Glossary

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Biomass

All biological material, living or dead, existing in a stand.

Bole

Stem of the tree.

Canopy

Layers of branches and leaves formed by the crowns of trees.

Clear cut

A regeneration method where the entire stand is cut.

Conifer

A plant that produces naked seeds in the cone, mostly evergreen, and with timber commercially known as a softwood.

Crown

Leaves and branches of trees.

Cull

A tree that is not merchantable due to disease or poor form.

Debris

Woody biomass left on the ground after a harvest.

Diameter-limit

A poor silvicultural practice where only trees of the largest diameters and highest quality are cut. The less vigorous trees and culls are left to regenerate the stand.

Dominant

Trees that project beyond the general level of the canopy.

Even-age

A stand in which relatively little difference exists in the age of individual trees in a stand.

Feedstock

Raw material that can be transformed into primary and secondary products.

Germination

Emergence of seedling from seed.

Heart-rot

Decay in the center of the tree, often caused by a fungus.

Heartwood

Innermost tissue of the trunk, composed entirely of dead cells. Differentiated from the outer living tissue by its darker color.

Pine straw

Fallen pine needles, used as ground cover in landscaping

Pioneer species

Species first to establish following a disturbance event.

Plastic

Highly adaptable

Resilience

Ability to recover from a disturbance

Resinous

Producing and secreting pitch, a mixture of aromatic acids that is not soluble in water.

Rotation age

Period of years necessary to establish a timber stand and grow it to produce a product.

Sapling

A young tree that has a diameter less than 10 cm and is at least 1 meter tall.

Seed tree

Regeneration method in which the timber is removed except for a few number of trees to provide seed crop to generate the stand.

Seedling

Youngest trees in the stand; from time of germination until they attain 1 m in height.

Selection

Regeneration method where scattered or small groups of trees are harvested creating an uneven-aged stand.

Serotinous

Resin-sealed cones that open and release seeds at high temperatures generated by fire.

Shade tolerance

The capacity of the tree to grow and compete while in the shade of other trees.

Shelterwood

Regeneration method where mature timber is harvested, leaving a sufficient number of mature trees to provide shade and protection for new seedlings.

Stomata

Small openings on the surface of the leaf through which oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor can pass.

Succession

Change in community structure and composition through time.

Taper

Narrowing of the tree trunk from top to bottom

Taproot

A single main root that grows downward, provides a center from which branching roots grow.

Top-kill

Death of the top branches of the tree.

Windthrow

Tree that is uprooted by wind.