NATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY GLOSSARY  

Made Available to Forestry at About.com by H. Gyde Lund, U.S. Forest Service (Retired)

Source: USDA Forest Service. 1989. INTERIM RESOURCE INVENTORY GLOSSARY. Document dated June 14, 1989. File 1900.Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 96 p.

This is a modification of the Interim Resource Inventory Glossary was prepared by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Washington Office Resource Inventory Coordination Task Group established by the Deputy Chiefs for National Forest System and Research in 1984. It covers terms needed for the management of the timber, wildlife and fisheries, recreation, rangeland, water, soil, land, and mineral resources of the National Forest System Lands. Most of the definitions, measurement rules, and standards presented in this report were taken from existing U.S.D.A. Forest Service Regional or Station direction. The variables have been standardized using the least restrictive rules or definitions. By using these standards, definitions, and rules, data and information can be readily shared across resource functions within the agency.  The Glossary was officially issued and distributed for general agency use on June 30,1989. In addition to terms and definitions, the parent document also contains codes, measurement standards and references unique to the USDA Forest Service not found below.

 

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

 

Subscribe to the Newsletter
Name	Email

  Articles by Topic | Articles by Date

- A -

ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT: The basic geographic management area within a Forest Service Region, Station, or Area.

AGRICULTURAL LAND: Areas used primarily for production of food and/or fiber (excludes wood fiber). Examples are cropland, pasture, orchards, vineyards, nurseries, confined feeding areas, farmsteads, and ranch headquarters.

ALKALINITY: A measure of calcium carbonate expressed as mag/l of CaCO3.

AMOUNT OF WATER APPROPRIATED OR CLAIMED: An entry in either cubic feet per second or acre-feet per year or gallons per day is required for all current uses.

AQUATIC HABITAT TYPES: The classification of instream habitat based on location within channel, patterns of water flow, and nature of flow controlling structures. Habitat is classified into a number of types according to location within the channel, patterns of water flow, and nature of flow controlling structure. Riffles are divided into three habitat types: low gradient riffles, rapids, and cascades. Pools are divided into seven types: secondary channel pools, backward pools, trench pools, plunge pools, lateral scour pools, dammed pools, and beaver ponds. Glides, the third habitat type are intermediate in many characteristics between riffles and pools. It is recognized that as aquatic habitat types occurs in various parts of the country additional habitat types may have to be described. If that becomes necessary it will be the responsibility of the regional fishery biologist to describe and define the additional habitat types.

AUTHORIZED USE: Specific activity or occupancy, such as ski area, historical marker, or oil and gas lease, for which a special authorization is issued.

 

- B -

BARK THICKNESS: A measure of the thickness of the bark at d.b.h., unless otherwise specified. Radial bark thickness is determined at a level slightly (1") below the d.b.h. to prevent callousing. It is measured from the inside of the cambium layer to the outside of the exterior bark.

BARREN LAND: Areas of limited plant life. Examples are mud flows, talus slopes, beaches, dunes, dry salt-flats, bare rock, surface mines, and glaciers.

BASAL AREA: The cross section area of the stem or stems of a plant or of all plants in a stand, generally expressed as square units per unit area. Tree basal is used to determine percent stocking. For shrubs and herbs it is used to determine phytomass. Grasses, forbs, and shrubs usually measured at or less then 1 inch above soil level. Trees - the cross section area of a tree stem in square feet commonly measured at breast height (4.5' above ground) and inclusive of bark, usually computed by using d.b.h. or tallied through the use of basal area factor angle gauge.

BEAVER PONDS: Water impounded wither by temporary dams constructed by bank dwelling beaver or by permanent dams built by lodge dwelling beaver.

BOLE LENGTH: The length in feet of merchantable bole of trees 5.0" d.b.h. and larger between the top of a 1 foot stump and 4.0" diameter outside bark (d.o.b.) unless otherwise specified.

BOLE TOP DIAMETER: The diameter outside bark (d.o.b.) of the tree stem at a point on the bole above which no merchantable product section exists. See BOLE LENGTH.

BUILT-UP LAND: Areas predominantly covered by man-made structures. Examples are cities, strip developments, transportation facilities, institutions, and industrial areas.

BUTT LOG GRADE: The condition of the bottom log in a sawlog tree, or estimate of potential sawtimber quality for hardwood poletimber.

 

- C -

CANOPY COVER: The percent of a fixed area covered by the crown of an individual plant species or delimited by the vertical projection of its outermost perimeter; small openings in the crown are included. Used to express the relative importance of individual species within a vegetation community or to express the canopy cover of woody species. Canopy cover may be used as a measure of LAND COVER change or trend and is often used for wildlife habitat evaluations. See also CROWN CLOSURE.

CASCADES: The steepest of riffle habitats. Unlike rapids, which have an even gradient, cascades consist of a series of small steps of alternating small waterfalls and shallow pools. The usual substrate of cascades is bedrock or an accumulation of boulders; however, this habitat type is occasionally found on the downstream face of woody debris dams.

CATION EXCHANGE CAPACITY: The sum of exchangeable cations that a soil, soil constituent, or other material can adsorb at a specific pH. Cation exchange capacity is a laboratory analyzed value

CAUSE OF DEATH/INJURY: The nominal most obvious cause of death for mortality trees or the most important cause of injury to live trees. To be judged as important, the injury must be serious enough now or in the future to (1) ultimately cause death, (2) predispose the tree to fatal attack by another agent, or (3) significantly reduce diameter or height growth.

CHANNEL DEPTH: The average depth of a stream channel from mean high water mark to mean high water mark. Categorization of the entrenchment and confinement is accomplished by visual analysis or by aerial photos.

CHANNEL GRADIENT: The slope of the stream channel expressed on a percent of rise per unit length. A measure of the drop in water surface elevation per unit length of channel. Channel gradient is a parameter used in model building, channel hydraulics and flow response water yield, water use, instream and flood hazard.

CHANNEL ROUGHNESS: A roughness coefficient to determine stream flow velocity and used to determine energy losses and velocities of natural stream channels.

