The following outline is provided as an overview of and guide to forestry:
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. The science of forestry has elements that belong to the biological, physical, social, political and managerial sciences. Forest management plays an essential role in the creation and modification of habitats and affects ecosystem services provisioning.
Below is a structured list of topics in forestry.
Focus of forestry
Tree – organism, whose species, age, vitality, growth, health, and size, are considered individually or more often, as part of a whole;
Forest – defined as either a geographic area or delineated by the general composition of individuals;
Biome – ecologically defined by its forest structure, leaf types, tree spacing, and climate
Agroforestry – integration of forests into agricultural systems in order to optimize the production and positive effects within the system and minimize negative side effects of farming
Boreal forestry – analyzes the particular challenges of forestry in the world's boreal regions
Close to nature forestry – theory and practice that takes the forest as an ecosystem and manages it as such. It is based on reduced human intervention, that should be directed to accelerate the processes that nature would do by itself more slowly.
Dendrology – involves the study and identification of economically useful tree species
Forest ecology – studies the patterns and processes of a forest ecosystem
Forest hydrology – embodies the effects of changes in forest land use on the movement, distribution, and quality of water in the ecosystem
Forest pathology – study of diseases of woody plants, and of the interactions between trees and pathogens, pests, and other stressors that affect their health and function.
Silviculture – is the art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests to meet specific objectives
Social forestry – addresses human-forest interactions, and the importance of community-based natural resource management
Sustainable forestry – providing for the needs of society in the form of forest products while maintaining the health of forests and their mitigation of climate change and biodiversity loss through forestry practices that mimic natural patterns of disturbance and regeneration, such as balancing the numbers of trees by age, to provide a layered canopy and sustainable yield as an alternative to clear cutting. Sustaining natural forest habitats also involves preserving their water quality, and protecting them from wildfire, pests, and diseases.
Tropical forestry – is particularly concerned with management and conservation of forests in the tropics
Urban forestry – entails the care and management of urban tree populations for the purpose of improving the urban environment
Forest management
Forest management – comprises the overall administrative, economic, legal, and social aspects of forest regulation
Analog forestry – a management focus that seeks to establish a tree-dominated ecosystem that is similar in architectural structure and ecological function to the naturally occurring climax and sub-climax vegetation community
Bamboo forestry – farming and harvesting bamboo for commercial purposes such as construction.
Community forestry – combination of forest conservation with rural development and poverty reduction objectives, accomplished through instating a legal framework that favors profitable and sustainable forest management
Ecoforestry – emphasizes practices which strive to protect and restore ecosystems
Forest economics – studies the impact of economics on forest management decisions
Energy forestry – includes specifically managing for the production of energy from biomass or biofuel derived from a fast-growing species of tree or woody shrub
Short rotation forestry – managing a forest that utilizes fast-growing species as a bio-based energy crop for use in power stations, alone or in combination with other fuels such as coal
Short rotation coppice (SRC) – focus on species that are able to naturally regenerate through stump sprouts to maximize economic productivity
Tree breeding – method of genetically modifying/selecting forest stock for improved growth or vigor characteristics
Forest inventory – incorporates quantitative measurements of the forest stand to determine stand timber volume and productivity/health, and provides a basis off which management decisions can be made
Mycoforestry – ecological forest management system implemented to enhance forest ecosystems and plant communities through the introduction of mycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi
Permaforestry – approach to the wildcrafting and harvesting of the forest biomass that uses cultivation to improve the natural harmonious systems. It is a relationship of interdependence between humans and the natural systems in which the amount of biomass available from the forest increases with the health of its natural systems.
Sustainable forest management – emphasizes practices that maintain forest biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, and vitality, while continuing to fulfill relevant ecological, economic and social functions
Tree farming – timber crop production in a privately owned forest or woodland
Plantation forestry – industrial plantations are established to produce a high volume of wood in a short period of time. Some plantations are managed by state forestry authorities (for example, the Forestry Commission in Britain) and others by paper and wood companies (such as Weyerhaeuser, Rayonier and Plum Creek Timber in the United States, Asia Pulp & Paper in Indonesia).
