Forestry Flashcards
Gifford Pinchot supported the ideas of conservation and sustainable use for forest areas.
True
Theodore Roosevelt used the Homestead Act to set aside forest reserves.
false
Ultisols are highly weathered soils with relatively high acidity.
true
The U.S. Forest Service was, at one time, under the Department of the Interior.
false
Flocculation is the adhering of soil particles under wet conditions.
true
The stand initiation stage of forest stand development typically favors shade tolerant tree
species.
false
All nitrogen in an ecosystem’s nutrient cycle originally comes from the atmosphere
true
Conservationists traditionally promote the idea of non-use (leave-alone) for natural resources.
false
Site index is a site quality measure based on tree diameter
false
Conifers tend to favor soils with high acidity
true
What are the three major components of Forest Ecology?
a) Composition, Structure, Function
b) Composition, Site, Function
c) Site, Disturbance, Succession
a) Composition, Structure, Function
Interception of precipitation by trees and other plant life typically:
a) Increases infiltration of water into the soil
b) Increases surface runoff
c) Reduces surface runoff and erosion
d) a and c
e) a and b
a) Increases infiltration of water into the soil
c) Reduces surface runoff and erosion
Recall the water balance formula P Q E S
, where
S
is the “change” in soil water storage.
If P = 10, Q = 7, and E = 5, has soil water storage increased or decreased?
a) Increased
b) Decreased
b) Decreased
- Increased rainfall/snowfall would most likely have what effect(s)?
a) Increased transpiration
b) Increased interception
c) Decreased fire risk
d) All of the above
a) Increased transpiration
b) Increased interception
c) Decreased fire risk
The Florida Everglades have a tendency for high temperatures, humid conditions and high rainfall due
to maritime climate conditions prevalent in that part of the U.S. The climate conditions in the Everglades
is an example of what?
a) Microclimate
b) Macroclimate
Macroclimate
A south-facing hillside next to one of several large lakes on the eastern edge of Medicine Bow
National Forest in Wyoming tends to have higher humidity, more stable temperature fluctuations, and
slightly higher precipitation than many of the surrounding areas. This is an example of what?
a) Microclimate
b) Macroclimate
Microclimate
“The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number in the Long Run” or some variation thereof, was a quote
often used by what person, for the purpose of describing what concept?
a) George Perkins Marsh, Conservation
b) Gifford Pinchot, Conservation
c) John Muir, Conservation
d) Gifford Pinchot, Preservation
e) None of the above
b) Gifford Pinchot, Conservation
In early settlement days, the shortleaf pine region of the Ozarks was not heavily exploited because of
what?
a) Poor agricultural land
b) Low timber value
c) Isolation
d) a and c
Isolation
Poor agricultural land
If a soil has a high amount of gravel present in the upper horizons, this does what to the bulk density
of the soil?
a) Does not change it
b) Decreases it
c) Increases it
d) None of the above
a) Does not change it
If a soil has 20% clay, 40% silt, and 40% sand, what type of soil is it with regard to texture?
a) Clay
b) Sandy loam
c) Loam
d) Silty clay
e) None of the above
Loam
If a soil has 45% clay, 45% silt, and 10% sand, what type of soil is it with regard to texture?
a) Clay
b) Sandy loam
c) Loam
d) Silty clay
e) None of the above
d) Silty clay
The forest leaf litter (O horizon) can have what effects on soil temperature?
a) Low thermal conductivity
b) High thermal conductivity
a) Low thermal conductivity
Ultisols are strongly leached, acidic soils. What inputs do Ultisols often need to make them more
suitable for row cropping?
a) Calcium (Ca)
b) Iron (Fe)
c) Ammonia
d) Carbon
a) Calcium (Ca)
Conifers tend to fair better than hardwoods and many other plants on acidic soils due to their ability
to absorb what?
a) Fe (Iron)
b) Ca (Calcium)
c) NO2 (Nitrite)
d) NO3 (Nitrate)
e) None of the above
c) NO2 (Nitrite)
Soil type and topography are criteria that have been used in the past to gauge site quality. Why is
site index a more favored method for foresters to measure site quality?
a) Ease of measure
b) Dependence of tree height on stand density
c) Correlation between height and volume (site productivity)
d) a and c
a) Ease of measure
c) Correlation between height and volume (site productivity)
Say that a forest is hit by a tornado, leaving only about 10% of the trees standing, what type of
disturbance is this?
a) Light disturbance
b) Regeneration disturbance
c) Rejuvenation disturbance
d) Primary succession
b) Regeneration disturbance
Say that a forest fire gets started and manages to get into the upper canopy (crown fire) where it
causes destruction of most of the forest. What type of disturbance is this?
a) Top-down disturbance
b) Bottom-up disturbance
b) Bottom-up disturbance
When a tree gets uprooted by a tree, a mound and a pit is formed by the root system of the tree.
