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Definition
| Method of timber harvesting in which all trees in a forested area are removed in a single cutting. Compare seed-tree cutting, selective cutting, shelterwood cutting, strip cutting. |
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| Multidisciplinary science created to deal with the crisis of maintaining the genes, species, communities, and ecosystems that make up earth's biological diversity. Its goals are to investigate human impacts on biodiversity and to develop practical approaches to preserving biodiversity. |
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| Deliberately set, carefully controlled surface fires that reduce flammable litter and decrease the chances of damaging crown fires. See ground fire, surface fire. |
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Definition
| Extremely hot forest fire that burns ground vegetation and treetops. Compare controlled burning, ground fire, surface fire. |
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Definition
| Removal of trees from a forested area without adequate replanting. |
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Definition
| Deliberate alteration of a degraded habitat or ecosystem to restore as much of its ecological structure and function as possible. |
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Definition
| A wild species with so few individual survivors that the species could soon become extinct in all or most of its natural range. Compare threatened species. |
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Definition
| Method of forest management in which trees, sometimes of a single species in a given stand, are maintained at about the same age and size and are harvested all at once. Compare uneven-aged management. |
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Definition
| Generally fixed route along which waterfowl migrate from one area to another at certain seasons of the year. |
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Definition
| Type of wild animal that people hunt or fish for, for sport and recreation and sometimes for food. |
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Definition
| Fire that burns decayed leaves or peat deep below the ground surface. Compare crown fire, surface fire. |
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Definition
| Value of an organism, species, ecosystem, or the earth's biodiversity based on its existence, regardless of whether it has any usefulness to us. Compare instrumental value. |
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Term
| minimum viable population |
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Definition
| Estimate of the smallest number of individuals necessary to ensure the survival of a population in a region for a specified time period, typically ranging from decades to 100 years. |
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Term
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Definition
| Virgin and old, second-growth forests containing trees that are often hundreds, sometimes thousands of years old. Examples include forests of Douglas fir, western hemlock, giant sequoia, and coastal redwoods in the western United States. Compare second-growth forest, tree plantation. |
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Definition
| Destruction of vegetation when too many grazing animals feed too long and exceed the carrying capacity of a rangeland or pasture area. |
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Definition
| Managed grassland or enclosed meadow that usually is planted with domesticated grasses or other forage to be grazed by livestock. Compare feedlot, rangeland. |
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Term
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Definition
| Land that supplies forage or vegetation (grasses, grasslike plants, and shrubs) for grazing and browsing animals and is not intensively managed. Compare feedlot, pasture. |
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Term
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Definition
| Renewal of trees and other types of vegetation on land where trees have been removed; can be done naturally by seeds from nearby trees or artificially by planting seeds or seedlings. |
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Definition
| Research and scientific study devoted to restoring, repairing, and reconstructing damaged ecosystems. |
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Term
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Definition
| Thin strips and patches of vegetation that surround streams. They are very important habitats and resources for wildlife. |
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Term
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Definition
| Stands of trees resulting from secondary ecological succession. Compare old-growth forest, tree farm. |
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Term
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Definition
| Cutting of intermediate-aged, mature, or diseased trees in an uneven-aged forest stand, either singly or in small groups. This encourages the growth of younger trees and maintains an uneven-aged stand. |
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Term
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Definition
| A variation of clear-cutting in which a strip of trees is clear-cut along the contour of the land, with the corridor narrow enough to allow natural regeneration within a few years. After regeneration, another strip is cut above the first, and so on. |
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Term
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Definition
| Forest fire that burns only undergrowth and leaf litter on the forest floor. Compare crown fire, ground fire. See controlled burning. |
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Term
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Definition
| Wild A wild species that is still abundant in its natural range but is likely to become endangered because of a decline in numbers. Compare endangered species. |
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Term
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Definition
| Site planted with one or only a few tree species in an even-aged stand. When the stand matures it is usually harvested by clear-cutting and then replanted. These farms normally are used to grow rapidly growing tree species for fuelwood, timber, or pulpwood. |
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Term
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Definition
| Method of forest management in which trees of different species in a given stand are maintained at many ages and sizes to permit continuous natural regeneration. Compare even-aged management. |
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Definition
| Area where the earth and its community of life have not been seriously disturbed by humans and where humans are only temporary visitors. |
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Term
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Definition
| All free, undomesticated species. Sometimes the term is used to describe animals only. |
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