List of countries by forest area – using data from the CIA's World Factbook, presents the total area in km2 and the percentage of land covered by forests
Arborist – professional responsible for the maintenance of individual trees in an urban forest Two USFS foresters discussing firefighting tactics. also called a tree surgeon.
Donkey puncher was the operator of a small steam donkey, a machine used in logging in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Fire lookout – person assigned to spot for fires/smoke atop a fire lookout tower
Forest ecologist – studies patterns, processes, flora and fauna in forest ecosystems
Forest economist – model and analyze economic aspects of forest growth, utilization, and conservation
Forest engineer – civil engineer specializing in all aspects of timber and forest operations, including road-building, railways, log transport, etc.
Forest ranger – responsible for managing and policing human use of the forest; sometimes also acts as educator and interpreter
Forest sociologist – applied social scientist working with a wide variety of stakeholders interested in forests
Forest technician – individual primarily responsible for the marking of timber sales and on-ground land management, often requires a two-year Associate of Science degree
Forester – professional chiefly responsible for the management of forests, requires a Bachelor of Science degree in most countries
Master forester – forestry expert responsible for forest management and training
Hotshot crew/Handcrew – a group of wildland firefighters specialized in fire suppression tactics
Lumberjack – the typical feller of trees and harvester of the lumber, duties can also include:
Log bucking – delimbing and partitioning of trees into logs
Log driving – transportation of logs on a river or lake downstream to the mill
Log scaling – measurement of felled trees to determine the volume of wood going to the manufacturer
Resin extractor – laborer who extracts resin from pine trees
Rubber tapper – laborer who extracts natural rubber from tropical rubber trees
Smokejumper – firefighters who parachute into remote areas to fight wildland fires
Timber cruiser – responsible for assessing forest growth, health, and valuation
Tree planters – help reestablish forests after logging, fires, and other events and circumstances
Silviculture – practice of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests to meet diverse needs and values. Silviculture also focuses on making sure that the treatment(s) of forest stands are used to preserve and to better their productivity.
Site preparation
Controlled burn – use of fire in order to eliminate weeds, brush, or slash, or to release on-site seeds of fire-dependent species
Stump harvesting – removal of tree stumps either for biomass or to free up space in the soil
Drum chopping – knocking down small trees and brush to clear the ground for planting
Planting
Broadcast seeding – scattering of seed either by hand or mechanically over a relatively large area
Aerial seeding – dispersing of seed from an aircraft, used especially in mountainous areas
Treeplanting – transplanting of juvenile seedlings into the ground at a predetermined spacing
Intermediate treatments
Weeding – removal or reduction of herbaceous or woody species around seedlings
Cleaning – removal of competing saplings of similar age in order to favor saplings of desirable growth characteristics
Liberation cutting – removal of older and established overtopping trees from desirable saplings
Thinning – removal of trees to favor the growth of select trees in order to maximize timber production
Ecological thinning – removal of trees to favor the growth of select trees in order to favor the development of wildlife habitat
Pruning – removal of the lateral branches on the trees in order to improve wood quality
Pollarding – annual removal of lateral branches or main stem in order to encourage growth of branches to provide for firewood, or fruit production
Clearcutting – harvesting of all stems in a given area regardless of species and size
Coppicing – cutting vigorous juvenile trees near the ground, regeneration comes from new shoots coming up from the stump
Seed-tree – cutting of all trees save widely spaced residual trees, which will provide natural seedstock for the following generation and are later cut
Selection – harvesting of selected trees in a stand, removing either merchantable timber or to favor the growth of desirable individuals (a thinning)
Shelterwood – removal of merchantable trees in succession, establishing a multiaged stand
Variable retention – removal of trees of varying density across a landscape, in order to retain structural diversity
Other
Salvage logging – harvesting of trees killed by natural disturbances in order to maximize economic returns that would otherwise be lost
Sanitation harvest – removal of individual trees affected by a pathogen in order to diminish the possibility the entire stand being affected
Biomass harvest – harvesting of small wood for energy purposes, either following a commercial harvest or for its own sake, such as in energy forestry
Underwater logging – harvesting of trees from underwater forests flooded during construction of artificial dams or reservoirs
Environmental issues pertaining to forests
Afforestation – the process of establishing a forest on previously unforested land, for reasons of timber harvesting, conservation of biodiversity, or soil decontamination, among many Illegal logging in Cambodia.
