Definitions marked with an asterisk (*) have been taken from the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 (FRA 2005) (www.fao.org/forestry/site/fra2005-terms). These, in turn, may have been taken from primary sources such as the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) or the Convention on Biological Diversity, and these sources are indicated.
Afforestation*
Establishment of forest plantations on land that, until then, was not classified as forest.
Implies a transformation from non-forest to forest.
Biodiversity* (also Biological diversity)
The variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems (from the Convention on Biological Diversity, art 2: www.biodiv.org/convention/articles.asp?lg=0&a=cbd-02).
Carbon sequestration
The uptake and storage of carbon. Forests, trees and plants absorb carbon dioxide, release the oxygen and store the carbon.
Carbon sink
Forest and other ecosystems that absorb carbon, thereby removing it from the atmosphere and offsetting CO2 emissions. The Kyoto Protocol allows certain human-induced sink activities undertaken since 1990 to be counted towards Annex I Parties' emission targets.
Clean Development Mechanism
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is one of the flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol designed to make it easier and cheaper for industrialized countries to meet the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets that they agreed to under the protocol. Under the CDM, an industrialized country with a greenhouse gas reduction target can invest in a project in a developing country without a target and claim credit for the emissions that the project achieves.
Deforestation*
The conversion of forest to another land use or the long-term reduction of the tree canopy cover below the minimum 10 percent threshold.
Disturbances* affecting forest health and vitality
A disturbance is defined as an environmental fluctuation and destructive event that disturbs forest health, structure and/or change resources or physical environment at any given spatial or temporal scale. Disturbances that affect health and vitality include biotic agents such as insects and diseases and abiotic agents such as fire, pollution and extreme weather conditions (White and Pickett, 1985; Lindgren and Lewis, 1997, also available at www.mcgregor.bc.ca/publications/InteractionsWithInsectsAndPathogens.pdf).
Employment*
Any type of work performed or services rendered under a contract of hire, written or oral, in exchange for wage or salary, in cash or in kind. (Based on definitions by ILO and the Employment Security Commission.) Employment may be related to the primary production of goods, or to the provision of services.
ILO Core Labour Standards include the following conventions:
• Convention 29 on Forced Labour, adopted in 1929 and Convention 105 on Abolition of Forced Labour, adopted in 1957
• Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, adopted in 1948
• Convention 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining, adopted in 1949
• Convention 100 on Equal Remuneration, adopted in 1951, and Convention 111 on Discrimination (Employment en Occupation), adopted in 1958
• Convention 131 on Minimum Wage Fixing, adopted in 1970
• Convention 138 on Minimum Age, adopted in 1973, and Convention 182 on Worst Forms of Child Labour, adopted in 1999
• Convention 142 on Human Resources Development, adopted in 1975
• Convention 155 on Occupational Safety and Health, adopted in 1981, and Convention 161 on Occupational Health Services, adopted in 1985
Eutrophication
A process by which bodies of water become highly charged with nutrients, leading to massive growth in primary productivity, which may result in the growth of algae (‘algal blooms’), leading to reductions in dissolved oxygen and the death of fish and other acquatic life.
Forest*
Land spanning more than 0.5 hectares (ha) with trees higher than 5 metres (m) and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use.
• Forest is determined both by the presence of trees and the absence of other predominant land uses. The trees should be able to reach a minimum height of 5 m in situ. Areas under reforestation that have not yet reached but are expected to reach a canopy cover of 10 percent and a tree height of 5 m are included, as are temporarily unstocked areas, resulting from human intervention or natural causes, which are expected to regenerate.
• Includes areas with bamboo and palms provided that height and canopy cover criteria are met.
• Includes forest roads, firebreaks and other small open areas; forest in national parks, nature reserves and other protected areas such as those of specific scientific, historical, cultural or spiritual interest.
• Includes windbreaks, shelterbelts and corridors of trees with an area of more than 0.5 ha and width of more than 20 m.
• Includes plantations primarily used for forestry or protective purposes, such as rubberwood plantations and cork oak stands.
• Excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems, for example in fruit plantations and agroforestry systems. The term also excludes trees in urban parks and gardens.
Forest certification
A procedure to assess the quality of forest management in relation to a forest management standard. Forest certification is designed to send a market signal to buyers that the products they purchase are derived from forests managed to particular environmental and social standards.
Forest management*
The processes of planning and implementing practices for the stewardship and use of forests and other wooded land aimed at achieving specific environmental, economic, social and /or cultural objectives. Includes management at all scales such as normative, strategic, tactical and operational level management.
Intensive forest management*
A regime of forest management under which silvicultural practices define the structure and composition of forest stands. A formal or informal forest management plan exists. A forest is not under intensive management, if mainly natural ecological processes define the structure and composition of stands.
Forest resources*
For the purposes of the global forest resources assessments, forest resources include those found in forests and other wooded land and as trees outside forests.
Function*
The designated function refers to the purpose assigned to a piece of land, either by legal prescriptions or by decision of the landowner/manager. It applies to land classified as ‘Forest’ and as ‘Other wooded land’.
Primary function*
A designated function is considered to be primary when it is significantly more important than other functions. This includes areas that are legally or voluntarily set aside for specific purposes.
Secondary function* Other functions.