CHANNEL STABILITY RATING: A rating of a stream channels resistance capacity to the detachment of bed and bank materials.

CHANNEL SUBSTRATE: The composition of the channel substrate (stream channel bed materials).

CHEMISTRY, ATMOSPHERIC: The chemical composition of ambient air used to understand the degree of air pollution impact occurring on public lands and to determine the type of resource management recommendations to be made to regulators.

CHEMISTRY, pH DRY DEPOSITION: The pH of particles and aerosols deposited at the surface. Used to judge the impact of air pollutants on living and non-living public land resources.

CHEMISTRY, pH WET DEPOSITION: The pH of precipitation used to judge the impact of acid precipitation on living and non-living public land resources.

CHEMISTRY, SNOWPACK: Chemical composition of undisturbed accumulated snow.

CHEMISTRY, WATER: This variable includes all the chemical constituents of water, including BOD, DO, nutrients, trace metals, and other organics and inorganics. Used to measure and evaluate suitability of water for various beneficial uses.

CLIMATE TYPE: The classified prevailing weather condition of a region.

CODOMINANT TREES: Trees or shrubs with crowns receiving full light from above, but comparatively little from the sides. Crowns usually form the general level of the canopy. (In stagnated stands will be small-sized and crowded on the sides).

CONDUCTIVITY: A measure of the ability of a solution to carry an electric current. Measurement expressed as mmhos/cm.

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: A geographic area, as established through the census, represented by a member of Congress.

COUNTY, PARISH, BOROUGH, OR POLITICAL TOWNSHIP: The largest territorial division for local government within a state.

CROWN CLASS: The relative position of the tree or shrub crown with respect to competing vegetation surrounding the tree or shrub. Crown class for each tree or shrub is judged in the context of its immediate environment; that is, those trees or shrubs which are competing for sunlight with the subject tree. Crown class is essentially a classification of competition for light and is aimed at separating trees that are growing freely from those that are not. It designates trees or shrubs with crowns of similar development and occupying similar positions in the crown canopy. This is an ocular classification of trees or shrubs based on dominance in relation to adjacent trees or brush as indicated by crown development and amount of sunlight received from above and on the sides. In uneven-aged stands of tolerant species (in which the trees are not in small even-aged groups), trees in the intermediate crown position in the stand and with medium-sized crowns will be considered comparable to codominants of even-aged stands and coded as such. An example of this would be white spruce in an aspen or birch stand. As a general rule, in multi-story stands crown class for each tree must be judged in the context of its immediate environment, that is, those trees affecting it or being affected by it in terms of crown competition. In cases where the overstory consists of scattered veterans standing above larger numbers of younger trees, a considerable portion of the understory trees will undoubtedly be classified as dominant or codominant.

CROWN CLOSURE (COVER): The percentage of the ground covered by a vertical projection of the outermost perimeter of the natural spread of the foliage of plants. See also CANOPY COVER. Used to map and stratify stands of vegetation and as a measure of protection of a site or stream.

CROWN FOLIAGE DENSITY: A visual index of the amount of foliage per unit of crown. Used for calculation of foliage structure and a measure of the severity of defoliation and disease.

CROWN FORM (Shape): The configuration crown of a standing tree or shrub - circle, triangle, neolloid, parabola, rectangle or horizontal ellipse. Used to model vegetation structure and to determine foliage volume and percent growth cover by height.

CROWN LENGTH (Depth). The vertical distance from the top of the leader to the base of the crown, measured to the lowest live branch-whorl with live branches in at least 3 quadrants, and continuous with the main crown. Used to develop horizontal-vertical profiles and biomass estimates.

CROWN RATIO: The percent of the compacted portion of the tree bole or shrub supporting green, live, healthy foliage when compared to the total length or height.

CROWN VOLUME PERCENT: The percentage of a given space occupied by live foliage.

CROWN WIDTH (Diameter): The span of the crown of a tree or shrub.

CULTIVATED CROPLAND: Areas that are tilled and dominated by vegetation grown for the production of food and/or fiber, provided these areas do not qualify as Treeland, Grassland, or Shrubland. Cultivated cropland includes fallow land, land in any stage of annual crop production, and land being regularly cultivated for production of crops from perennial plants. Examples are orchards; nurseries of all types; and areas dominated by such species as wheat, barley, corn, soybeans, grapes, and berries.

 

- D -

DEPTH TO BEDROCK OR RESTRICTION: The vertical distance from the mineral soil surface to unbroken solid rock or restriction.

DEPTH TO MOTTLING OR WATER: Mottling is the occurrence of small spots of color which contrast with the general matrix color of the soil. These spots of color, or mottles, commonly appear as small spherical splotches. Mottle colors are either: (1) gray on a matrix subsoil color of yellowish-brown, or (2) reddish-brown on a matrix subsoil color of gray or grayish-brown. The shorter the depth to mottling, the more poorly drained the soil.

DETRIMENTAL SOIL DISTURBANCE: The condition where established threshold values for soil properties are exceeded and result in significant change.

DIAMETER AT BREAST HEIGHT (d.b.h.): Tree d.b.h. is outside bark diameter at breast height. Breast height is defined as 4.5 feet (1.37m) above the forest floor on the uphill side of the tree. For the purposes of determining breast height, the forest floor includes the duff layer that may be present, but does not include unincorporated woody debris that may rise above the ground line.

DIAMETER, BASAL (Diameter at Root Collar): The straight line passing through the center of a cross section of a bole measured at the root collar of a shrub or tree.

DIAMETER, STUMP: The diameter of a tree inside or outside bark at stump height (generally one foot above the ground on the uphill side).

DISSOLVED OXYGEN: A measure of the amount of oxygen dissolved in water. Expressed as mg/l of O2.

DOMINANT: The overstory life form or species in a plant community which contributes the most cover or basal area to the community, compared to other life form or species.

