Silvicultural Terms in Canada

main crop [peuplement principal (n.m.)]
	In regular crops or stands, that portion of the growing stock retained after an intermediate cutting. (3)

manure [fumier, lisier (n.m.)]
	Commonly the dung of farm animals. Also natural or artificial food material for plants and trees, supplying nitrogen, phosphates, and potash and other essential nutrients. (20)

marking [marquage (n.m.)]
	Putting a distinctive, more or less lasting, sign on a tree for purposes of identification. (3) Note: Marking die must be registered to make a legal mark on wood.

marking hammer [marteau forestier (n.m.), étampe (n.f.)]
	syn. marking axe, marking cog A light hammer having a die for stamping letters, figures, or other distinctive devices. (3)

marking rule [règle de marquage (n.f.)]
	Means of standardizing marking practice among individuals and for various areas of the same forest type, commonly for thinning purposes. (10)

mature [mûr (adj.)]
	In even-aged management, those trees or stands that are sufficiently developed to be harvestable and that are at or near rotation age (includes overmature trees and stands for which an overmature class has not been recognized). (5)

maturity class [classe de maturité (n.f.)]
	Trees or stands grouped according to their stage of development, from establishment to suitability for harvest. A maturity class may comprise one or more age classes. (5)

mechanical planting [plantation mécanique (n.f.)]
	Setting out young trees by means of a machine specially designed for this operation.

merchantable [marchand (adj.)]
	Of a tree or stand that has attained sufficient size, quality, and/or volume to make it suitable for harvesting. Does not imply accessibility, economic or otherwise. (5)

merchantable snag [chicot marchand (n.m.)]
	A snag that is of sufficient quality and/or volume to make it suitable for harvesting.

microsite [niche (écologique) (n.f.)]
	The ultimate unit of the habitat, i.e., the specific spot occupied by an individual organism. By extension, the more or less specialized relationships existing between an organism and its environment.

mist forest [forêt de brouillard (n.f.)]
	A forest of high elevation that occurs along the foggy windward shores of continents and islands. (10)

mist propagation [brumisation (n.f.)]
	An irrigation technique for rooting cuttings where water, with or without fertilizers, is sprayed in minute drops on the plants.

mixed stand [mélangé (adj.)]

A stand composed of two or more species in which less than 80% of trees in the main crown canopy are of a single species. (1)

The threshold in Manitoba and New Brunswick is 75%.

cf. pure stand

mixedwood(s) [mixte (adj.), forêt(s) mixte(s) (n.f.)]
	1. Trees belonging to either of the botanical groups Gymnospermae or Angiospermae and which are substantially intermingled in stands. Also, the wood of such trees mixed together in substantial quantities. (5) 2. A forest type in which 26-75% of the canopy is softwood. (5)

mixing [mélange (n.m.)]
	Site preparation technique involving rotating tillers or other devices that mix soil and surface organic material with fine debris. (21)

model forest [forêt modèle (n.f.)]
	A forest or designated area including forests and woodlands for which an integrated management plan is created and implemented to achieve multiple objectives on a sustainable basis.

monoculture [monoculture (n.f.)]
	1. General: Cultivation of a single crop or product without using the land for other purposes. (12) 2. Biology: Extensive areas of land occupied or dominated by plant species that are closely related genetically. (12)

mortality [mortalité (n.f.)]
	Death or destruction of forest trees as result of competition, disease, insect damage, drought, wind, fire, old age, and other factors, excluding harvesting. (5)

mounding [buttage (n.m.)]
	Forming raised planting spots or mounds by the scooping up and inversion of a quantity of organic and mineral soil. (21)

mulch [mulch, paillis (n.m.)]
	Any loose covering on the surface of the soil, whether natural, like litter, or deliberately applied, like organic residues, crushed gravel, or artificial material like plastic, glass-wool, metal foil, and paper, used to reduce competing vegetation, retain humidity, or protect against frost and mechanical action of rain. (3)

natural pruning [élagage naturel (n.m)]
	syn. self-pruning The freeing of the stem of a standing tree from its branches through natural death, disintegration, and/or fall, resulting from such causes as decay, deficiency of light or water, or snow, ice, and wind breakage. (3)

natural regeneration [régénération naturelle (n.f.)]
	Renewal of a tree crop by natural seeding, sprouting, suckering, or layering. (1)

nest planting [plantation en nids (n.f.)]
	Setting out a number of seedlings or seeds close together in a prepared hole, pit, or spot. (3)

new forestry [nouvelle foresterie (n.f.)]
	A forest management philosophy that attempts to retain characteristics of old-growth stands in managed stands.

