A land manager's guide to conserving habitat for forest birds in ...

Glossary of Terms
successional stages — an identifiable stage of development of a
plant community as it moves along from bare ground to a climax.
Includes early-, mid-, and late-succession.
supercanopy tree — large, living trees that project above the
height of the main canopy of a stand. White pine is a common
supercanopy tree species in central Ontario.
sustainable — capacity to maintain a certain process or state for
an indefinite period without damaging the environment, or
without depleting a resource.
symbiosis — a close, mutually beneficial, often long-term
relationship between two, or more, groups of organisms.
tending — operation carried out for the benefit of a forest crop
or an individual, at any stage of its life. Usually involves
removing competing vegetation during regeneration by cutting,
or herbicides application.
territory — an area actively defended by an organism against
members of the same species or occasionally animals of other
species. Male birds typically defend territories by singing, but will
also use aggressive postures or even attack if another bird of the
same species breaches their territory.
thinning — removal of selected trees from a stand to accelerate
diameter growth and improve the average form of the trees that
remain. Thinning decreases resource competition and increases
growth rate.
threatened — any native species that, based on the best available
science, is at risk of becoming endangered if limiting factors or
threats are not reversed, or populations continue to decline.
threshold — the point at which an effect or change can
be detected.
unaltered habitat — natural habitat that has not been influenced
by human activities such as logging or development.
under stocked — an area having insufficient trees to meet a
desired management objectives (wildlife or timber). It may be
lacking in trees of all sizes or from a particular size. For example,
stands harvested by diameter-limit will be under stocked in large
trees greater than 50 cm dbh.
understorey — vegetation (herbs shrubs, seedlings, saplings,
small trees) within a forest stand. In our case we include an
intermediate storey above the understory and below the
overstorey (canopy).
uneven-aged management — the removal of individual or groups
of trees to create a multi-aged forest stand in the future.
ungulate — a group of mammals with hooves, includes deer
and moose.
upland forest — a broad class of forest, opposed to a lowland
forest, consisting of dry to moderately moist soils and higher
canopy coverage. Upland forest stands usually include sugar
maple and beech.
urban sprawl — the gradual spreading of a city and its suburbs
over the surrounding rural land, at the fringe of an urban area.
urbanization — the conversion of land into built up cities and
urban areas.
vernal pool — small, shallow, temporary pools of fresh water
present in spring and fall (filled by snow melt and rain), which
do not support fish, but are used by many insects and
amphibians for breeding.
vertical structure — the arrangement of plants in a given
community from the ground (herbaceous and woody shrubs)
into the forest canopy.
vertical (structural) diversity — the complexity of vertical
layering in the forest. High vertical structural diversity is
characteristic of old growth forests that have abundant vegetation
in each layer (e.g., groundcover, sapling, and understorey).
viable population — a population of plants or animals of
sufficient size and distribution to maintain its existence over time
despite normal fluctuations in population levels.
vulnerable species — a term that has now been replaced by
species of special concern.
wetland — any area that is flooded for at least part of the year by
surface or ground water and supports an abundance of vegetative
or aquatic life. Wetlands include swamps, marshes, bogs, wet
meadows, river overflows, mud flats, and natural ponds.
wildlife tree — any tree used by wildlife for food or shelter. This
includes any standing live or dead tree with special
characteristics that provide valuable habitat for the conservation
or enhancement of wildlife. Characteristics include trees that
produce mast, have stick nests, super-canopy trees, and those
with cavities.
wintering area — the geographic location where a species
spends the winter. Deer wintering areas typically include area of
dense conifers.
wintering ground — the geographic location where a migratory
species spends the winter months during the non-breeding
season.
woodland — synonymous with forest, any land covered with
trees and shrubs.
woodlot — a segment of forest, or woodland, usually privately
owned, that is capable of producing forest products such as
merchantable timber or maple syrup, as well as recreational uses
such as bird watching or hiking.
woody plant — any plant that has a permanent above ground
stem that is covered by a layer of thickened bark. All trees,
shrubs and vines are woody plants, whereas all herbs are not.
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Glossary of Terms