the volume and quality of timber in a specific area.

Deciduous
Trees that lose their leaves, generally broad-leaved and usually hardwoods.

Diameter at breast height (DBH)
A commonly used point (4.5 feet above level ground) of diameter measurement used to estimate wood volume in a standing tree.

Douglas-fir
Commercially important softwood tree species grown primarily in the Pacific Northwest.

Doyle scale
A widely used log scale that estimates log volume. It is often used in the South.

Eastern white pine
Commercially important softwood tree species grown primarily in the Northeast.

Even-aged management
A system of forest management designed to maintain or improve the overall quality of stands of trees that are the same age or in the same age class.

Feller buncher
A machine used to fell trees by cutting them off at the ground using a sawhead or hydraulic shears. The cut trees are then assembled together to form a load for subsequent haulage by other equipment. These machines are used on level ground and are most common in the South.

Fiberboard
A general term that refers to various wood panel products such as particleboard, hardboard or chipboard, or other types of board formed by bonding wood with heat and pressure.

Forest management
A branch of forestry that is concerned with the overall administrative, scientific, technical, economic and social aspects of a designated forested area.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®)
An international nonprofit organization founded to support environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world's forests through independent forest management certification and marketplace labeling of certified forest products.

Hardwood
General term referring to any type or variety of broadleaf trees. The term does not refer to the actual hardness of the wood.

Harvest
A general term describing the removal of biologically or financially mature trees.

Loblolly pine
The most important commercial species of southern yellow pine; grown largely in the U.S. South.

MBF
The standard abbreviation for 1,000 board feet of standing timber, logs or lumber.

Merchantable
Timber of a specific species, size, quality and condition which can be sold commercially.

Natural regeneration
Tree reproduction obtained from seedlings originating by natural seeding or from sprouts.

Oriented strand board (OSB)
Wood panels made of wood chips oriented lengthwise and crosswise in layers with a resin binder.

Paperboard
A stiff cardboard composed of layers of paper, or paper pulp, compressed into a sheet.

Particleboard
A generic term used to describe panel wood products made from discrete particles (sawdust, chips) of wood rather than fibers.

Phase I environmental audit
An on-site evaluation that seeks to identify any sources of environmental liability associated with the property.

Plantation
A forested stand, usually even-aged, that is produced by direct seeding or planting.

Plywood
A flat wood panel comprised of a number of thin sheets or veneers in which the grain direction of each sheet is at a right angle to the one adjacent to it. The sheets are bonded by resin and pressure.

Precommercial thinning
The removal of selected trees in a young stand so that remaining trees will have more room to grow to marketable size. A thinning made purely as an investment in the future growth of the stand.

Premerchantable
Timber of specific species, quality and condition which is currently too small in diameter to be considered merchantable.

Prescribed burning
A silvicultural technique that uses regulated fires to reduce or eliminate undesirable vegetation.

Pulp
Wood that is reduced to a slurry of wood fibers by mechanical or chemical processes. Pulp is most commonly used for paper and paper products production.

Radiata pine
Commercially important tree species grown primarily in Australia, New Zealand and Chile.

Reforestation
Planting or seeding activity conducted after an area has been harvested.

Rotation
Period of time required to establish and grow a timber stand to economic or biological maturity.

Sawlog
Intermediate product between sawtimber and lumber. A sawtimber-quality tree is felled, de-limbed and cut to length to become a sawlog. When delivered and milled, lumber is produced from the sawlog.

Sawtimber
Timber of sufficient size and quality to be converted to lumber or other solid wood products.

Scribner scale
A widely used log scale designed to measure the actual net yield of a log in board feet.

Seedling
A young tree grown from seed from the time of germination to the sapling stage. These trees are less than 1 foot in height.

Silviculture
The science and art of influencing the establishment, composition and development of tree stands to achieve forest management objectives.

Snag
A standing dead tree, or portion of a tree from which most of the foliage and limbs have died. These trees are often left standing after a logging operation to provide habitat for certain species of wildlife.

Softwood
General term referring to any variety of coniferous trees having narrow, needle-like or scale-like leaves. The term does not refer to the actual softness of the wood.

Species
A group of generally related tree species for which similar management practices have been developed.

Stand
An identifiable group of trees occurring in a particular area that form a forest management unit.

Stewardship
The process of managing life and property with proper regard for the rights of others.

Stumpage
Standing merchantable trees on the stump before they are felled. This term can also refer to the monetary value of standing timber calculated before trees are cut.

Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI®)
A comprehensive system of principles, objectives and performance measures developed by foresters, conservationists and scientists that combines the perpetual growing and harvesting of trees with the protection of wildlife, plants, soil and water quality. For more information, please go to http://www.afandpa.org/

Sustained yield
The periodic yield of timber that a given forest area can produce indefinitely at a given intensity of management.

Thinning
Intermediate cutting made in immature stands to stimulate the growth of the trees that remain.

Timber Mart-South
A non-profit organization, housed at the University of Georgia's School of Forest Resources, that publishes southern timber price information.

Tree farm
A tract of land on which trees are regenerated, cultured, managed and harvested as a crop primarily for commercial purposes.

Veneer
Wood peeled, sawn, or sliced into thin sheets of a given thickness. Heavily used in the furniture industry as well as the plywood industry.

Waferboard
A wood panel made of discrete wafers of wood bound together by resin, heat and pressure. Lower quality hardwoods are often used in the production of waferboard.

Western hemlock
Commercially important softwood tree species grown primarily in the Northwest.

Wood supply agreement
An agreement to supply wood fiber for a predetermined time at a predetermined price.

Woodlands
A term used to describe forested areas consisting of both hardwood and softwood species.