nurse log [grume-abri (n.f.)]
	A dead or downed log that fosters tree seedlings by protecting them from such environmental factors as wind, insolation, or frost, or by providing appropriate soil and microclimate. (13)

nursery [pépinière (n.f.)]
	An area set aside for the raising of young trees mainly for planting out. Temporary nurseries, particularly those formed beneath a high canopy of large trees, may be termed bush nurseries. (3) cf. field nursery

nursery bed [planche (n.f.)]
	One of the specially prepared plots in a nursery where seed is sown or into which transplants or cuttings are put. (3)

nurse tree (nurse crop) [arbre-abri (n.m.) (culture-abri [n.f.])]
	A tree or crop of trees, shrubs, or other plants, either naturally occurring or introduced, used to nurture or improve the form of a more important tree or crop during youth by protecting it from frost, insolation, or wind. (1)

occlusion [occlusion (n.f.)]
	The process of healing of cut branch stubs by the cambium of the surrounding stem surface.

old field [champ abandonné (n.m.)]
	An area of cleared open land no longer used for cultivation or pasture which may be in the process of reverting to forest.

old growth [vieux (adj.), vieux peuplement (n.m.)]
	A stand of mature or overmature trees relatively uninfluenced by human activity. (5)

opening up [ouverture du couvert (n.f.)]
	Considerable reduction of canopy density, e.g., by lopping, felling, or herbicidal treatment of selected trees, or naturally through pests, disease, or drought mortality. (3)

outplant [plant sur le terrain (n.m.)]
	A seedling, transplant, or cutting ready to be established on an area.

overstory removal [suppression de l'étage dominant (n.f.)]
	A final harvest in which the cutting releases advance regeneration. (1)

paint gun [pistolet marqueur (n.m.)]
	A low-pressure hand tool for squirting a distinctive mark of paint on trees and timber. (3)

partial seeding [ensemencement localisé (n.m.)]
	Seeding confined to limited areas, e.g., drills, strips, patches, or nests, generally according to a regular spatial pattern. (3)

patch burning [brûlage par placettes (n.m.)]
	Burning felling debris, grass, etc. in patches for the purpose of preparing sites for group planting or sowing. (3)

patch logging [exploitation par blocs (n.f.)]

A modification of the clearcutting system developed in the Pacific Coast region of North America, whereby patches of about 5 to 200 ha are logged as single units, separated for as long as practicable (preferably until the regeneration is adequately shading the forest floor) by living forest; this secures the optimum dispersal of seed and avoids the high hazard of large continuous areas of slash, particularly with respect to fire. (3)

patch scarifier [scarificateur de placeaux (n.m.)]
	A mechanized implement used to expose patches of mineral soil in a systematic pattern. (21)

pathogen [pathogène (n.m)]
	A microscopic organism or virus directly capable of causing disease. (3) PCT [éclaircie précommerciale (n.f.)] see thinning: precommercial

pelleting [enrobage (n.m.)]
	Incorporating seed in a matrix of fungicide, insecticide, repellent, coloring material or inert carrier, or any combination of these, so as to form a small ball termed a seed pellet. (3)

periodic block [affectation de régénération (n.f.)]
	The part(s) of forest allocated for regeneration (the regeneration block) or other treatment during a specified period. (3)

pest [ravageur (n.m.)]
	Any organism, whether insect, pathogen, mammal, or competing vegetation, capable of causing damage to a forest crop.

pesticide [pesticide (n.m.)]
	Any preparation used to control populations of injurious organisms, plant or animal. (3)

phenology [phénologie (n.f.)]
	The study of timing of periodic phenomena, such as flowering, growth initiation, growth cessation, etc., especially as related to seasonal changes in temperature, photoperiod, etc. (11)

phenotype [phénotype (n.m.)]
	An organism as observed, i.e., as judged by its visually perceptible characters resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment. Identical phenotypes do not necessarily breed alike. (3)

piling [mise en andain (n.f.)]
	Slash disposal whereby coarse woody debris are gathered into windrows or isolated piles. (21)

piling and burning [empilage-brûlage des rémanents (n.m.)]
	Piling slash after lopping, and subsequently burning the individual piles. (3)

pioneer species [essences transitoires (n.f.)]
	A species adapted to early stages of natural forest succession or growth on newly available sites.

