Afforestation
Afforestation is the establishment of new forest in an area that was not previously covered by forest.
Agroforestry
See farm forestry.
Apiculture
The keeping of honey bees.
Biological diversity
(also "biodiversity") A concept encompassing the diversity of indigenous species and communities occurring in a given region. It includes "genetic diversity", which reflects diversity within each species; "species diversity", which is the variety of species; and "ecosystem diversity", which is the diversity of different communities formed by living organisms and the relations between them.
Biological diversity is the variety of all life forms - plants, animals and micro-organisms - the genes they constitute and the ecosystems they inhabit. (National Forest Policy Statement)
Biomass
The quantity of organic matter within an ecosystem. (usually expressed as dry weight for unit area or volume).
Boreal forest
Boreal forests are those which lie outside the tropics. [World Conservation Monitoring Center]
Buffer
A strip of land (often including undisturbed vegetation) where disturbance is not allowed or is closely monitored to preserve or enhance aesthetic and other qualities along or adjacent to roads, trails, watercourses and recreation sites.
Canopy cover
The forest cover of branches and foliage formed by tree crowns.
CAR reserve system
CAR stands for comprehensive, adequate and representative.
Carbon Sequestration
The removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by changes in ecological processes, such as net primary production and decomposition, that lead to a net stable accumulation of carbon stocks above and/or below ground.
Carbon sink
A sink removes and stores carbon from the air, hence lowering the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Catchment
The area determined by topographic features within which rainfall will contribute to runoff at a particular point under consideration.
Clearfelling
The process of removing all trees, large and small, in a stand in one cutting operation.
Codes of forest practices
State regulations controlling the where and how harvesting is conducted.
Compartment
A management area of a forest, made up of one or more coupes.
Comprehensive Regional Assessment
A comprehensive regional assessment, or CRA, is a scientific assessment of the environmental, social and economic values that forests provide.
Coupe
A small management area of a forest in which harvesting and forest regeneration may occur.
Criteria and Indicators
Criterion: A category of conditions or processes by which sustainable forest management may be assessed.
Indicator: A measure (measurement) of an aspect of the criterion.
Cultural heritage
A monument, group of buildings or site of outstanding historical, aesthetic, archaeological, scientific, ethnological or anthropological value.
Deforestation
Deforestation is the permanent removal of forest. The forest is cleared and the land is then used for another purpose, such as agriculture or urban development.
Ecological community
An assemblage of native species that inhabits a particular area in nature. (abridged Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 definition)
Ecologically Sustainable Development
The Ecological Sustainable Development Working Group on Forest Use has specified three requirements for sustainable forest use: maintaining the ecological processes within forests (the formation of soil, energy flows and the carbon, nutrient and water cycles); maintaining the biological diversity of forests; and optimising the benefits to the community from all uses of forests within ecological constraints. (National Forest Policy Statement) (There is no common definition in the literature for this term).
Ecologically Sustainable Forest Management (ESFM)
ESFM is about managing forests to ensure they meet our present needs without affecting the options they can provide for future generations and, at the same time, maintain and protect other forest values.
Ecological Vegetation Class (EVC)
An EVC is a grouping of vegetation communities based on floristic, structural and ecological features.
Ecosystem
A dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit. (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 definition)
Endangered species and communities
Species in danger of extinction and whose survival is unlikely if the causal factors continue operating. Included are species whose numbers have been reduced to a critical level or whose habitats have been so drastically reduced that the species are deemed to be in danger of extinction. Also included are species that are possibly already extinct but have definitely been seen in the wild in the past fifty years and have not been subject to recent thorough searching. (National Forest Policy Statement)
Afforestation is the establishment of new forest in an area that was not previously covered by forest.
Agroforestry
See farm forestry.
Apiculture
The keeping of honey bees.
Biological diversity
(also "biodiversity") A concept encompassing the diversity of indigenous species and communities occurring in a given region. It includes "genetic diversity", which reflects diversity within each species; "species diversity", which is the variety of species; and "ecosystem diversity", which is the diversity of different communities formed by living organisms and the relations between them.
Biological diversity is the variety of all life forms - plants, animals and micro-organisms - the genes they constitute and the ecosystems they inhabit. (National Forest Policy Statement)
Biomass
The quantity of organic matter within an ecosystem. (usually expressed as dry weight for unit area or volume).
Boreal forest
Boreal forests are those which lie outside the tropics. [World Conservation Monitoring Center]
Buffer
A strip of land (often including undisturbed vegetation) where disturbance is not allowed or is closely monitored to preserve or enhance aesthetic and other qualities along or adjacent to roads, trails, watercourses and recreation sites.
