1. LECTURE – 1
Introduction about Forest
UNIT I: Forest and Forestry
Dr. V.S. Ramachandran
Centre for Environmental Studies
AVVP, ETTIMADAI
Mobile: +91 95855 40134 (call & Whatsapp enabled)
Mail: s_ramachandran@cb.amrita.edu
2. What is a forest?
Simple: A larger area dominated by trees
FAO: A forest is a land area of more than 0.5 ha,
with a tree canopy cover of more than 10%,
which is not primarily under
agricultural or other specific non-forest land
use.
Trees should be able to reach a minimum
height of 5 m at maturity in situ.
4. What is a forest?
Chakravarthy, A. 2016. Lost in definition. Down to Earth, 25 (6): 16-18.
5. Definition of forestry
5
Forestry
The art, science and practice of creating,
conserving and managing trees, forests, and
utilization of their resources
Forestry is an applied science and in favourable
localities, this science is applied to get maximum
return and so it is called intensive forestry
6. Definition of forestry
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Forestry
Intensive forestry:
Defined as the practice of forestry with the
object of obtaining the maximum output in
volume and quality of products per unit area
through the application of the best techniques of
silviculture and management
8. Definition of forestry
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Forestry
When forestry is practiced to achieve more than
one purpose, it is called multiple-use forestry
Multiple-use forestry:
Defined as the practice of forestry for the
simultaneous use of a forest area for two or
more purposes, often with conflicting interests
such as wood production, wildlife conservation,
recreation, aesthetics, or clean air
10. Basic terms related to forestry
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Riparian Forest: Forested areas along a body of
water such as river, stream, pond, lake,
marshland, estuary, canal or reservoir.
Species composition: All species across
genuses that collectively make up the diversity
of trees existing in a forest.
11. Basic terms related to forestry
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Canopy: The uppermost layer in a forest,
formed collectively by tree crowns.
Crown: The top part of the tree from which
branches grow above them
OR
Branches and foliage at top of an individual tree
12. Basic terms related to forestry
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Crown closure: The point in forest development
when the lateral branches from adjacent trees
touch, significantly reducing growing space and
the amount of sunlight that reaches the forest
floor.
13. Basic terms related to forestry
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Closed canopy forest or closed forest: Forest in
which the crowns or canopies of individual trees
overlap to form a virtually continuous layer so
that light can barely penetrate to reach the
forest floor.
Open canopy forests or open forest: forest in
which the individual tree crowns do not overlap
to form a continuous canopy layer but are more
widely spaced, leaving open sunlit areas within
the forest.
14. Basic terms related to forestry
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Forest Type: Groups of tree species growing in
the same stand because their environmental
requirements are similar.
Stand: An easily defined area of the forest that
is relatively uniform in species composition, age
structure and condition and can be managed as
a single unit.
15. Basic terms related to forestry
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Forester: Professional with experience in a
broad range of forest-related topics including
forest and wildlife ecology, economics, legal
issues, and the growing and harvesting of forest
products.
16. Basic terms related to forestry
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Stand structure: The distribution, both vertical
and horizontal, of all living and dead vegetative
components in the forest, including trees, crown
layers, shrubs, snags (standing, dead or dying
trees), downed debris, etc.
17. Basic terms related to forestry
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Climax species: Also called late-successional,
are plant species that will remain essentially
unchanged in terms of species composition for
as long as a site remains undisturbed. They are
the most shade-tolerant species of tree to
establish in the process of forest succession.
Pioneers: Shade-intolerant species that are the
first plants to colonise a barren land or a freshly
disturbed or abandoned site.
18. Basic terms related to forestry
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Alien species: Non-native organisms that
become established in a new environment.
Invasive species: Any kind of living organism —
an amphibian, plant, insect, fish, fungus,
bacteria — that is not native to an ecosystem &
which causes harm. It has a tendency to
spread, which is believed to cause damage to
the environment.
19. Basic terms related to forestry
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Pulpwood: Wood used in the manufacture of
paper, fiberboard, or other wood fiber products.
Non-timber Forest Products: All forest products
except timber, including resins, oils, leaves,
bark, plants other than trees, fungi, and animal
or animal products.
20. Basic terms related to forestry
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Forest degradation: Changes within the forest
whether natural or human-induced which
negatively affect the structure or function of the
stand or site, and thereby lower the capacity to
supply products and/or services resulting to a
degraded forest.
21. Basic terms related to forestry
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Forest fragmentation: The breaking up of large
forest areas into smaller units either by natural
processes or through conversion to other land
uses. Natural habitats become separated into
isolated fragments or “islands.”
22. Basic terms related to forestry
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Stocking: A relative term indicating the amount
of growing space being occupied by trees and
the amount of growing space that is available or
unoccupied.
Overstocked: A stand that is overcrowded,
beyond 100 percent stocking, thus reducing
tree growth and vigour.
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Fully stocked: A stand where trees effectively
occupy most of the growing space, yet space
remains for further crown expansion and growth
of developing crop trees. For example, a stand
fully stocked at 70 % can grow suitably until
reaching 100 % stocking.
24. Basic terms related to forestry
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Forest Management Plan: Written guidelines for
current and future management practices
recommended to meet an owner’s objectives.
Logging: it is the process of cutting trees,
processing them, and moving them to a location
for transport.
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Coupe: specific area of land that is scheduled
to be harvested within a specified period of
time, may be in a single operation. Also referred
to as felling coupe or annual coupe.
Rotation: The number of years required to
establish and grow trees to a specified size,
product, or level of maturity.
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Growing stock: Volume of all living trees in a
given area of forest or plantation that have
more than a certain diameter at breast height. It
is usually measured in solid cubic metres (m3).
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Cull: A tree or log of marketable size but do not
meet the lowest quality standards because of
crookedness, rot, injuries, or damage from
disease or insects and thus is useless for all but
firewood or pulpwood.
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Clear-cut harvest: A harvest and regeneration
practice that removes all trees within a given
area. Used most commonly in forests that
require full sunlight to regenerate or areas
where young forests are the preferred habitat.
Improvement cut: An intermediate silvicultural
treatment made to improve the form, quality,
heath, or wildlife potential of the remaining
stand.
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Regeneration cut: Any silvicultural practice with
the intent to reestablish a new stand of
seedlings.
Salvage cut: The harvesting of dead or
damaged trees or of trees in danger of being
killed by insects, disease, flooding, or other
factors.
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Sanitation cut: A harvest done as a
precautionary mechanism to remove potentially
highly susceptible trees from oncoming insects
or disease before trees become infected by the
pest organism.