Biodiversity conservation – examines forests broader role in supporting a variety of (socio)ecological systems
Carbon sequestration – focus on forests' broader ecological functioning in consumption of carbon dioxide
Conservation – focus on sustainability of forest resources and preservation of forest-based biodiversity
Forest fragmentation – occurring when forests are cut down in a manner that leaves relatively small, isolated patches of forest, resulting in high amounts of edges and subsequent loss in wildlife habitat and biodiversity
Forest transition – shift from a period of net forest area loss (deforestation) to a period of net forest area gain (afforestation) for a given region or country
High grading – type of selective logging that removes the highest timber quality trees, resulting in poor genetic stock for subsequent generations
Illegal logging – the unlawful harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber, contributing to deforestation, corruption, and destabilization of international markets
Forest resource assessment
Forest inventory – systematic collection of data and forest information for assessment or analysis. An estimate of the value and possible uses of timber is an important part of the broader information required to sustain ecosystems.
Diameter at breast height (DBH) – measurement of a tree's diameter standardized at 1.3 meters (about 4.5 feet) above the ground
Basal area – defines the area of a given section of land that is occupied by the cross-section of tree trunks and stems at their base
Tree taper – the degree to which a tree's stem or bole decreases in diameter as a function of height above ground
Girard form class – an expression of tree taper calculated as the ratio of diameter inside the bark at 16 feet above ground to that outside the bark at DBH, primary expression of tree form used in the United States
Leaf Area Index – the ratio of total upper leaf surface of the forest canopy divided by the surface area of the land on which the vegetation grows
Tools
Biltmore stick – utilizes ocular trigonometry to quickly measure diameter and height
Diameter tape – cloth or metal tape that is wrapped around the bole, scaled to diameter
Caliper – two prongs connected to a measuring tape are placed around the most average part of the bole to determine diameter
Relascope – multiple-use tool that is able to find tree height, basal area, and tree diameter anywhere along the bole
Clinometer – common tool used to measure changes in elevation and tree height
Cruising rod – similar to a caliper, calculates the number of pieces of lumber yielded by a given piece of timber by measuring its diameter
Hemispherical photography – estimates solar radiation and characterize plant canopy structure/density using photographs taken looking upward through an extreme wide-angle lens
Surveying techniques
Traversing – method of surveying used to establish sampling plots along a line or path of travelA wedge prism showing a borderline tree.
Chain – equivalent to 66 feet, widely used distance in surveying practices in the United States and other countries influenced by imperial Great Britain
Line plot survey – plots taken at a regular predetermined distance along the traverse path
Tools
Pacing – quick method used to survey in the field, requiring calibration of one's "paces" (pair of footsteps) to a known distance (often a chain)
Hand compass – a compact magnetic compass with a sighting device used to determine the location of plots for a given bearing
Wedge prism – optical instrument typically made of glass ground at slight angles to refract light passing through it from the smaller width side of the prism to the thicker width side of the prism, calibrated to a desired plot size (basal area factor)
Angle gauge – similar in principle to a wedge prism, although it must be held a fixed distance from the eye
GPS – global satellite navigation systems used to determine the position of oneself and plots
GIS – an information system capable of integrating, storing, analyzing, and displaying forest geographic information collected in the field
Timber volume determination
An increment borer with common drinking straws, a cost-effective manner often used to hold derived cores.