DOMINANT TREES: Trees or shrubs with crowns receiving full light from above and partly from the side; usually larger than the average trees or shrubs in the stand, with crowns that extend above the general level of the canopy and that are well developed but possibly somewhat crowded on the sides. A dominant tree is one which generally stands head and shoulders above all other trees in its vicinity. However, there may be a young, vigorous tree nearby, but not overtopped by a dominant tree. This smaller tree may be considerably shorter than the dominant, but still be receiving full light from above and partly from the sides. In its own immediate environment, it is dominant and should be recorded as such. Only understory trees immediately adjacent to the overstory tree will be assigned subordinate crown classes.

DOWN MATERIAL CONDITION: The deterioration of trees lying on the ground or across a stream. Classes include:

• Tree live. leaves green.
• Fresh killed. needles or leaves still on.
• Recent dead. Bark intact, limbs present, texture mostly sound, shape round, wood original color, elevated on support points.
• Intermediate. Bark loose, limbs ;missing, sapwood decay present, shape round, wood original to faded color, support all to mostly sagging.
• Decomposing. Bark absent, branch stubs loose, round to oval shape, color faded, all of piece on ground.
• Decomposed. Wood has deteriorated to punk or tinder.

 

- E -

ECOLOGICAL STATUS: The degree of similarity between the present Community and the potential natural community on a site. Ecological status is rated irrespective of management objectives. Ratings are based on the floristic similarity of the current vegetation to the potential natural community. The similarity can be expressed on a relative scale ranging from 0 to 100 with adjective ratings assigned as low, moderate or high similarity.

ECOLOGICAL TYPE (Habitat Type): A category of land having a unique combination of potential natural community; soil, landscape features, climate, and differing from other ecological types in its ability to produce vegetation and respond to management. Classes of ecological types include all sites that have this unique combination of components with the defined range of properties.

ECOLOGICAL UNIT: The map unit developed for an ECOLOGICAL TYPE or types. This unit often includes a complex of small and intricately associated ecological types too small to delineiate separately.

ECOREGION CODE: The ecoregion code number in which the inventory/sample is located. Determined from Ecoregion, land surface form and hydrologic unit maps of the U.S.

ECOSYSTEM/COVER TYPE: The native vegetation ecological community considered together with non-living factors of the environment as a unit and, the general cover type occupying the greatest percent of the stand location. Based on tree or plant species forming a plurality of the stocking within the stand. May be observed in the field or computed from plot measurements.

EFFECTIVE ROOTING DEPTH: The depth of the soil that accounts for 80 percent of the roots.

EMBEDDEDNESS: A rating of the degree that larger substrate particles (boulder, rubble, or gravel) are surrounded or covered by fine sediment.

EQUIVALENT BASAL DIAMETER (EBD): The square root of sum of squared basal diameters (BD).

EROSION SEVERITY: The degree of erosion taken place on the site. Classes include: Slightly eroded: Erosion has changed the soil enough to require only slight modification of management from that of the non-eroded soil; potential use and management remain generally the same. Most slightly eroded soils have class 1 erosion. Slightly eroded areas are not distinguished from non-eroded areas in most surveys.

• Moderately eroded: Erosion has changed the soil to such an extent that required management or the response to management differs in major respects from that of the non-eroded soil. Suitabilities for major uses such as range or forestry, and major engineering uses--are the same. Shallow gullies may be present. The word "moderately" is omitted from the name unless it is needed to differentiate between this phase and other eroded phases of the same soil.
• Severely eroded: Erosion has changed the soil so much that (1) the eroded soil is suited only to uses significantly less intensive than the non-eroded soil, (2) the eroded soil needs intensive management immediately or over a long period to be suitable for the same uses as the non-eroded soil, (3) productivity is reduced significantly, or (4) limitations for some major engineering interpretations are greater than on the non-eroded soil. Shallow gullies, or a few deep ones, are common in some places.

ESTABLISHED SEEDLINGS: Tree seedlings which are expected to survive and continue to grow over the next several years.

 

- F -

FISH HARVEST: Pounds of fish harvested by commercial and subsistence anglers, and number of fish user days spent on recreational fishing.

FISHERIES CLASSIFICATION: Water bodies and streams classed as either having a cold water or warm water fishery. This designation is dependent upon the dominate species of fish occupying the water.

• Warm water fisheries. Warm water fisheries support fish able to tolerate water temperatures above 80 degrees F. Warm water fish include such species as crappies, small and largemouth bass, sunfish, yellow perch, and catfish.
• Cold water fisheries. Cold water fisheries support fish that prefer clear, cold waters; are not tolerant of extreme temperature changes; and cannot survive for long periods with temperatures above 68 degrees F. Species such as trout, salmon, and grayling are recognized as cold water fish.

FORAGE UTILIZATION: The proportion of current year's forage production that is consumed or destroyed by grazing animals. Forage is all browse and herbage that is available and acceptable to grazing animals.

FORB: Herbaceous plant other than those in the Gramineae (true grasses), Cyperaceae (sedges), and Juncaceae (rushes) families, i.e., any nongrass-like plant having little or no woody material.

FOREST FLOOR (Litter) AND HUMUS: The freshly cast (Oi), partly decomposed (Oe), and fully decomposed (Oa) vegetative material on the soil surface.

FOREST LAND: Land at least 10 percent stocked by trees of any size or formerly having had such tree cover and not currently built-up or developed for agricultural use. Forestland may include Grassland, Shrubland, Treeland, Wetland, and/or Barren land. Examples of forest land use are grazing, recreation, and timber production. See FOREST LAND CLASS for further breakdowns.