Which of the following is true about the soil in the mound compared to surrounding soils?
a) Warmer
b) Dryer
c) Lower bulk density
d) a and b
e) a, b and c
a) Warmer
b) Dryer
c) Lower bulk density
Much of the soil in northern Canada and Alaska are Gelisols. Aside from being almost perpetually
frozen, the low temperatures inhibit what kind of activity that results in high amounts of organic
matter?
a) Weathering of parent material
b) Decomposition
c) Nitrification
b) Decomposition
The base age of site index is often 50 years. Under what conditions might one choose a lower base
age (say 25 years)?
a) Fast tree growth
b) High forest density
c) Slow tree growth
d) Poor soil drainage
a) Fast tree growth
Site index is measured on which trees in a forest stand?
a) Any live trees
b) Trees of the most abundant species
c) Understory trees
d) Dominant and Co-dominant trees
d) Dominant and Co-dominant trees
A forest stand that is composed principally of one species that makes up at least 80% of the stand is a:
a) Mixed Stand
b) Pure Stand
c) Dead Stand
d) Mature Stand
b) Pure Stand
You measure a white oak for site quality during a forest inventory, the tree was 80 years old with a
total height of 70 ft. What is the site index?
a) 80 ft.
b) 70 ft.
c) 60 ft.
d) 50 ft.
e) 40 ft
d) 50 ft.
You measure a white oak for site quality during a forest inventory, the tree was 60 years old with a
total height of 90 ft. What is the site index?
a) 80 ft.
b) 70 ft.
c) 60 ft.
d) 50 ft.
e) 40 ft
a) 80 ft.
A multiple-cohort (multiple age class) stand is also referred to as a:
a) Even-aged stand
b) Uneven-aged stand
c) Pioneer stand
b) Uneven-aged stand
Low-level ground fires in a forest can:
a) Reduce undesirable understory species
b) Reduce fuel load on the ground
c) Promote advanced regeneration of desirable species (e.g. Oaks)
d) All of the above
a) Reduce undesirable understory species
b) Reduce fuel load on the ground
c) Promote advanced regeneration of desirable species (e.g. Oaks)
Massive and columnar soil aggregations are most likely to occur in:
a) The upper soil horizons
b) The lower soil horizons
c) On top of the soil
b) The lower soil horizons
What is a key characteristic of Fragipan soils?
a) Poor infiltration and drainage
b) Good infiltration and drainage
a) Poor infiltration and drainage
Which of the following is NOT an adaption to fire?
a) Thin bark
b) Serotinous cones
c) Deep root system
d) All of the above are adaptations to fire
a) Thin bark
The primary stages of soil development include: additions, losses, translocations and ________.
a) Transportations
b) Transformations
c) Cross-examinations
Transformations
(3 points) Succession taking place on a landscape after a volcanic eruption and lava flow is what type
of succession?
a) Primary succession
b) Secondary succession
a) Primary succession
(3 points) Succession taking place on a site following an intense forest fire is what type of
succession?
a) Primary succession
b) Secondary succession
b) Secondary succession
(3 points) The stand development stage with the greatest competition between trees for growing space
is:
a) Stem exclusion stage
b) Stand initiation stage
c) Old growth stage
d) Understory re-initiation stage
a) Stem exclusion stage
(3 points) What legislation enabled Theodore Roosevelt to put aside forest lands (later to become the
national forests)?
a) Homestead Act
b) Forest Reserve Act
c) Arkansas Act
d) Volstead Act
b) Forest Reserve Act
You measure a white oak tree and find that it is 50 years old with a height of 45 feet. What
is the site index? You can look at the chart if you wish, but you should be able to answer this question
without it.
a) 50
b) 55
c) 45
d) 65
45
Basal area (BAt) of a tree is calculated using both tree DBH and tree height.
false
- T | F A common device for measuring tree DBH is a Biltmore Stick.
true
- T | F The expansion factor (EFt) of a tree measured in a 1/100th acre plot will be 10.
false
If a tree is classified as Acceptable Growing Stock (AGS) then it has no merchantable value.
false
- T | F A disturbance event that kills very few trees in a forest stand is called a Regeneration Disturbance
false
- T | F Circular plots are the most common type of fixed-area plot used in forest measurements.
true