Chapter 12 - Forests, Forest Management, and Protected Areas

Question 1

forest type

Answer 1

a category of forest defined by its predominant tree species

Question 2

canopy

Answer 2

the upper level of tree leaves and branches in a forest

Question 3

subcanopy

Answer 3

the middle and lower levels of trees in a forest, beneath the canopy

Question 4

understory

Answer 4

the layer of a forest consisting of small shrubs and trees above the forest floor and below the subcanopy

Question 5

deforestation

Answer 5

the clearing and loss of forests

Question 6

secondary forest

Answer 6

forest that has grown back after primary forest has been cut. consists of second-growth trees

Question 7

wildand-urban interface

Answer 7

a region where urban or suburban development meets forested or undeveloped lands

Question 8

salvage logging

Answer 8

the removal of dead trees following a natural disturbance. although it may be economically beneficial, salvage logging can be environmentally destructive, because snags provide food and shelter for wildlife and because removing timber from recently burned land can cause erosion and damage to soil

Question 9

sustainable forest certifilcation

Answer 9

a form of ecolabeling that identifies timber products that have been produced using sustainable methods. the forest stewardship council and several other organizations issue such certification

Question 10

national park

Answer 10

a scenic area set aside for recreation and enjoyment by the public and managed by the national park service. the U.S. national park system today numbers 397 sites totaling 84 million acres and includes national historic sits, national receation areas, national wild and scenic rivers, and other areas

Question 11

national wildlife refuge

Answer 11

an area of public land set aside to serve as a haven for wildlife and also sometimes encourage hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, photograpthy, environmental education, and other uses, the system of 550 sites is managed by the U.S. fish and wildlife service

Question 12

prescribed (controlled) burns

Answer 12

the practice of burning areas of forest of grassland under carefully controlled conditions to improve the health of ecosystems, return them to a more natural state, reduce fuel loads, and help precent uncontrolled catastrophic fires

Question 13

resource managment

Answer 13

strategic decision making about how to extract resources, so that resources are used wisely and conserved for the future

Question 14

maximum sustainable yield

Answer 14

the maximal harvest of a particular renewable natural resource that can be accomplished whole still keeping the resource avaiable for the future

Question 15

ecosystem based managment

Answer 15

the attempt to manage the harvesting of resources inn ways that minimize impact on the ecosystems and ecological processes that provide the resources.

Question 16

adaptive management

Answer 16

the systematic testing of different management approaches to improve methods over time

Question 17

uneven-aged

Answer 17

term describing stands consisting of trees of different ages. Uneven-aged stands more closely approximate a natural forest than do even-aged stands

Question 18

selection system

Answer 18

method of timber harvesting whereby single trees or groups of trees are selectively cut while others are left, creating an uneven-aged stand

Question 19

multiple use

Answer 19

a principle guiding management policy for national forests specifying that forests be managed for recreation, wildlife habitat, mineral extraction, water quality, and other uses, as well as for timber extraction

Question 20

national forest management act

Answer 20

legislation passed by the U.S. congress in 1976, mandating that plans for renewable resource management be drawn up for every national forest. these plans were to be explicitly based on the concepts of multiple use and maximum sustainable yield and be open to broad public participation

Question 21

new forestry

Answer 21

a set of ecosystem-based management approaches for harvesting timber that explicitly mimic natural disturbances. for instance, “sloppy cleat-cuts” that leave a variety of trees standing mimic the changes a forest might experience if hit by a severe windstorm

Question 22

wilderness area

Answer 22

federal land that id designated off-limits to development of any kind but is open to public recreation, such as hiking, nature study, and other activities that have minimal impact on the land

Question 23

biosphere reserve

Answer 23

a tract of land with exeptional biodiversity taht couples preservation with sustainable development to benefit local people. Biosphere reserves are designated by UNESCO (the UN educational, scientific, and cultural organization) following application by local stakeholders

Question 24

world heritage site

Answer 24

a location internationally designated by the UN for its cultural or natural value. there are over 900 such sites worldwide

Question 25

edge effect

Answer 25

an impact on organisms, populations, or communities that results because conditions along the edge of a habitat fragment differ from conditions in the interior

Question 26

island biogeography theory

Answer 26

theory initially applied to oceanic islands to explain how species come to be distributed among them. researchers have increasingly applied the theory to island habitat (patches of one type of habitat isolated within “seas” of others). aspects of the theory include immigration and extinction rates, the effect of island size (area effect), and the effect of distance from the mainland (distance effect). full name is the equilibrium theory of island biogeography.

Question 27

species-area curve

Answer 27

a graph showing how number of species varies with the geographic area of a landmass or water body. species richness commonly doubles as area increases tenfold

Question 28

SLOSS (single late several small) dilemma

Answer 28

the debate over whether it is better to make reserves large in size and few in number or manny in number but small in size

Question 29

corridor

Answer 29

a passageway of protected land established to allow animals to travel between islands of protected habitat