"When you try to change a single thing, you find it hitched to everything
else in the universe..."
John Muir
Welcome
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Training Guidelines
AQUATIC
SECTION
FORESTRY
SECTION
SOIL
SECTION
WILDLIFE
SECTION
SPECIAL
TOPIC SECTION
FORESTRY SECTION
GLOSSARY
Abney Level - An instrument used to determine the percent of slope a site.
Aspect - A compass reading taken facing down a slope in the direction water would run, gives the compass direction of a slope.
Best Management Practices (BMPs) - A practice or combination of practices, that is determined by a state to be the most effective, practicable means of preventing or reducing the amount of pollution generated by nonpoint sources (such as managed forests) to a level compatible with water quality goals.
Clinometer - Height measuring device.
Conservation - A relatively new word as it describes natural resources. Gifford Pinchot, a turn- of-the-century forester closely associated with President Teddy Roosevelt, fabricated the word to describe a natural resource process. It meant "wise use." Through the years, it has taken on an extended meaning that really says "wise use over a period of time." The time factor forces us to consider the consequences of current use compared to future use. This removes the element of exploitation, which could occur under the "wise use" alone.
Coppice - A stand of forest originating from sprouts from the stumps or roots of trees previously cut. Most hardwood species sprout readily when cut young. Very few conifers will sprout from the stump.
Crown Class - Tree crowns are classified as to the position in which they are found. The following are the main generally recognized classes:
Dominant - Trees with crowns that extend above the average of the tree crowns and receive light from directly above and some from the sides.
Co-Dominant - Trees with crowns that form the general level of the crown cover and receive full light from the top, but very little from the sides.
Intermediate - Trees that are shorter than the two preceding classes but with some branches extending the general crown cover. Receives little light from above and none from the sides.
Suppressed - Trees with crown entirely below the general crown level and receiving no direct light either from above or below.
Cull - Tree or log of merchantable size, but no market value.
DBH - Diameter of a tree at breast height or 4 1/2 feet above ground.
Duff - Often referred to as litter, which is made up of materials of the upper layer of the forest floor. This includes freshly fallen leaves, twigs and slightly decomposed organic matter.
Erosion - The wearing away of the soil and minerals by climatic agents such as wind and water.
Exposure - That portion of the slope that is directly in the path of wind, rain, and sun. That part of a slope open to action of the elements.
Forest Land Capabilities - The productivity of the land as it is affected by particular location or position on a slope.
Forest Types - Classification or species indicating the majority of the species or the species represented in an area.
Germination - The process by which a plant embryo (contained in a seed) resumes growth under conditions of adequate moisture and temperature.
Girdle - To chop or remove a strip of bark or a section of wood containing the food-carrying tissue of a tree in an even strip from the perimeter of the tree or twig.
Harvest - The removal of marketable products from the forest.
Mature Tree - A tree that has reached a maximum growth that the forest manager decides is a merchantable product.
Multiple-Land-Use - A term used to indicate the management of timber, wildlife, and recreation in an integral, consolidated program.
Merchantable Height - A term used to indicate the marketable length of a tree.
National Forests - These differ from National Parks in that recreation is not their only use. Recreation may be a primary use in some part of the national forest. For example, there are more acres of wilderness areas in national forests than national parks. The national forest system administers 154 forests and 19 grasslands. On most national forest land timber, water, wildlife, recreation, and grazing are compatible resources. These are managed for productive and sustained yields according to the land's capability.
National Parks - The National Park Service was established by Congress to promote and regulate the use of national parks, monuments, and reservations and to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein. The Park Service administers 295 separate areas. The Service manages some areas for historical or recreational uses. Each of the 35 national parks was established to preserve a unique natural area for our enjoyment and study. National parks should not be confused with national forests.
Old Growth - This term describes eastern forests and virgin western forests with trees over 100 years of age.
Partial Cut - Method of cutting mature trees such as shelterwood cut, selection cut, or seed tree cut.
Pole Timber - A young tree that is 3 to 12" in DBH.
Prescribe Burn - Control burning to enhance forest management techniques in silviculture, wildlife management, fire hazard control, etc.
Preservation - In natural resources, other than wood preservation, this term is related to land use. The meaning stems from 19th century land reserves wherein areas and resources were set aside for limited or restricted use and development. Preservation may be contrasted to the principle of multiple use, which rather intensively develops one or more of an area's resources.
Reproduction - A natural establishment of seedlings or sprouts between 0 - 1 inch in diameter.
Residual Stand - That portion of a timber stand left after any partial cut.
Sanitation Cutting - The removal of dead, damaged or susceptible trees; essentially to prevent the spread of pests or pathogens and so promote forest hygiene.
Sapling - A young tree less than 3 inches DBH. The minimum size is usually placed at 1 inch DBH.
Seedling - A tree grown from seeds.
Silviculture - A term used to indicate the establishment, development, care, and reproduction of stands of timber.
Site - The combination of biotic, climatic and soil conditions with the ecological factors of an area to produce forests or other vegetation.
Slope Position - A particular location on a slope as upper, middle, or lower slope, ridge top or bottomland. A specific topographic location.
Sprout - A tree originating from a root or stump.
Stocking - The coverage of an area with desirable trees. Stocking can be classified as good or poor.
Streamside Management Zone (SMZ) - A strip of land adjacent to a water body or stream channel where soils, organic matter and vegetation are managed to protect the physical, chemical and biological integrity of surface water adjacent to and downstream from forestry operations. An SMZ also may be called a "filter strip" or "buffer zone."
Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) - A comprehensive program of forestry and conservation practices designed to ensure that future generations of Americans will have the same abundant forests and wildlife that we enjoy today. SFI is sponsored by the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA). AF&PA member companies have agreed to use sustainable forestry practices on the forestland they manage and to promote sustainable forestry on the forestlands of others.
Sustained Yield - Management of a forest stand to provide a constant supply of timber and revenue.
T.S.I. - Timber Stand Improvement. Any practice designed to improve a stand of timber by removal of vines, culls, and undesirable species.
Wilderness - In the strictest sense, this means an area that has never been developed by man. A 1964 Wilderness Act defined it thus: "A Wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominated landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammelled by man, where man himself is a visitor and does not remain." In common use the word is associated with these undeveloped areas and those set aside with a little development. In some cases man-made items are dismantled to reduce the area to a primitive state. Under these broader uses, some roadless areas are considered wilderness when the access is limited to hiking, canoeing, or horsebacking and the use is set aside for recreation. To most of the general public, wilderness experiences are gained in a number of settings involving wild but not necessarily true Wilderness areas.
Wild Fire - Fires burning out of control, regardless of how or why they were started.
Wolf Tree - A tree that occupies more than its fair share of growing space.
For additional information about the Envirothon Program in Arkansas, contact:
Delia Haak, Ed.D Arkansas Envirothon Coordinator
ArkansasEnvirothonCoodinator@gmail.com
479-238-4671
Debbie Moreland, Arkansas Association Conservation District Director
debbiepinreal@aol.com
501-425-2891
The Envirothon Program is offered and operated on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, or physical/mental challenges.