Glossary

Cohort: A group of trees (or other entities) of similar origin, and hence of the same age.

Ecological integrity:  The degree to which all ecosystem components and their interactions are represented and functioning.

Ecosystem-based forest management:  Management of industrial activities intended to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem function and while resources are extracted from the forest (at a sustainable rate).  This involves changing industrial practices to emulate natural disturbances, so as to maintain ecosystem structure, pattern, and process within natural limits.  Protected areas, monitoring, and adaptive management are additional elements.

Homogenize: To make uniform (e.g., of similar forest composition).

Natural Disturbance Model: Approach to forest harvesting that sets targets for forest structure, pattern, and process based on the emulation of natural disturbance (primarily fire) and renewal processes.

Phase III inventory: An non-spatial forest inventory of the province completed in 1984 by the Alberta government.   It has recently been superceded by the Alberta Vegetation Inventory, which is being conducted primarily by forest companies.

Riparian zones: The forest adjacent to natural water courses.

Scale: Refers to the size (or type) of units within which observations are made (e.g., trees, forest stands, landscapes). 

Senescence: Deterioration and death associated with advanced age.

Snag: A standing dead tree from which the top has broken off. 

Special Places 2000:  Alberta government process initiated in 1995 for the completion of the protected area system in Alberta.  Based primarily on the representation of landforms.

Stand: A unit of forest classification generally based on the type and age of the dominant tree vegetation (e.g., 80-year aspen stand).  Most stands are initiated through disturbance events such as fire.

Succession: Process of stand development over time involving tree maturation and death and changes in species composition.  The predictable patterns of change, which are unique for each stand type, are referred to as successional trajectories or paths.

Sustained-yield management: Approach to forest management that seeks to achieve a sustained flow of timber from the forest, without explicit requirements for the maintenance of biodiversity or ecological function.