Canopy cover
The forest cover of branches and foliage formed by tree crowns.
CAR reserve system
CAR stands for comprehensive, adequate and representative.
Carbon Sequestration
The removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by changes in ecological processes, such as net primary production and decomposition, that lead to a net stable accumulation of carbon stocks above and/or below ground.
Carbon sink
A sink removes and stores carbon from the air, hence lowering the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Catchment
The area determined by topographic features within which rainfall will contribute to runoff at a particular point under consideration.
Clearfelling
The process of removing all trees, large and small, in a stand in one cutting operation.
Codes of forest practices
State regulations controlling the where and how harvesting is conducted.
Compartment
A management area of a forest, made up of one or more coupes.
Comprehensive Regional Assessment
A comprehensive regional assessment, or CRA, is a scientific assessment of the environmental, social and economic values that forests provide.
Coupe
A small management area of a forest in which harvesting and forest regeneration may occur.
Criteria and Indicators
Criterion: A category of conditions or processes by which sustainable forest management may be assessed.
Indicator: A measure (measurement) of an aspect of the criterion.
Cultural heritage
A monument, group of buildings or site of outstanding historical, aesthetic, archaeological, scientific, ethnological or anthropological value.
Deforestation
Deforestation is the permanent removal of forest. The forest is cleared and the land is then used for another purpose, such as agriculture or urban development.
Ecological community
An assemblage of native species that inhabits a particular area in nature. (abridged Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 definition)
Ecologically Sustainable Development
The Ecological Sustainable Development Working Group on Forest Use has specified three requirements for sustainable forest use: maintaining the ecological processes within forests (the formation of soil, energy flows and the carbon, nutrient and water cycles); maintaining the biological diversity of forests; and optimising the benefits to the community from all uses of forests within ecological constraints. (National Forest Policy Statement) (There is no common definition in the literature for this term).
Ecologically Sustainable Forest Management (ESFM)
ESFM is about managing forests to ensure they meet our present needs without affecting the options they can provide for future generations and, at the same time, maintain and protect other forest values.
Ecological Vegetation Class (EVC)
An EVC is a grouping of vegetation communities based on floristic, structural and ecological features.
Ecosystem
A dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit. (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 definition)
Endangered species and communities
Species in danger of extinction and whose survival is unlikely if the causal factors continue operating. Included are species whose numbers have been reduced to a critical level or whose habitats have been so drastically reduced that the species are deemed to be in danger of extinction. Also included are species that are possibly already extinct but have definitely been seen in the wild in the past fifty years and have not been subject to recent thorough searching. (National Forest Policy Statement)
Endangered Forest Ecosystem
An endangered forest ecosystem is defined as one which is likely to become extinct in nature unless the circumstances and factors threatening its extent, survival or evolutionary development cease to operate; as determined by the application of the criteria outlined in section 6.1.
Farm forestry
The incorporation of tree growing into farming systems for a range of commercial and environmental benefits.
Fauna
Fauna is the collective description for members of the animal kingdom. Fauna includes animals, birds, reptiles, fish and insects.
Fire management
See Planned burn.
Flora
Flora is the collective description for members of the plant kingdom. Flora includes trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses, ferns and mosses.
Forest
A vegetation type dominated by woody vegetation having a mature or potential mature stand height exceeding 5 meteres, with an overstorey canopy cover greater than 20%.
Forest Estate
All forests growing on public or private lands.
Forest Industry Structural Adjustment Program (FISAP)
FISAP is an assistance program designed to help businesses in the native forest hardwood timber industry adjust to changes they face due to timber resource changes under RFAs.
Forest inventory
Forest type
A forest type is a classification of a forest according to the dominant tree species, or group of species.
Forest workers
The people whose livelihood is directly dependent on working in forests, such as tree fellers, apiarists, rangers, truck drivers.
Forestry
Forestry is the management of forests, for a variety of values.
Greenhouse gases
Gases that affect the temperature of the Earth's surface and have a large bearing on the Earth's climate. They include water vapour, ozone, chlorofluorocarbons, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. The 'enhanced greenhouse effect' refers to changes in the Earth's climate as a result of increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to human activity. (National Forest Policy Statement)
Habitat
The biophysical medium or media (a) occupied (continuously, periodically or occasionally) by an organism or group of organisms; or (b) once occupied (continuously, periodically or occasionally) by an organism, or group of organisms, and into which organisms of that kind have the potential to be reintroduced. (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 definition)
Hardwood
A hardwood is the wood from a flowering tree, such as a eucalypt.