FOREST LAND CLASS: A classification of an area based upon its capability of producing industrial wood (i.e., all commercial roundwood products except fuelwood), its legal status concerning timber utilization, and its proximity to urban and rural development. Classes include:

• Timberland: Forest land that is producing or capable of producing in excess of 20 cubic feet per acre per year of industrial wood crops under natural conditions, that is not withdrawn from timber utilization, and is not associated with urban or rural development. Currently inaccessible and inoperable areas are included.
• Reserved Timberland: Public forest land, not associated with urban or rural development, that produces or is capable of producing in excess of 20 cubic feet per acre of industrial wood crops under natural conditions, on which statutory or administrative restrictions prohibit the harvest of trees.
• Other Forest Land: Forest land not capable of producing 20 cubic feet per acre per year of industrial wood crops under natural conditions and not associated with urban or rural development. These sites often contain tree species that are not currently utilized for industrial wood production or trees of poor form, small size, or inferior quality that are unfit for industrial products. Unproductivity may be the result of adverse site conditions such as sterile soil, dry climate, poor drainage, high elevation, and rockiness. This land may or may not be withdrawn from timber utilization.
• Urban Forest Land: Forest land closely associated with or in such proximity to urban nonforest land uses that is not likely to be managed for the production of industrial wood products on a continuing basis. Wood removed would be for land clearing, fuelwood, or aesthetic purposes. Such forest land may be associated with industrial, commercial, residential, or recreational nonforest uses. The ecological character of the forest remains intact, i.e., the understory has not been removed or altered enough to preclude forest succession or replanting. Residential subdivisions, industrial parks, golf course perimeters, airport buffer strips, and public urban parks that qualify as forest land are included.
• Developed Rural Forest Land: Forest land closely associated with or in such proximity to rural nonforest land uses that is not likely to be managed for the production of industrial wood products on a continuing basis. Wood removed would be for land clearing, fuelwood, or aesthetic purposes. Such forest land is usually associated with agricultural, recreational, or residential nonforest uses but may be associated with industrial or commercial uses as well. Examples of such nonforest uses include cropland, home sites, camping areas, and farmsteads. The ecological character of the forest remains intact, i.e., the understory has not been removed or altered enough to preclude forest succession or replanting.

FUEL MODEL: Mathematical descriptions of fuel properties (e.g. fuel load and fuel depth) that are used as inputs to calculations of fire danger indices and fire behavior potential.

FUEL MOISTURE: The extent to which fuel will burn is largely determined by the amount of water in the fuel. Fuel moisture is a dynamic variable controlled by seasonal, daily and immediate weather changes. Fuel moisture, expressed as a percent, is computed from the weight of contained water in fuel divided by the ovendry weight of the fuel.

 

- G -

GEOLOGIC FEATURES: Landforms or other features of significant geologic interest that may require special management to: (1) protect the special qualities, or (2) provide interpretation to the public.

GEOLOGIC FORMATION: A mappable body of rock identified by distinctive characteristics, some degree of internal homogeneity, and stratiographic position. The name normally consists of two parts. The first is the name of the geographic locality where the formation was first identified and described. This is followed by a descriptive geologic term, usually the dominant rock type.

GEOLOGIC HAZARDS: A natural condition that poses some risk to human health or safety.

GEOLOGIC TIME UNIT: A division of time traditionally distinguished on the basis of observable changes in worldwide life forms as represented in the fossil record in sedimentary rocks.

GLIDES: A third general habitat category possessing attributes of both riffles and pools. Glides are characterized by moderately shallow water (10-30 cm deep) with an even flow that lacks pronounced turbulence. Although they are most frequently located at the transition between pool and the head of a riffle, glides are occasionally found in long, low gradient stream reached with stable banks and no major flow obstructions. The typical substrate is gravel and cobbles.

GRASS: A plant in the family Gramineae.

GRASS-LIKE PLANT: A plant which resembles grasses, but belongs to the families cyperaceae (sedges) and Juncaceae (rushes).

GRASSLAND: Areas on which vegetation is dominated by grasses, grass-like plants, forbs, and/or cryptogams (mosses. lichens, and ferns), provided these areas do not qualify as Built-up land or Cultivated cropland. Examples are tall grass and short grass prairies, meadows, cordgrass marshes, sphagnum moss areas, pasture lands, and areas cut for hay.

GROUND WATER AQUIFERS: A geologic formation that is sufficiently permeable to conduct ground water and has the potential to yield economically significant quantities of water to wells and springs.

 

- H -

HEIGHT GROWTH: The increase in height over 5 years or the period between measurements (measured for coniferous trees).

HEIGHT TO CROWN, COMPACTED: The vertical distance in feet from the ground to the base of the compacted live crown.

HEIGHT TO CROWN, UNCOMPACTED: The vertical distance in feet from the ground to the base of the live crown, measured to the lowest live branch-whorl or lowest live branch excluding epicormics.

HYDROLOGIC UNIT CODE: An inventory geographical locator for water uses and activities affecting watershed response and fisheries.

 

 

- I -

IMPOUNDMENT: A body of water held back by a dam, dike, floodgate or any other barrier. All artificially ponded water, including natural bodies of water with artificially controlled water levels, except that captured directly as it falls from the atmosphere.

INSTREAM COVER: The amount of vegetation and organic debris within a stream channel capable of providing protection for fish.

INSTREAM WOODY DEBRIS: A measure of the amount, size and arrangement of woody material in a stream.

INTERMEDIATE TREES: Trees or shrubs receiving little direct light from above, and none from the sides; usually with small crowns considerably crowded on the sides that are generally either below or extending into the canopy formed by codominant trees or shrubs.

 

 

- L -

LAND/AQUATIC TYPE ASSOCIATION: Code numbers given to a mapped unit of land in which land forms, soils, vegetation and water have the dominating influence.

LAND COVER CATEGORY: That which overlays or currently covers the ground, especially vegetation, permanent snow and ice fields, water bodies, or structures. Barren land is also considered a "land cover" although technically it is lack of cover. The term land cover can be thought of as applying to the setting in which action (one or more different land uses) takes place. Classes include Built-up land, Cultivated Cropland, Grassland, Shrubland, Treeland, Water areas, and Barren land.

LAND LOCATION (GLO): Area identifiers composed of MERIDIAN, TOWNSHIP, RANGE, SECTION, and SUBDIVISION.

