AFS

Australian Forestry Standard – Identifies accepted specifications for sustainable forest management to enable independent assessment and certification to AS 4708 (Int.) – 2003.

Afforestation

The establishment of a forest or plantation in an area where the preceding vegetation or land use was not forest, generally cleared agricultural land.

Biodiversity

Includes genetic diversity, reflecting the diversity within each species; species diversity, the variety of species; and ecosystem diversity, the diversity different communities formed by living organisms and the relationships between them.

Biodiversity corridor

A strip of native vegetation retained or established to link larger areas of remnant native vegetation to allow wildlife to move from one area to another.

Biological control

The establishment or application of a natural control agent to regulate pest species.

Carbon sequestration

The process by which trees and other plants take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it as organic carbon in leaves, branches, stems and roots. Plants sequester carbon dioxide as part of the growing process.

Catchment area

A drainage area which is the source of water for a river or reservoir.

CFS

Country Fire Service.

Clearfelling

The felling of all trees from a specific area in one operation.

Commercial forest

Forest containing trees of commercial value, i.e. containing sufficient quantities of sawlog and pulpwood quality timber to justify the expense of harvesting.

Conservation

The management of the natural environment to ensure its survival; a term covering preservation, maintenance, sustainable utilisation, restoration and enhancement of the environment.

Coppice

Regrowth that grows from dormant buds under the bark of tree stumps after the tree has been felled. Eucalypts will coppice.

Cultural heritage

Encompasses the qualities and attributes of places that have aesthetic, historic, scientific or social value for past, present or future generations. These values may be seen in a place’s physical features, but importantly can also be intangible qualities such as peoples associations with, or feelings, for a place.

DEH

Department of Environment & Heritage.

Ecologically Sustainable Development

The use, conservation and enhancement of the community’s resources so that the total quality of life, both now and in the future, is secured.

EMS

Environmental Management System. The EMS defines processes for maintaining and improving environmental performance, and establishes measures to gauge improvement.

Farm forestry

Commercial tree production on farmland.

Forest reserve

An area of State forest, formally gazetted under the Forestry Act 1950 for long–term intent, to be managed for production, recreational, scientific, aesthetic, environmental or protection purposes.

Forest

An area incorporating all living and non-living components, dominated by trees having usually a single stem and a mature (or potentially mature) stand height exceeding 5m, with existing or potential projective foliage cover of overstorey strata, about equal to or greater than 30%. This definition includes native forests and plantations regardless of age, and areas of trees sometimes described as woodlands.

Fuel reduction burn

A fire of low intensity carried out under closely controlled conditions to reduce the quantity of accumulated dead fuel from the forest floor, without damaging standing timber. Also called low intensity prescribed burn.

Hardwood

Timber from broad-leaved flowering trees irrespective of physical hardness. Includes eucalypts, wattles and most rainforest species.

IMS

Integrated Management Systems. Includes environmental, quality and occupational health and safety systems.

ISO 14001

The international standard for EMS. It formalises methods for reviewing, reporting, documenting, monitoring and training in environmental management practices.

ISO 9001

The international standard for QMS. It broadly defines a system to ensure customer expectations are met through an organisation’s leadership and adopting a systematic approach which involves its people in managing the interaction of processes while monitoring and continually improving performance.

Log Residue Assessment

Refers to a systematic quantitative method of determining logging residues of potentially merchantable timber on the forest floor.

LTIFR

Lost Time Injury Frequency rate. Refers to the number of incidents per million working hours incurred where the injured employee is off work for the whole of the following day.

Management plan

A plan prepared for a geographic area, identifying the resources in the area, environmental, social and economic values and appropriate management prescriptions.

Multiple use forest management

The management of a forest area for a balanced range of different benefits and values, for example wood production, recreation, water catchment protection, preservation of flora and fauna and landscape.

Native forest

Forest consisting of native trees and other species, including understorey and ground cover, that are endemic to South Australia.

Native Forest Reserve

An area of proclaimed Forest Reserve that has been further proclaimed as a Native Forest Reserve under the Forestry Act 1950 specifically for the conservation of native flora and fauna.

Pinus radiata

One species of the genus Pinus; a coniferous tree, native of California; the major source of softwood timber grown in South Australia.

Plantations

Forest established by planting seedlings or cuttings rather than sowing seed. Plantation areas usually have intensive site preparation prior to planting. They are managed intensively for future timber harvesting.

Prescribed burning

The planned use of fire in a predetermined area, with an intensity and rate of spread designed to achieve specific results: promotion of biological diversity or reducing the volume of flammable fuels.

Preservation Roundwood

Logs specifically harvested for manufacturing posts and poles.

Production forest

Forest zoned for commercial harvesting, i.e. containing sufficient quantities of sawlog and pulpwood quality timber to justify the expense of harvesting, and not reserved for protection of other values.

Pulpwood

Logs below sawlog quality but suitable for manufacturing pulp, paper and panel products.

QMS

Quality Management System.

Remnant vegetation

Vegetation remaining after an area has been mainly cleared for human land use, generally for agriculture.

Salvage logging

Logging carried out to use trees that have been damaged by fire, disease or storm.

Sawlog

A log for processing into sawn timber.

SEACC

South East Area Consultative Committee.

Silviculture

The cultivation or management of forests including both native forests and plantations.

Slash burn

The burning of material left on the ground after harvesting operations, including tree heads, other non-merchantable woody material.

Softwood

Timber of coniferous or cone-bearing trees irrespective of physical hardness. Includes Radiata pine.

Sustainable yield

The level of commercial timber that can be sustained under a given forest management regime.

Thinning

Removing some trees in a forest to reduce competition and thus improve the growth and health of the remaining trees.

Timber

The general term used to describe sawn wood suitable for building and other purposes.

Windrow

An elongated heap of harvesting debris pushed up for burning.

Woodchipping

Producing small, uniform pieces of wood (woodchips) from logs. This is the first stage of processing pulpwood into paper and fibreboard.