Harvesting
Forest harvesting is the planned extraction of wood from a forest. Trees are felled (cut down) according to the harvesting plan and the trunks have the branches removed and are cut into logs for transport to the mill.
Integrated harvesting
Harvesting both sawlogs and pulpwood in a single operation. Can mean the removal of 90% of the canopy in a logging coupe in forest types that require full sun for regeneration. Seed trees, habitat trees and saplings remain.
Logging
See harvesting.
Management plan
The range of plans dealing with strategic and operational issues of forest management prepared for specific regional or local areas and integrating environmental and commercial objectives.
Monitoring
The periodic and systematic measurement and assessment of change in an indicator.
Monoculture
A large area of a single species.
Montreal Process
The informal agreement by the Montreal Process Group of countries to work towards the implementation of a comprehensive set of criteria and indicators for forest conservation and sustainable management.
Multiple use forest
The management of forests for a variety of uses and values, such as water production, recreation, apiculture, and timber production.
Native forests
Any local indigenous community, the dominant species of which is trees - see FOREST - and containing throughout its growth the complement of native species and habitats normally associated with that forest type or having the potential to develop these characteristics. It includes forests with these characteristics that have been regenerated with human assistance following disturbance. It excludes plantations of native species and previously logged native forest that has been regenerated with non-endemic native species. (NFPS)
Native species
A species that is indigenous to Australia or an external Territory; or that was present in Australia before 1400 (EPBC Act defn).
Natural heritage
Designates outstanding physical, biological, and geological features; habitats of threatened plants or animal species and areas of value on scientific or aesthetic grounds or from the point of view of conservation.
Non-wood products
Non-wood products (NWFPs) areof biological origin other than wood derived from forests, other wooded land and trees outside forests. Examples of NWFP include products used as food and food additives (edible nuts, mushrooms, fruits, herbs, spices and condiments, aromatic plants, game), fibres (used in construction, furniture, clothing or utensils), resins, gums, and plant and animal products used for medicinal, cosmetic or cultural purposes.
Old-growth forests
Old-growth forests are ecologically mature forest and has been subjected to negligible unnatural disturbance, such as harvesting, roading, clearing; or where the effects of any such disturbance is now negligible. The definition focuses on forest in which the upper stratum or overstorey is in the late mature or over mature growth phases. (adjusted National Forest Policy Statement definition)
Planned burn
The planned application of fire to vegetation on land selected in advance of such application for forest management applications such as weed suppression, fire hazard reduction, habitat management and regeneration.
Plant and animal communities
An assemblage of native plant and animal species that inhabits a particular area in nature. (abridged Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 definition)
Plantations
Intensively managed stands of trees of either native or exotic species, created by the regular placement of seedlings or seed. (NFPS)
Private forest
Private forests are on private property. They are owned and managed by individuals or companies.
Prospecting
Prospecting is a small scale search more minerals, such as gold. It is often a recreational activity, conducted with hand held metal detectors.
Public forest
Public forests are forests managed by the government on behalf of the people. These forests include State forests, national parks and many other types of reserves. (any forest on Crown land for which management responsibility has been delegated to government agencies, local governments or other instrumentalities. - NFPS)
Pulp
Material made up of separate fibres that is used to make paper.
Pulpwood
Pulpwood is logs not of suitable quality or size for sawing that instead are processed into woodchips, mainly for the production of paper.
Rainforests
Dense forest usually found in tropical areas of heavy rainfall and valued for the richness of biodiversity, aesthetics, and fine quality timbers. Rainforest also encompasses the dense warm temperate and cool temperate forests on Australia's east coast and Tasmania which are relics of an era of much higher rainfall.
Recovery plans
Comprehensive plans for the recovery of a threatened species of ecological community, including details, timing and costs of what action needs to be taken.
Regrowth forest
Native forest containing a substantial proportion of trees in a younger growth phase, actively growing in height and diameter. Regrowth forests may contain scattered individuals or small occurrences of ecologically mature, or old-growth trees. (NFPS)
Regeneration
The re-establishment of a forest following a disturbance, such as a bushfire or forest harvesting.
Regional Forest Agreements
Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) are an agreement about the long-term management and use of forests in a particular region between the Commonwealth and a State Government. Its purpose is to reduce uncertainty, duplication and fragmentation in government decision-making by producing a durable agreement on the management and use of forests. More information
Reserves
Reserves are forests that are set aside from timber production, either by formal [legal] means, as in the case of national parks, or by informal means, such as management decisions in a management plan.