• Meridian: Two lines, one extending north and south along the astronomical meridian and the other east and west along a true parallel of latitude, intersecting at the initial point, along which township, section, and quarter-section corners are established. The meridian and Base line are the lines from which the survey is initiated for the township boundaries along the parallels.
• Township: The unit of survey of the public lands; normally a quadrangle approximately 6 miles on a side with boundaries conforming to meridians and parallels within established limits, containing thirty-six sections, some of which are designed to take up the convergence of the meridianal township boundary lines and accumulated measurement errors
• Range: Any series of contiguous townships situated north and south of each other; also sections similarly situated within a township.
• Section: The unit of subdivision of a township; normally a quadrangle 1 mile square, with boundaries conforming to meridians and parallel within established limits, and containing 640 acres.
• Subdivision: The sixteen standard forty-acre aliquot parts of a section.

LAND LOCATION (Metes and Bounds): Area identifiers consisting of QUADRANGLES and PARCELS.

• Quadrangle: A 1:24,000 scale topographic map, based on the USGS Quadrangle, each 7.5 minutes by 7.5 minutes for each State and Territory (except Alaska and outlying areas).
• Parcel: An identifier for an area of land, described by definite boundaries, which was acquired or purchased from an individual, company, or other entity.

LAND SURFACE FORM CODE: The land surface form code number in which the inventory/sample is located. Determined from the Ecoregion land surface form and hydrologic unit maps of the United States

LAND USE CLASS: The predominant purpose for which an area is employed. Classes include Agricultural Land, Forest land, Rangeland, Wetland, Urban/suburban, and Utility/Transportation Corridors (Roads, Railroads, Utility Corridors).

LANDFORMS: Any physical feature of the earth's surface having a characteristic, recognizable shape and produced by natural causes. Landforms include:

• Alluvial Fan: A body of unconsolidated clastic material and debris flow, conical in shape, forming at the point where a stream emerges from a narrow valley onto a broader, less sloping valley floor.
• Backslope: The component of the hill slope that forms the steepest inclined surface and is frequently the principal element. The surface is dominantly steep and linear in profile and erosional in origin.
• Badlands: Intricately stream-dissected topography characterized by a very fine drainage network with high drainage densities and short, steep slopes. They have little or no vegetative cover overlying consolidated or poorly cemented clays or silts.
• Bajada: A broad, gently inclined slope formed by the lateral coalescence of a series of alluvial fans, and having a broadly undulating transverse profile.
• Basin: A depressed area with no surface outlet.
• Butte: An isolated, usually flat-topped upland mass characterized by summit widths that are less than heights of the bounding

erosional escarpment. It is produced by differential erosion of nearly horizontal, interbedded weak and resistant rocks. See also mesa.

• Caldera: A large, basin-shaped volcanic depression, more or less circular in form, and having a diameter many times greater than the included volcanic vents. See also crater.
• Canyon: A long, deep, narrow, very steep-sided valley with high and precipitous walls in an area of high local relief.
• Cirque: Semicircular, concave, bowl-like area with steep face primarily resulting from erosive activity at the head of a mountain glacier.
• Cliff: A high, very steep to perpendicular or overhanging face of rock or earth.
• Cone: A conical hill of lava or cinders that is built up around a volcanic vent.
• Crater: A basin-like rimmed structure, usually at the summit of a cone; its floor is approximately the diameter of the vent. See also caldera.
• Divide: The line of separation marking the boundary between two adjacent drainage systems.
• Draw: A small stream channel, generally more open and with a broader floor than a gulch. Also locally called "arroyo" or "wash."
• Dune: A mound, ridge, or hill of loose, wind-blown granular material (generally sand), either bare or covered with vegetation.
• End Moraine: The moraine produced at the front of an actively flowing glacier at any given time.
• Escarpment: A relatively continuous and steep slope or cliff breaking the general continuity of more gently sloping land surfaces and produced by erosion or faulting. When applied to cliffs formed by faulting, commonly abbreviated to "scarp."
• Flat: A level or nearly level area of land marked by little or no relief.
• Flood plain: The nearly level alluvial plain that borders a stream and is subject to inundation under flood stage conditions.
• Foot slope: The component of the hill slope that forms the inner, gently inclined surface at the base. The surface is dominantly concave in profile and is transitional between erosion and deposition.
• Gorge: A narrow, deep valley with nearly vertical rocky walls; used especially to identify a restricted, steep-walled part of a canyon.
• Ground Moraine: An extensive, fairly even and undulating layer of rock debris which has been primarily deposited from underneath the glacier.
• Gulch: A small stream channel, narrow and steepsided in cross section. Also called "ravine."
• Hill: A natural elevation of the land surface, rising as much as 1000 ft (see mountain) above the surrounding lowlands, usually of restricted summit area and having a well-defined outline. Hills fringing a mountain range are called "foothills."
• Hill slope: The steeper part of a hill between its summit and the drainage line or valley floor. Components of the hill slope may be further classified as shoulder, backslope, footslope, and toe slope.
• Hogback: A sharp-crested, symmetric ridge formed by the differential erosion of highly tilted and resistant rock layers.
• Karst: A type of topography characterized by closed depressions, sinkholes, caves, and underground drainage. It is formed by the underground solution of limestone, dolomite, and other soluble rocks and the associated processes of subsidence and collapse.
• Knob: A small, rounded hill, commonly isolated or rising above adjacent landforms. Also called "knoll."
• Lateral Moraine: A ridge-like moraine carried on and deposited at the side margin of a valley glacier.
• Mesa: A broad, nearly flat-topped, and usually isolated upland mass characterized by summit widths that are greater than the heights of bounding escarpments. As summit area decreases relative to height, mesas are transitional to buttes.
• Moraine: An accumulation of rock material, with an initial topographic expression of its own, built chiefly by the direct action of glacial ice or by running water emanating from the glacier. Moraines may be classified as end moraine, ground moraine, lateral moraine, recessional moraine, or terminal moraine depending on their relationship to the movement of the ice mass.
• Mountain: A natural elevation of the land surface, rising more than 1000 ft (see hill) above the surrounding lowlands, usually of restricted summit area (see plateau), and generally having steep sides.
• Peak: Sharp or rugged upward extension of a ridge chain, usually at the junction of two or more ridges; the prominent highest point of a summit area.
• Piedmont: An area or feature at the base of a mountain or mountain range.
• Plain: An extensive lowland area that ranges from level to gently sloping or undulating.
• Plateau: An extensive upland mass with a relatively flat summit area that is considerably elevated above adjacent lowlands, and is separated from them on one or more sides by escarpments. A comparatively large part of its total surface is at or near the summit level. See mesa and mountain.
• Playa: The usually dry and nearly level lake plain that occupies the lowest parts of a closed basin.
• Recessional Moraine: An end moraine, built during a temporary but significant halt in the final retreat of a glacier.
• Ridge: A long, narrow elevation of the land surface, usually sharp crested with steep sides and forming an extended upland between valleys.
• Saddle: A low point on a ridge or crestline, generally a divide between the heads of streams flowing in opposite directions.
• Shoulder: The component of the hill slope that forms the uppermost inclined surface. The surface is dominantly convex in profile and erosional in origin.
• Stream Terrace: One of a series of platforms in a stream valley, flanking and generally parallel to the stream channel, originally formed near the level of the stream, and representing the dissected remnants of an abandoned flood plain produced during a former stage of erosion or deposition.
• Structural Bench: A platform-type, nearly level to gently inclined erosional surface developed on resistant strata in areas where valleys are cut in alternating strong and weak layers with an essentially horizontal attitude.
• Summit: A general term for the top, or highest level, of the relatively undissected upland between two adjacent valleys.
• Terminal Moraine: An end moraine that marks the farthest advance of a glacier and usually has the form of a massive arcuate ridge, or complex of ridges.
• Toe Slope: The component of the hill slope that forms the outermost, gently inclined surface at the base. The surface is dominantly linear in profile and depositional in origin.
• Valley: An elongate, relatively large, externally drained, gently sloping depression of the Earth's surface commonly situated between two mountains or ranges of hills or mountains. It is usually developed by stream erosion.
• Valley Floor: The gently sloping to nearly level bottom surface of a valley

