Terminology & Definitions
Forestry, Sawmilling & Logging Terms
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
B
- Board footage (bd. ft.)
- A unit for measuring wood volume in a tree, log or board. A board foot is commonly 1 foot by 1 foot by 1 inch, but any shape containing 144 cubic inches of wood equals one board foot. Example: This timber sale contains 120,000 bd. ft.
C
- Clearcut
- The removal of all trees in stand — clearcutting is used to aid tree species whose seedlings require full sunlight to successfully grow. An example would be red oak (Quercus rubra).
- Cruise
- A forest survey conducted by a forester to gather inventory information and develop a management plan — what is currently in the stand.
E
- Even-aged stand
- A stand in which the age difference between the oldest and youngest trees is minimal, usually no greater than 10 to 20 years.
F
- Felling
- The cutting of standing trees by a logger.
- Forester
- A degreed professional trained in forestry and forest management (preferably from The Pennsylvania State University).
- Forestry
- The science and practice of managing, growing and tending forests to create desired outcomes.
H
- High-grade timber harvest
- An undesirable timber harvesting methodology that removes the most genetically fit trees and leaves the most inferior trees. Over the long term, this practice can have disastrous financial and forest health implications. This treatment is very difficult to detect with the untrained eye, but can be avoided through reliance on an independent, competent forester.
K
- Kerf
- The width of the sawblade tips (circular or band) and the source of sawdust. The more traditional circular sawblades have tips with a wider kerf (1/4" to 3/8") than the tips on new bandsaw blades (1/8" to 3/16").
L
- Log rule
- A method for calculating the amount of wood volume that a tree or log has by using its diameter and length. The most common log rules are: Doyle, Scribner and International.
O
- Overrun/Underrun
- The difference between the log scale of a shipment of timber and the volume of actual lumber obtained from it.
R
- Regeneration harvest
- A timber harvest designed to promote natural establishment of trees.
S
- Selective cut
- A comforting-sounding term that's commonly used to describe a timber harvest that takes some trees and leaves some trees. This is not a very descriptive or precise term since it does not address forest health, diameters, long-term investment return, future growth or timber stand quality.
- Shelterwood harvest
- The harvest of all mature trees in a stand in a series of two or more harvest, leaving enough trees of other sizes to provide shade and protection for forest seedlings to become established.
- Silviculture
- A branch of forestry dealing with the care and development of forests.
T
- T.S.I. (Timber Stand Improvement)
- A timber harvesting method that increases the value or rate of value growth in a stand of potential sawtimber trees. Removing poor quality trees and leaving behind the higher value residual trees.
Financial Terms
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
- Assets
- All of the things that you own, whether or not those things have a lien on them.
E
- Equity
- An individual's (or an entity's) net worth, calculated by subtracting total liabilities from total assets.
- Equity Ratio
- A financial ratio derived by dividing net worth by total assets.
F
- Financial Statement
- Usually prepared by a CPA, this report typically contains a balance sheet, an income statement, a statement of cash flows, pertinent notes and a short letter from the CPA defining the standards of accounting and the level of CPA due diligence used in preparing the report.
L
- Liabilities
- All of your financial obligations irrespective of whether you've received a bill for them or not.
Machinery & Equipment Terms
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
B
- Bandsaw
- A sawmill technology that uses a thinner band saw blade. A bandsaw also has teeth on both sides that allows cuts to be made in two directions.
- Bunk Trailer
- A tractor-trailer-type trailer with heavy metal "stakes" or "bolsters" on the sides, used to cradle logs or tree-length timber products as they are transported on the highway.
C
- Chip Van
- A non-refrigerated, tractor-trailer box-type van used for hauling chips on the highway. These vans are usually open in the back or the top to facilitate loading.
- Cut-to-length
- A type of logging equipment/logging technology that delimbs trees and cuts them to length using the same machine.
- Cut-to-length harvester or processor
- The piece of logging equipment that performs the cut-to-length operation at the stump: felling, delimbing and bucking trees.
D
- Debarker
- Used to remove the bark from logs prior to processing into lumber, chips or other wood products.
E
- Edger
- Lumber cut on circular or band head rigs from the outside portions of logs; does not have square edges. These pieces must be passed through a machine called an edger that can make two or more lineal cuts simultaneously. Square-edged lumber must be trimmed to length.
F
- Feller buncher
- Is a type of harvester used in logging — it is a motorized vehicle with an attachment than can rapidly cut and gather several trees before felling them.
- Forwarder
- A piece of rubber-tired logging equipment used to transport trees and logs in the woods in such a way that the trees/logs do not touch the ground while in transport. This equipment carries the trees in a rear "bunk" similar to those on the back of a triaxle log truck. This equipment has a loader for self-loading. A forwarder is usually employed as an alternative to a skidder.
G
- Grapple
- Hinged mechanism/set of jaws capable of being opened and closed; used to grip logs during skidding or loading.
- Grapple skidder
- A logging skidder — with or without a cable and winch — with a hydraulic gripping device on the rear that allows the operator to grab or let go of a full "hitch" of felled trees without exiting the operator's cab to hook and unhook "chokers", as is required with a traditional "cable skidder".
H
- Hot saw
- A hydraulic attachment to a track-type or rubber-tire fellerbuncher. It has hydraulic arms for grabbing a tree at its base. It also has a continuously rotating hydraulic disk with carbide teeth that allows it to quickly cut a tree then proceed to the next tree without hesitation.
L
- Log Truck
- In the PA/NY forest-industry-context, this generally means "triaxle log truck with loader" as opposed to a tractor-log-trailer combination.
S
- Skidder
- A motorized, in-woods logging apparatus with either tracks or large rubber tires. This machine is used to transport felled trees from the point of felling to some other location in the woods, usually to a logging deck, where the trees are further processed or loaded onto trucks.
T
- Triaxle
- In the PA/NY forest-industry-context, this generally means "triaxle log truck with loader" as opposed to a tractor-log-trailer combination.
W
- Whole-tree (or whole-stem) chipper
- A large motorized device capable of reducing an entire, mature tree into chips.
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