Site index – a species specific measure of site productivity and management options, reported as the height of dominant and co-dominant trees (site trees)in a stand at a base age such as 25, 50 and 100 years
Stocking – a quantitative measure of the area occupied by trees relative to an optimum or desired level of density which varies according to management purpose even on the same site
Stand Density Index – a measure of the stocking of a stand of trees based on the number of trees per unit area and DBH of the tree of average basal area
Volume table – a chart based on volume equations that uses correlations between certain aspects of a tree to estimate the standing volume
Cord – very common measure, equivalent to 128 cubic feet (3.62 m3), corresponding to a pile of wood, bark, and air 4 feet wide by 4 feet high and 8 feet long
Stère – invented in France, equivalent to a cubic meter of cut wood with space for air
Board foot – specialized unit of measure for lumber in North America, equivalent to the volume of a one foot length of a board one foot wide and one inch thick
Stand growth assessment
Increment borer – specialized tool used to extract a section of wood tissue from a living tree with relatively minor injury to the tree, used often for tree growth analysis
Mean annual increment (MAI) – refers to the average growth per year a tree or stand of trees has exhibited at a specific age
Periodic annual increment (PAI) – describes the average annual change in tree diameter between the beginning and ending of a growth period, used more often than MAI for percental growth
Ecological yield -the amount of wood volume in any given year whose harvesting would be considered sustainable
Growth and yield modelling – entails the creation of models of prospective tree growth and harvest yield for management purposes
Economics
Stumpage – the price charged by a land owner to loggers for the right to harvest standing timber on that land
Optimal rotation age – the age at which the harvesting of stumpage will generate the maximum revenue or economic yield
Logging – cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. The term is sometimes used in a narrow sense to mean moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard. However, in common usage, the term may be used to indicate a range of forestry or silviculture activities...
Harvesting methods
The boom of a cut-to-length harvester with attached chainsaw cutting Pinus sylvestris in Finland.
Bucking – splitting of a felled and delimbed trees into logs
Scaling – measurement of felled trees to determine the volume of merchantable wood
Skidding – transportation of logs from the site of felling to the landing along the ground
Forwarding – transportation of logs from the site of felling to the landing above the ground, usually to minimize soil disturbance but limits the size or amount of logs that can be moved at once
Hauling – long-distance transportation of logs from the landing to their final destination, usually with a semi-truck but occasionally with a train
Woodchipping – grinding of logs into chips for engineered wood, mulch, paper, or fuel
Cut-to-length logging (CTL) – an expensive but efficient system where trees are felled, delimbed, and bucked to scale directly at the felling site
Cable logging – skidding using a wire cable attached to the felled trees, most common in areas with steep topographic relief, variations include
High lead logging – a cable is anchored to a tree at the top of the hill:
Skyline logging – a carriage is used alongside the main cable to provide leverage
Shovel logging – transport of multiple logs close to the logging road using a stationary loader, often used to minimize soil disturbance
Heli-logging – transport of logs from the forest to the landing via helicopter, most commonly used in inaccessible areas or to minimize impact on the soil
Log driving – transportation of individual logs on a waterway to a mill or port downstream
Timber rafting – transportation downstream of multiple logs bundled together into a raft, considered less dangerous than log driving
Chainsaw – portable mechanized all-purpose saw, the most common tool used in hand-felling
Crosscut saw – saws that have teeth that are designed to cut wood at a right angle to the direction of the wood grain, used for felling and bucking
Bucksaw – a type of crosscut saw used by one or two people to buck felled trees into sawlogs
Mechanized
Feller buncher – vehicle with an attachment that can rapidly cut and gather several smaller trees before felling them
Harvester – first half of the CTL system, vehicle that cuts, delimbs, and bucks the logs "to length"
Log transportation tools
Ground
Peavey – a traditional tool consisting of a wooden lever handle with a movable metal hook with a sharp tip, used to spear the log for handling and moving
Cant Hook – tool with the same premise as the peavey but with blunt teeth-bearing tip
Yarder – in cable logging, a piece of equipment utilizing a pulley system of cables to pull or fly logs from the stump to the landing
Forwarder – second half of the CTL system, the vehicle that carries logs clear off the ground from the felling site to the roadside landing
Skidder – vehicle that drags logs along the ground from the felling site to the roadside landing
Michigan logging wheels – historical skidder, consisting of a specially designed large set of wooden wagon wheels and could be used in unfrozen soil conditions
Skid cone – a steel or plastic cone placed on the end of a log while being skidded, in order to ease its transportation or protect residual trees
Water
Splash dam – a dam built to temporarily raise the water level of a river to float timber downstream
Flume – chutes specifically constructed to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain to a sawmill by using flowing water.