LITHOLOGIC UNIT: A system of rock classification based on manner of origin, composition, and texture (or grain size). No one system is universally recognized; the following nomenclature is offered as a guide to common terms that would be significant in most Forest Service work.

• Alluvium: Deposited by running water
• Amphibolite: A dark-colored, medium-grained rock containing amphibole and plagioclase.
• Andesite: Extrusive equivalent of diorite
• Anhydrite: Anhydrous (does not contain water) calcium sulfate, similar to gypsum but harder and slightly less soluble.
• Aphanitic Texture: Individual components can not be identified with the unaided eye.
• Arkose: Feldspar-rich (usually greater than 25%) sandstone that is not well-sorted.
• Asphalt: A dark brown or black, low-melting point, bitumen (a natural inflammable substance) comprised almost entirely of carbon and hydrogen.
• Basalt: Extrusive equivalent of gabbro
• Breccia: Consolidated gravel composed of broken, angular particles.
• Carbonaceous: Rich in carbon or organic matter.
• Carbonate: A general rock type formed from organic and inorganic precipitation of calcium and magnesium carbonates.
• Chert: A dense, very hard rock composed of microcrystalline silica (varieties also called flint, jasper, agate)
• Coal, Anthracite: A very hard, black coal, actually classed as metamorphic.
• Coal, Bituminous: A harder, more compacted, black coal.
• Colluvium: Deposited by rainwash or slow downslope creep
• Conglomerate: Consolidated gravel composed of rounded particles.
• Dacite: Extrusive equivalent of granodiorite
• Diatomite: A light-colored, soft rock composed of the siliceous skeletons of diatoms (water-dwelling organisms)
• Diorite: Plagioclase (Sodium-rich) feldspar, quartz less than 10%, mafic minerals about 25%
• Dolomite: Contains more than 90% of the mineral dolomite (calcium-magnesium carbonate)
• Eolian: Deposited by wind
• Evaporite: A general group of rocks produced by the extensive evaporation of a saline solution.
• Foliate: A general term for planar or layered structure
• Gabbro: Plagioclase (Calcium-rich) feldspar about 50%, mafic minerals about 50%
• Glacial: Deposited by action of glaciers or ice sheets
• Glassy Texture: Amorphous rock without distinct crystallization
• Gneiss: A rock with alternating bands of granular and flaky (or elongate) minerals. Generally less than 1/2 the minerals show a preferred parallel orientation.
• Granite: Orthoclase feldspar greater than 2/3 total feldspar, quartz greater than 10%
• Granodiorite: Plagioclase (Sodium/Calcium) feldspar greater than 2/3 total feldspar, quartz greater than 10%
• Gravel: Particle size greater than 2mm.
• Graywacke: A dark-gray, coarse-grained, poorly-sorted sandstone.
• Gypsum: A soft mineral consisting of hydrous calcium sulfate
• Halite: Native salt
• Hematite: A common iron oxide mineral, occurring in several forms, with a distinctive brick-red color when powdered.
• Hornfels: A fine-grained rock with a mosaic of equidimensional grains.
• Igneous: rock that has solidified from molten or partly molten material (magma).
• Lacustrine: Deposited on the bottom of a lake
• Latite: Extrusive equivalent of monzonite
• Lignite: A soft, brown coal formed by the further compression of peat.
• Limestone: Contains more than 95% calcite (calcium carbonate)
• Limonite: A general group of hydrous (contains water) ferric oxides, commonly having a dark brown or yellow-brown color.
• Man-made: Landfills and earthworks
• Marble: Recrystallized calcite and/or dolomite, usually with a sugary texture.
• Marine: Deposited on the bottom of a sea
• Massive: A general term denoting lack of foliation
• Metamorphic: Rock that has been derived from pre-existing rocks, essentially in the solid state, in response to changes in temperature, pressure, shearing stress, and chemical environment.
• Metaquartzite: Recrystallized sandstone or chert, consisting mainly of quartz.
• Migmatite: A composite rock containing both igneous and metamorphic materials
• Monzonite: Orthoclase/Plagioclase ratio about equal, quartz less than 10%
• Mud: Particle size less than 1/16mm. (Called "silt" when greater than 1/256mm, "clay" when less than 1/256mm)
• Mylonite: A compact, chertlike rock without cleavage, but with a banded appearance produced by extreme shearing and pulverizing during metamorphism.
• Obsidian: Black to dark-colored volcanic glass, similar in composition to rhyolite.
• Organic: Accumulations of organic matter
• Peat: A soft, brown material containing the partially decomposed remains of plants.
• Pegmatitic Texture: Exceptionally coarsely crystalline, usually with a composition similar to granite. Commonly referred to as "pegmatite."
• Peridotite: Mafic minerals greater than 90%
• Phaneritic Texture: Individual components can be identified with the unaided eye.
• Phosphorite: Rock containing quantities of precipitated or reworked phosphate minerals.
• Phyllite: Contains platy minerals too small to be clearly identifiable, distinguished by a glossy sheen.
• Porphyritic Texture: Larger crystals set in a finer-grained groundmass. Takes name from dominant rock type (e.g., "granite porphyry.")
• Pumice: Light-colored, vesicular (filled with small cavities formed by entrapment of gases) glassy rock, similar in composition to rhyolite.
• Rhyolite: Extrusive equivalent of granite
• Sand: Particle size between 1/16 and 2mm.
• Sandstone: Cemented sand. When used without a qualifier, generally contains about 90% quartz.
• Schist: Can be readily split into thin flakes or slabs due to more than 1/2 the minerals showing a well-developed parallelism.
• Sedimentary: Rock that has formed from the accumulation of materials on the Earth's surface
• Serpentine: A rock with a greasy or silky luster and a tough, conchoidal fracture, having a common greenish color and often veined or spotted.
• Shale: Finely laminated, clayey rock with about 1/2 silt.
• Silica: A general term for silicon dioxide
• Siltstone: Similar to shale, but has greater than 2/3 silt and lacks the fine laminations.
• Slate: A very fine-grained rock, most often generated from the metamorphism of shale, exhibiting excellent cleavage.
• Soapstone: A light-colored rock with a soft, soapy feel, having a fibrous or flaky texture, and composed chiefly of talc
• Syenite: Orthoclase (Potassium) feldspar greater than 2/3 total feldspar, quartz less than 10%
• Trachyte: Extrusive equivalent of syenite
• Travertine: A dense, frequently concentric, form of calcium carbonate created by the rapid chemical precipitation from ground waters (limestone cave formations) or by evaporation around hot springs.
• Tufa: A spongy form of calcium carbonate created by evaporation around springs or from a lake surface.
• Tuff: A general term for all consolidated pyroclastic material, but typically refers to volcanic ash.
• Unconsolidated: Sediment that has not been lithified. Describes the surficial layer below the soil horizons but above bedrock.

