Conservation & Sustainability Flashcards
7 cards from real SAF practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Conservation & Sustainability flashcards as text
Which federal legislation established the legal framework for designating and managing National Wilderness Areas in the United States?
Answer: Wilderness Act of 1964
The Wilderness Act of 1964 created the National Wilderness Preservation System and defined wilderness as land retaining its primeval character, generally without permanent human improvements.
In ecosystem-based management, which concept acknowledges that human communities are integral components of ecosystems rather than external actors?
Answer: Social-ecological systems thinking
Social-ecological systems thinking recognizes that humans and nature are coupled systems and that sustainable management must address both ecological and social dynamics together.
Which measure is most commonly used to assess long-term site productivity in sustainable forest management planning?
Answer: Site index
Site index—the average height of dominant and co-dominant trees at a specified base age—is the standard measure of forest site productivity used in growth and yield modeling.
A forest carbon market protocol requires 'additionality.' This means that credited carbon sequestration must be:
Answer: Greater than what would have occurred without the conservation project
Additionality requires that the carbon benefits of a project exceed what would have occurred under a business-as-usual baseline scenario without the carbon credit incentive.
Which silvicultural system is most compatible with conserving late-successional forest characteristics while still allowing some timber harvest?
Answer: Extended rotation with structural retention
Extended rotations combined with structural retention (leaving legacy trees, snags, and logs) maintain old-growth characteristics and biodiversity while permitting periodic harvest.
The 'umwelt' concept applied to wildlife-inclusive forest management suggests foresters should:
Answer: Consider the sensory and perceptual world of target species when designing habitat
Applying the umwelt concept means designing habitat management to reflect what the environment looks and functions like from the target species' perceptual perspective.
Under the Endangered Species Act, a 'Habitat Conservation Plan' (HCP) allows incidental take of listed species in exchange for:
Answer: Measures that minimize and mitigate the impact of the take to the maximum extent practicable
An HCP must describe the steps the permit holder will take to minimize, mitigate, and monitor impacts, ensuring the take does not appreciably reduce the species' survival and recovery prospects.