Timber slide – chutes constructed parallel to a river in order to avoid damage to timber rafts caused by rapids or waterfalls
Boom – barriers placed in a river, designed to collect and or contain floating logs felled from nearby forests
Forest product – any material derived from a forest for direct consumption or commercial use, such as lumber, paper, or forage for livestock. Wood is by far the dominant forest product, used for fuel (as firewood or charcoal), structural materials in the construction of buildings, or as a raw material, such as wood pulp used in the production of paper. All non-wood products derived from forest resources are called non-timber forest products.
Fiberboard – a cheaper and denser form of plywood, used when cost is considered most important. Often used as the underlying structure in car dashboards
Drywall – a gypsum plaster placed inside two sheets of paper, used commonly as the finishing step in construction of interior walls and ceilings
Wood-plastic composite – made from recycled materials, is crack- and split-resistant and used commonly outdoors
Secondary forest products
The distinctive bark of Quercus suber, from which natural cork is derived.
Right of Way Act of 1901 – an act relating to rights of way through certain parks, reservations, and other public lands (H.R. 11973)
Transfer Act of 1905 – an act providing for the transfer of forest reserves from the Department of Interior to the Department of Agriculture (H.R. 8460, Public Resolution No. 34)
Appropriations Act Forbidding Further National Forests ("An Act Making appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and eight", 1907) – also forbidding renaming forest reserves to National Forests (H.R. 24815, Public Act No. 242:2)
Georg Ludwig Hartig (1764–1837) – prominent forest manager, author, and founder of one of the first dedicated schools of forestry in Europe; affiliated in his later years with the University of Berlin
Carl A. Schenck (1868–1955) – responsible for incorporating German scientific management techniques into American forest management, and founder of Biltmore Forest School, the first forestry school in the United States
Károly Bund (1869–1931) – early academic and practical forester whose work in the Hungarian National Forestry Association increased treeplanting and intensified efforts to protect natural forests, indigenous tree species, and forestry workers in Austria-Hungary
Theodore Salisbury Woolsey, Jr. (1880–1933) – used scientific forestry to help France address timber shortages during World War I
Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) – cofounder of The Wilderness Society along with Robert Marshall (below), prominent naturalist writer and environmental ethicist
Kenneth Dupee Swan (1887–1970) – notable photographer for the USDA Forest Service
Bob Marshall (1901–1939) – cofounder of The Wilderness Society, which helped pass the Wilderness Act, which created the first legal definition of wilderness and conserved some 9,100,000 acres (37,000 km2) of national forest land in the United States
Sakari Pinomäki (1933–2011) – pioneer of mechanized forest harvesting vehicles, decreasing the time required for harvesting and risk to loggers
Stephen C. Sillett (1968–) – revolutionized the approach and methodology of studying plant and animal life in old growth canopies of large trees
Allied fields
Increment borer cores of Pinus sylvestris, whose varying rates of annual tree growth are in response to external environmental conditions.
Botany – study of plant life and development that explains the biological basis of trees, such as structure, growth, reproduction, metabolism, response to disease, and chemical properties
Conservation biology – conscientious management of forests can preserve or enhance biodiversity of dependent species
Dendrochronology – method of scientific dating based on the analyses of tree-ring growth patterns, analysis of long-lived individual trees can provide insight into climatic conditions of the past
Ecology – whose principles are the main scientific basis of forestry
Ecophysiology – study of an organism's physiology to environmental conditions that explains the success of a particular tree species' growth, reproduction, survival, and abundance
Forest history – documents natural and human history of forests and forest use
Natural resource management – brings together planning, management, conservation and sustainability of human use of natural resources, including forests
Rural sociology – studies human perceptions, interactions and use of forests and associated resources
Soil science – physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil greatly determines the success of tree species and individuals
^Albion, Robert Greenhalgh (1926). Forests and Sea Power: the Timber Problem of the Royal Navy, 1652-1862. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9781557500212.
^Fernow, B.E. (1 February 1918). "Forestry and the War". Journal of Forestry. 16 (2). Society of American Foresters: 149–154. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012.
^Whitford, N.H. (1 May 1918). "Tropical Forests and the War". Journal of Forestry. 16 (5). Society of American Foresters: 507–522. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012.
^Teplyakov, V.K. 1998. A History of Russian Forestry and Its Leaders. Diane Publishing, p.59