pit planting [plantation sur trous (n.f)]
	Setting out young trees in small depressions, natural or excavated, with a view to collecting and conserving moisture. (3)

plantation forestry [foresterie de plantation (n.f.)]
	Application of forestry principles to an artificial crop or stand.

planting [plantation (n.f.)]
	Establishing a forest by setting out seedlings, transplants, or cuttings in an area. (4)

planting bar [bêche à planter (n.f.)]
	A long-handled, tapered spade used to make narrow, deep holes for young plants of tap-rooted tree species. (3)

planting gun [plantoir à pistolet (n.m.)]
	Special devices of varying complexity which make holes by compression and either set or shoot a containerized seedling into the soil. (10)

planting machine [planteuse (n.f.)]
	Specially designed machine that cuts a narrow trench through the soil in which seedling roots are inserted and then held in place by closing of the trench. (3)

planting stock [matériel de reproduction (n.m.)]
	Seedlings, transplants, cuttings, and occasionally wildlings, for use in planting. (3)

plant lifting machine [arracheuse (n.f.)]
	A specially designed machine that loosens and removes plants from the ground.

plant percentage [pourcentage de réussite des semis (n.m.)]
	The percentage by number of seeds in a given sample that develop into seedlings at the end of a given period, generally the end of the first growing season. (3)

ploughing [labourage (n.m.)]
	Operation designed to loosen compacted soils and/or to pull the roots of unwanted plants out of the ground by means of single- or double-moldboard ploughs or special shaping devices pulled by a tractor, bulldozer, or similar equipment. (21)

plug transplant [plant fiche (n.m.)]
	A small container seedling which is to be planted and raised as a bare-root seedling.

plus stand [peuplement plus (n.m.)]
	A stand containing a preponderance of good phenotypes, but not necessarily plus trees. (3)

plus tree [arbre plus (n.m.)]
	A phenotype judged (but not proved by testing) to be unusually superior in some quality or qualities, e.g., exceptional growth rate relative to site, desirable growth habit, high wood quality, exceptional apparent resistance to disease and insect attack or to other adverse local factors. (3)

pole [perche (n.f.)]
	A tree between a sapling and small sawtimber size. Size varies by region, e.g., for boreal and eastern forests 12-20 cm dbh. (1)

pollarding [émondage (n.m.)]
	Cutting back, in more or less systematic fashion, the crown of a tree to produce a close head of shoots (a pollard) beyond the reach of browsing animals, either for commercial purposes (e.g., fuel, withes for willow and poplar basketwork) or for amenity. (3)

pollard system [taillis sur têtards (n.m)]
	The systematic harvest cutting of pollard shoots, with due provision for replacing exhausted or defective pollards. (3)

polyculture [polyculture (n.f.)]
	The simultaneous cultivation of a number of crops as opposed to stands composed of a single species. (15)

pot planting [plantation en pot (n.f.)]
	Setting out young trees in pot-shaped receptacles having a closed or only perforated end and made of various materials, in which they have been raised from seed or to which they have been transferred from the seed bed; a type of container planting. (3)

predominant [prédominant (n.m.)]
	A tree whose crown has grown above the general level of the upper canopy. (3)

pregermination [germination physiologique (n.f.)]
	The germination of seed, generally to the stage when the radicle is just emerging, before sowing in the field or nursery. (3)

preparatory cutting [coupe préparatoire (n.f.)]
	Removing trees near the end of a rotation so as to permanently open the canopy and enlarge the crowns of seed bearers, with a view to improving conditions for seed production and natural regeneration, as typically in shelterwood systems. (3)

prescribed burning [brûlage dirigé (n.m.)]
	The knowledgeable application of fire to a specific land area to accomplish predetermined forest management or other land use objectives. (6)

pricking out [repiquage (n.m.)]
	Transplanting seedlings that are too small to be handled by conventional lining-out methods, individually into boxes, flats, containers, etc., or into nursery beds. (3)

principal species [essences principales (n.f.)]
	The species to which the silviculture of a mixed forest is primarily directed, either for its (or their) economic or protective value. (3)

