Chapter 10: Forests Flashcards
What are old growth forests?
Primary forests in which the trees are at least 150 yrs old
What is variable retention harvesting?
When logging is done selectively to maintain a certain percentage and characteristics of the forest ecosystem
About how much of the earth’s land surface is covered by forests?
31%
What are the three main basic requirements for trees?
Macronutrients- required in large amounts
micronutrients- required in small amounts
transpiration- water loss from leaf surface, cools plants and assists in moving nutrients
Boreal forest
- TALL AND CONIFEROUS TREES
- cold and dry climates
Temperate forest
- MID HEIGHT AND MAINLY DECIDUOUS TREES
- seasonal climate(winter,summer)
- canada
Tropical forest
Equatorial-latitude forest
-huge biodiversity of plants and trees
wet, tropical climate
What are the three subtypes of drylands? briefly describe them.
SHRUBLANDS: wooded areas covered by shrubs, ocassionally tall trees(tundra)
SAVANNAH: open area dominated by grasses and sparse trees
GRASSLANDS: dominated by grasses, plants(non-woody)
What country has the highest amount of forested land per capita?
Canada
What is the largest forested region of Canada
Boreal Forest(taiga)
What is the canopy?
In regards to trees, the canopy is the upper level of leaves and branches
In what provinces/territories does the Boreal forest occur in canada?
Everywhere except Nova Scotia and PEI
What is softwood?
Timber harvested from CONIFEROUS trees(boreal)
What is hardwood?
Timber harvested from deciduous trees
What are NTFPs?
Non timber forest products, eg. medicinal/herbal products
What is the difference between reforestation and afforestation?
Reforestation is the planting of trees within a relatively short period of time after logging, afforestation is planting trees where forests have not existed for a long period of time(over 50 yrs)
New forestry
timber cuts that come close to mimicking natural disturbances
What is the principle of maximum sustainable yield?
a way of renewable resource managemnt based on harvesting only as much wood as can be regenerated within one year
What is a primary forest?
A long standing natural forest, uncut by humans
What is the main cause of deforestation in Canada?
Agriculture
What is swidden farming?
When an area of forest is clear and crops are planted. After a season of planting, the farmer moves to clear another patch of forest, giving the previous patch of cleared forest time to replenish
Where do the fastest rates of deforestation occur?
The tropical rainforests of Latin America and Afric
What is ecosystem based management?
The management of the harvesting of resources to minimize the impact on ecosystems.
What is adaptive management?
The systemic testing of different management approaches with the aim of improving management methods.
What is the difference between a ground fire and a crown fire?
A ground fire is when the litter of a forest burns, a crown fire is when the canopy of a tree burns
What are the consequences of suppressing the breakout of a forest fire?
Over the long term, the suppression of fire leads to the buildup of deadwood that can fuel large scale catastrophic fires
What is salvage logging and what are the effects?
Salvage logging is the removal of dead trees following a natural disturbance.
- can be destructive
- standing dead trees provide place to nest for many animals
- increases erosion, soil damage
- promotes future fires