Riparian
The riparian zone refers to the area directly adjacent to a waterway.
Royalties
The fees paid to the forest owner for harvested timber.
Sawlogs
Sawlogs are logs of suitable size and quality for milling into sawn timber, veneer, poles or sleepers.
Sawmill
A sawmill is a factory where sawlogs are sawn into boards.
Sawmill residue
The leftovers after sawing, including sawdust.
Sawn timber
Solid timber that has been cut into boards for use in construction or furniture.
Sclerophyll forest
A forest community dominated by eucalypts. The term sclerophyll refers to plants with hard, thick leaves.
Secondary forests
See regrowth.
Selective harvesting
Is where small groups or single mature trees are removed, together with some thinning of the forest stand to encourage regeneration and maintain an uneven aged stand.
Shelterwood system
A silvicultural system in which trees are removed in a series of cuts designed to achieve a new even-aged stand under the shelter of remaining trees.
Silviculture
Silviculture is broadly defined as the care and management of forests. 'A "silvicultural system" is a planned method of forest management in which the protection, regeneration, tending and utilisation of the crop are incorporated into the objects of management.' (MR Jacobs 1955 Growth habits of the Eucalypts Commonwealth Government Printer, Canberra p.183)
Social Assessment
Increasingly an aspect of project planning and Environmental Impact Assessment, Social Assessment is a process which supports stakeholder participation and makes explicit the social factors that affect development impacts and results. In many cases it can improve design and delivery and forestall unforeseen consequences of project design that frequently occur without social science input.
Softwood
A softwood is the wood from a conifer, such as a pine tree. Tree species defined by anatomical characteristics that commonly (but not always) produce softer, lighter timber. Pinus is the principal softwood plantation genus in Australia.
Species
A group of biological entities that interbreed to produce fertile offspring, or possess common characteristics derived from a common gene pool. (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 definition)
State forest
Publicly owned forests that are managed by State or Territory governments for multiple purposes, including the production of timber.
Sustainable
Sustainable refers to the level or intensity of use of a resource (such as a forest) being such that the activity can be done now without reducing the possibilities for future generations use of the resource.
Sustainable yield
Sustainable yield refers to the amount of timber that may be harvested from a forest without the forest qualities declining in the long term. It varies over time, as forests grow and change, and is not constant.
Thinning
The removal of some trees from a stand so that the remaining trees are able to grow more.
Threatened Species and Communities
A native species or community that is vulnerable, endangered or presumed extinct. (as defined in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999)
Vulnerable species
Native species believed likely to move into the 'endangered species' category in the near future if the causal factors continue operating. Included are species of which all or most of the populations are decreasing because of over-exploitation, extensive destruction of habitat or other environmental disturbance; species with populations that have been seriously depleted and the ultimate security of which has not been assured; species of populations that are still abundant but are under threat from severe adverse factors throughout their range; and species with low or localised populations or dependent upon limited habitat and that would be vulnerable to new threatening processes. (NFPS)
Vulnerable Forest Ecosystem
A vulnerable forest ecosystem is defined as one which, within the next 25 years, is likely to become endangered unless the circumstances and factors threatening its extent, survival or evolutionary development cease to operate; as determined by the application of the criteriaoutlined in section 6.1.
Water quality
Water quality refers to the amount of nutrients, particles and chemicals contained in the water.
Water yield
Water yield from a forest is the amount of water that comes from the forest into a water catchment.
Wilderness
Wilderness is an area, including the plants and animals, that has not been substantially changed from what it was like before European settlement. The area is big enough to be able to maintain itself in that state. Land that, together with its plant and animal communities, is in a state that has not been substantially modified by, and is remote from, the influences of European settlement or is capable of being restored to such a state; is of sufficient size to make its maintenance in such a state feasible; and is capable of providing opportunities of solitude and self-reliant recreation. (National Forest Policy Statement).
Woodland
A vegetation type dominated by woody vegetation having a mature or potential mature stand height exceeding 5 metres, with an overstorey canopy cover less than 20%.
Woodchips
Woodchips are small pieces of wood used for making paper and composite boards like medium density fibreboard (MDF) and particle board, as well as garden uses.
World Heritage Convention
The Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, agreed in Paris on 23 November 1972.
World Heritage
Sites of outstanding universal natural or cultural significancewhich are included on the World Heritage List.