productivity [productivité (n.f.)]
	The rate of production of wood of given specifications, by volume or weight, for a given area. (5) cf. site capability

progeny [descendance (n.f.)]
	The offspring of a particular tree or a combination of one female and one male tree. (11)

progeny test [test de descendance (n.m.)]
	A test in which the genetic constitution of an individual is evaluated from the performance of its progeny produced by some specific mating system. (3)

progressive clear-strip system [mode de régénération par coupes rases en bandes contiguës (n.m.)]
	A shelterwood system with clearcutting in strips that are generally not wider than the height of the adjoining trees and are generally laid out against the prevailing wind; regeneration is mainly natural, though sometimes supplemented artificially; the crop is young, even-aged. (3)

provenance [provenance (n.f.)]
	1. The geographical area and environment to which the parent trees, etc., are native and within which their genetic constitution has been developed through natural selection. (3) 2. The geographical source, i.e., place of origin, of a given lot of seed, propagules, or pollen. (3)

provenance test [test de provenance (n.m.)]
	An experiment, usually replicated, comparing trees grown from seed or cuttings collected from many parts of a species, natural range. (11)

pruning [élagage (n.m.)]

1. The removal of live branches from standing trees, termed green pruning; or of dead branches, dry pruning.

2. Removal of live or dead branches from ground level to as high as a person's reach (2.0-2.5 m) in a young stand, known as brashing; above a person's reach (e.g., with a ladder), high pruning. If only crop trees are high pruned, the operation is selective high pruning. Pruning or lopping that increases the clearance under a tree is sometimes termed lifting the canopy.

pure stand [pur (adj.)]

A stand in which at least 80% of the trees in the main crown canopy are of a single species. (1)

The threshold in Manitoba and New Brunswick is 75%.

cf. mixed stand

machine weeding [désherbage mécanique (n.m.)]
	See mechanical weeding

mechanical thinning [éclaircie systématique (n.f.)]
	See thinning: mechanical

mechanical weeding [désherbage mécanique (n.m.)]
	Removal of undesirable vegetation by mechanical means.

mechanized planting [plantation mécanisée (n.f.)]
	See mechanical planting

mechanized thinning [éclaircie systématique (n.f.)]
	See thinning: mechanical

mechanized weeding [désherbage mécanisé (n.m.)]
	See weeding

mound planting [buttage (n.m.), plantation sur butte (n.f.)]
	Setting out young trees on raised microsites.

non-commercial thinning [éclaircie précommerciale (n.f.)]
	See thinning: precommercial

optimum stocking [matériel relatif optimal (n.m.)]
	See stocking: optimum

outplanting [plantation sur le terrain (n.f.)]
	See forest planting

mulching [paillage (n.m.)]
	See mulch

over-all application [traitement en plein (n.m.)]
	See broadcast application

overmature [suranné (adj.)]
	In even-aged management, those trees or stands past the mature stage. (5)

overstocked [de densité relative excessive (n.f.)]
	See stocking: overstocked

overtopped crown class [classe de cime dominée (n.f.)]
	See crown class: suppressed

overtopped tree [arbre dominé (n.m.)]
	See crown class: suppressed

partial harvest [coupe partielle (n.f.)]
	Any cutting in which only part of the stand is harvested. (1)

patch cutting [jardinage par bouquets (n.m.)]
	See selection cutting

patch planting [plantation sur placeaux (n.f.)]
	See spot planting

patch seeding [ensemencement sur placeaux (n.m.)]
	See seeding: spot

peg planting [plantation au bâton (n.f.)]
	see dibble planting

plantation [plantation (n.f.)]
	A forest crop established by artificial, either by sowing or planting. (5)

plantation forest [plantation forestière (n.f.)]
	See planting

planting auger [tarière (n.f.)]
	A motorized auger used to create planting holes.

planting spot [emplacement (n.m.)]
	The exact spot where a young tree has been set out. (3)

plant tray [caissette (n.f.)]
	A flat, box-type container in which plants are raised. (3)

poison girdling [annélation avec phytocide (n.f.)]
	See girdling

prechilling [stratification froide (n.f.)]
	See stratification

precommercial thinning [éclaircie précommerciale (n.f.)]
	See thinning: precommercial

production nursery [pépinière de production (n.f.)]
	See nursery

productive capacity [capacité productive (n.f.)]
	See site capability