LOG: A section of a tree bole at least 8 feet long, not containing a fork, sufficiently straight and sound enough to yield at least an 8-foot board.

 

 

- M -

 

MACROINVERTEBRATE BIOTIC CONDITION INDEX: An index that compares the tolerance or sensitivity to pollution of an existing community of macroinvertebrates, to the predicted potential tolerance of a community in undisturbed conditions for a given stream.

MASS STABILITY: The existing condition of the soil mantel related to the potential for land mass failure such as landslides, mud flows, and debris slides.

MEAN WATER DEPTH: A measure of the average vertical height of the water column from the existing water surface level to the channel bottom.

MERIDIAN: See LAND LOCATION (GLO).

MINERAL COMMODITIES: A mineral resource with sufficient value to be individually produced and traded on the open market.

MINERAL RESOURCE: A known or undiscovered concentration of naturally occurring solid, liquid, or gaseous material in or on the Earth's crust in such form and amount that economic extraction of a commodity from the concentration is currently or potentially feasible.

• Identified, Demonstrated: An in-place deposit for which there are physical measurements of size and grade combined with limited extrapolation of geological, geochemical, and geophysical data
• Identified, Inferred: A known deposit for which there are only general quantitative estimates of size and grade. The estimates are based on assumed data from geologic evidence and related mining experience
• Undiscovered, High Potential: As yet undiscovered deposit in a region where the geologic controls necessary for the formation of deposits of a specific type are present and favorable and evidence indicates mineral accumulation
• Undiscovered, Low Potential: As yet undiscovered deposit in a region where the geologic, geochemical, and geophysical characteristics do not indicate a favorable environment or where there is little evidence that the geologic processes necessary for mineralization have occurred
• Undiscovered, Moderate Potential: As yet undiscovered deposit in a region where the geologic controls necessary for the formation of deposits of a specific type are favorable and there is a reasonable chance for mineral accumulation
• Undiscovered, Unknown Potential: A region where the geologic information is insufficient to otherwise categorize potential

MISTLETOE INFECTION RATING: The relative abundance of mistletoe in the crown of a tree or shrub.

MIXING HEIGHT: The height above the surface (m) defining a boundary layer within which pollutants are free to mix.

MORTALITY: See TREE HISTORY.

MOSSES AND LICHENS: Mosses are plants growing in tufts or clusters on the ground, decaying wood or on rocks. Lichens are any of the various flowerless plants composed of fungi and algae, commonly growing in flat patches on rocks, trees, etc.

MOST HAZARDOUS PEST: The principal natural agent operating in the vicinity of the sample point which presents the greatest threat to realizing stand goals of stocking, growth and structure.

 

 

-N-O-  

ODOR TYPE AND CONCENTRATION: The threshold ambient concentration at which certain pollutants are odoriferous to humans.

OLD GROWTH: See STAND CONDITION.

ONGROWTH: See TREE HISTORY.

OPEN GROWN OR ISOLATED TREES: Trees or shrubs with crowns receiving full light from above and from all sides.

OVERTOPPED TREES: Understory trees or shrubs generally of tolerant species such as Engelmann spruce. If they can be released through some kind of treatment, and have not been too badly deformed, such trees will make suitable crop trees. Overtopped trees are often of a younger age than the main canopy.