Introduced species* – see Species
Managed forest/other wooded land*
Forest and other wooded land that is managed in accordance with a formal or informal plan applied regularly over a sufficiently long period (five years or more).
Native species* – see Species
Natural forest*
A forest composed of indigenous trees and not classified as a forest plantation.
Modified natural forest/other wooded land*
Forest/other wooded land of naturally regenerated native species where there are clearly visible indications of human activities.
• Includes, but is not limited to: selectively logged-over areas, areas naturally regenerating following agricultural land use, areas recovering from human-induced fires, etc.
• Includes areas where it is not possible to distinguish whether the regeneration has been natural or assisted.
Primary forest/other wooded land*
Forest/other wooded land of native species, where there are no clearly visible indications of human activities and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed.
• Includes areas where collection of non-wood forest products occurs, provided the human impact is small. Some trees may have been removed.
Semi-natural forest/other wooded land*
Forest/other wooded land of native species, established through planting, seeding or assisted natural regeneration:
• Includes areas under intensive management where native species are used and deliberate efforts are made to increase/optimize the proportion of desirable species, thus leading to changes in the structure and composition of the forest.
• Naturally regenerated trees from other species than those planted/seeded may be present.
• May include areas with naturally regenerated trees of introduced species.
• Includes areas under intensive management where deliberate efforts, such as thinning or fertilizing, are made to improve or optimize desirable functions of the forest. These efforts may lead to changes in the structure and composition of the forest.
Non-wood forest product (NWFP)*
A product of biological origin other than wood derived from forests, other wooded land and trees outside forests (FAO NWFP Web site: www.fao.org/forestry/site/6388/en ).
Other wooded land*
Land not classified as ‘Forest’, spanning more than 0.5 ha; with trees higher than 5 metres and a canopy cover of 5–10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ; or with a combined cover of shrubs, bushes and trees above 10 percent. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use.
Plantation forest or forest plantation/other wooded land*
Forest/other wooded land of introduced species and in some cases native species, established through planting or seeding.
• Includes all stands of introduced species established through planting or seeding.
• May include areas of native species characterized by few species, even spacing and/or even-aged stands.
• Plantation forest is a subset of planted forest.
• Productive plantation* (in forest/other wooded land)
• Forest/other wooded land of introduced species and in some cases native species, established through planting or seeding mainly for production of wood or non-wood goods.
• Includes all stands of introduced species established for production of wood or non-wood goods.
• May include areas of native species characterized by few species, straight tree lines and/or even-aged stands.
Protective plantation* (in forest/other wooded land)
Forest/other wooded land of native or introduced species, established through planting or seeding mainly for provision of services.
• Includes all stands of introduced species established for provision of environmental services, such as soil and water protection, pest control and conservation of habitats to biological diversity.
• Includes areas of native species characterized by few species, straight tree lines and even-aged stands.
Planted forest/other wooded land*
Forest/other wooded land in which trees have been established through planting or seeding. Includes all stands established through planting or seeding of both native and introduced species.
Purpose:
Multiple purpose*
Forest/other wooded land designated to any combination of: production of goods, protection of soil and water, conservation of biodiversity and provision of socio-cultural services and where none of these alone can be considered as being significantly more important than the others.
Production*
Forest/other wooded land designated for production and extraction of forest goods, including both wood and non-wood forest products.
Protection of soil and water*
Forest/other wooded land designated for protection of soil and water.
Social services*
Forest/other wooded land designated for the provision of social services. These services may include recreation, tourism, education and/or conservation of cultural/spiritual sites.
Reforestation*
Establishment of forest plantations on temporarily unstocked lands that are considered as forest.
Regeneration
Artificial regeneration
Forests established by artificial regeneration on land that carried forest within the previous 50 years or within living memory and involved the renewal of what was essentially the same crop as before.
Natural regeneration (with assistance)
Forests established by natural regeneration, with deliberate, human silvicultural assistance, including the provision of seed or vegetative reproductive material.
Natural regeneration (without assistance)
Forests established by natural regeneration without deliberate, human assistance, including virgin forests and those regenerated by natural means.
Secondary forest*
Forest regenerated largely through natural processes after significant human or natural disturbance of the original forest vegetation.
• The disturbance may have occurred at a single point in time or over an extended period.
• The forest may display significant differences in structure and/or canopy species composition in relation to nearby primary forest on similar sites.
Introduced species*
A species introduced outside of its normal past and current distribution.
Note: Its synonyms are ‘alien species’ and ‘exotic species’.
Native species*
A native species is one which naturally exists at a given location or in a particular ecosystem, i.e. it has not been moved there by humans (CBD Web site: www.biodiv.org/programmes/areas/forest/definitions. asp). The term ‘native species’ is synonymous with ‘indigenous species’.
The art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health and quality of forest and woodlands to meet the targeted diverse needs and values of landowners and society on a sustainable basis (see the Web site of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations: www.iufro.org/).
Tree*
A woody perennial with a single main stem or, in the case of coppice, with several stems, having a more or less definite crown. Includes bamboos, palms and other woody plants meeting the above criteria.
Trees outside forests
Trees outside forests include all trees found outside forests and outside other wooded lands:
• stands smaller than 0.5 ha;
• tree cover in agricultural land, e.g. agroforestry systems, homegardens, orchards;
• trees in urban environments;
• along roads and scattered in the landscape.
Web site: www.fao.org/forestry/site/tof/en.
