Forestry and the care of trees is a technical skill with more to it than appears on the surface. A large quantity of technical procedures, equipment and terminology is often used which can take a little practice to implement. To help you get to grips with some of the jargon we have provided a glossary of forestry and related terms.

  • Arboriculture is the study and maintenance of trees.
  • Bole is the name for the trunk of a tree.
  • Chlorosis is a condition which affects plants leaving them discoloured.
  • A Defoliator is a chemical agent which when applied to trees causes damage to leaves and needles.
  • An Ecological Unit is a term used to describe a plot of land with similar biological, geological and climatic aspects.
  • Fire Retardants are chemicals used to minimise the flammability of trees.acorn
  • Grading is the classification of timber by quality.
  • Habitat Management is making alterations to an area to make it more habitable for specific life forms.
  • A Forest Inventory is a survey carried out to evaluate an area for its strengths and weaknesses in terms of forestry requirements.
  • Juvenile Spacing is arranging saplings of trees to maximise their development.
  • A Keystone Species is a species of an organism that is crucial for the development of a particular ecosystem.
  • A Landing is a cleared area used for storing logs awaiting collection.
  • Mass Wasting is land and earth which is moved naturally by gravity.
  • A Natural Range Barrier is a naturally occurring obstruction to an area of forest such as a river or large rock. Usually used for enclosing livestock.
  • Old Growth is a name given to a forest which contains live and dead trees of mixed variety and age.
  • Pest Incidences are measurements of activity of pests in a given area.
  • A Quadrat is a group of small plots of land arranged together to study ecology in a given area.
  • Reforestation (otherwise known as Regeneration) is the process of restoring an area manually by planting or seeding new trees.
  • Scaling is the measuring of the length and diameter of logs to calculate the volume after deductions for any defects.
  • A Terrain Stability Risk is an assessment to predict the possible damage a landslide could cause to an area.
  • Unsalvaged Losses is a term used to describe timber which has been destroyed and not harvested.
  • The Ventilation Index is a form of measuring levels of air pollution.
  • A Wilderness Area is an untouched plot of land as declared by government.
  • Xylem are the cells of a tree that transport water and nutrients from the roots to the leaves.
  • Yield is the amount of timber extracted from a forest periodically.