Forest Resource Management & Planning 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 Forest Resource Management & Planning flashcards as text
Which silvicultural system retains a portion of the overstory after harvest to provide seed and modify microclimate for natural regeneration?
Answer: Shelterwood
The shelterwood system removes the overstory in sequential cuts, leaving seed trees and canopy cover to facilitate natural regeneration.
A forester calculates a stand's basal area at 180 sq ft/acre. Using a stocking guide, this stand is most likely:
Answer: Overstocked
Most eastern hardwood and conifer stocking guides identify full stocking around 80–120 sq ft/acre, so 180 sq ft/acre typically indicates overstocking.
What is the primary purpose of a forest management plan's 'allowable cut' calculation?
Answer: Ensure long-term sustained yield from the forest
Allowable cut calculations are designed to sustain timber yield over time by balancing growth with harvest so the resource is not depleted.
In even-aged management, the rotation age is typically set to coincide with:
Answer: The culmination of mean annual increment (CMAI)
Rotation age in even-aged management is classically set at the CMAI, the point where average volume growth per year is greatest.
A forest resource inventory uses a systematic grid of sample plots. What is the chief advantage of systematic sampling over simple random sampling in forests?
Answer: Lower variance when the population has spatial gradients
Systematic sampling spreads plots evenly across a forest, capturing spatial variation and typically yielding lower variance than simple random sampling when gradients exist.
Which planning framework requires federal agencies to analyze and disclose environmental impacts of major actions, including large-scale timber sales?
Answer: National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
NEPA mandates that federal agencies prepare Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) or Environmental Assessments (EA) for major federal actions affecting the environment.
In forest planning, 'adjacency constraints' are used primarily to:
Answer: Prevent harvesting adjacent stands simultaneously to protect wildlife and aesthetics
Adjacency constraints in harvest scheduling prevent clearcutting adjacent units at the same time, reducing large contiguous openings for wildlife habitat and visual concerns.