OWNERSHIP: The identification of the legal owner/administrator (Federal, State, Local, Private) on both the surface and subsurface estates.

 

- P -

PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES: Any remains, trace, or imprint of a plant or animal that has been preserved in the Earth's crust since some past geologic time.

• Invertebrate Fossil: Remains, including casts and molds, of animals without backbones and not classed as a microfossil
• Microfossil: Fossilized remains of organisms that are too small to be studied without the aid of a microscope
• Petrified Wood: Material formed by the replacement of the wood by silica in such a manner that the original form and structure is preserved
• Plant: Members of the plant kingdom excluding petrified wood and microfossils
• Trace: Indirect evidence of life, such as tracks, trails, burrows, and coprolites
• Vertebrate Fossil: Remains, including casts and molds, of animals with skulls and internal skeletons

PARCEL: See LAND LOCATION (Metes and Bounds).

PARENT MATERIAL: Parent Material is the unconsolidated organic and mineral material in which soil forms. Some soils have formed from the weathering of bedrock in place; however, other soils have formed from material that has been transported from the site of the parent rock and redeposited at a different location through the action of glacial ice, water, wind or gravity.

PARTICLE SIZE: The effective diameter of a particle measured by sedimentation, sieving, or micrometric methods. Particle size distribution is the percent by weight of sand, silt, and clay in a soil sample of a soil horizon excluding coarse fragments

• Coarse Fragments: Rock or mineral particles >2.0 mm in diameter.
• Sand: A soil particle between 0.05 and 2.00 mm in diameter. Any one of five soil separates namely: very coarse sand; coarse sand; medium sand; fine sand; and very fine sand.
• Silt: A soil separate consisting of particles between 0.05 and 0.002 mm in equivalent diameter.
• Clay: A soil separate consisting of particles <0.002 mm in equivalent diameter.

pH: A measure of hydrogen ion activity or concentration. Expressed as pH units.

PLANT SPECIES: The major subdivision of a genus or subgenus of a plant being described or measured.

POLLUTANT LOADING: Amount of pollutants in a unit volume of air.

POOL: A portion of the stream with reduced current velocity, often with water deeper than the surrounding areas, which is frequently usable by fish for resting and cover. During low streamflow conditions there are seven pool types, which are associated with the presence of bedrock outcroppings, large rocks, or large tree stems and rootwads in the channel.

• Backwater Pools: Those found along channel margins and are caused by eddies behind large obstructions such as rootwads or boulders. This pool type is often quite shallow (< 30 cm) and tends to be dominated by fine-grained substrates. Like in secondary channel pools, current velocities in backwater pools are negligible.
• Dammed pools: Water impounded upstream from a complete or nearly complete channel blockage. Typical causes of dammed pools are debris jams and rock landscapes. Depending upon the size of the blockage, dammed pools can be very large. Water velocity in this type of pool is characteristically low and substrates tend toward smaller gravels and sand.
• Lateral Scour Pools: These differ from plunge pools in that the flow is directed to one side of the stream by a partial channel obstruction. Often an undercut bank is associated with this type of pool.
• Plunge Pools: These occur where the stream passes over a complete or nearly complete channel obstruction and drops vertically into the streambed below, scouring out a depression. This pool type is often large, quite deep (> 1 m), and possesses a complex flow pattern radiating from the point of water entry. Substrate particle size is also highly variable.
• Secondary Channel Pools: Those that remain within the bankfull margins of the stream after freshnets. During the survey period (June-September) most of these pools disappear and those remaining have little flow through them. Secondary channel pools are usually associated with gravel bars, but many contain sand and silt substrates.
• Trench Pools: Long, generally deep slots in a stable substrate. Channel cross sections are typically U-shaped with a coarse-grained bottom flanked by bedrock walls. Current velocities in trench pools are the swiftest of any pools type and the direction of the flow in most uniform.

POOL QUALITY: A rating of the capability of a pool to provide fish survival and growth requirements.

POOL-RIFFLE RATIO: The ratio of the length or percent of pool habitat divided by the length or percent of riffle habitat.

POTENTIAL NATURAL COMMUNITY: The biotic community that would be established if all successional sequences of its ecosystem were completed without additional man-caused disturbance under present environmental conditions. Grazing by native fauna, natural disturbances, such as drought, floods, wildfire, insects and disease are inherent in the development of potential natural communities which may include naturalized non native species.

PRECIPITATION, AVERAGE ANNUAL: The amount of rainfall (or equivalent snowfall) expected in the area over a calendar year.

PRECIPITATION, HOURLY: Hourly amount of liquid equivalent precipitation.

PRINCIPAL DEFECT: The most significant defect that reduces TREE VOLUME and TREE CLASS.

PRIVATE FOREST LAND OWNER: A classification of the owner responsible for the management of privately owned forested land.

• Forest Industry: Lands owned privately by companies or individuals operation wood-using plants.
• Farmer/Rancher: Lands owned by a person who operates a farm, either participating in the work or directly supervising the work.
• Farmer/Rancher Owned: Leased: Lands owned by a person who operates a farm, but currently being leased to and operated by forest industry.
• Other Private - Corporate: Lands privately-owned by any corporation other than forest industry or farmer.
• Other Private - Individual: Land owned by an individual other than a farmer.
• Other Private - Corporate - Leased: Land owned by a corporation but leased to forest industry.
• Other Private - Individual - Leased: Land owned by an individual but eased to forest industry.

PROCLAIMED UNIT (NFFID): Units of the National Forest System as originally proclaimed or designated by Congress.

PRODUCTION, FORAGE: Annual production of herbage, shrubs, woody vines, and trees which may provide food for grazing animals or harvested for feeding. Expressed in pounds per acre per year.

PUBLIC ACCESS: An indication if the property is posted or restricted from public use.

 

- Q -

QUADRANGLE: See LAND LOCATION (Metes and Bounds).

 

 

- R -

RADIAL GROWTH (Increment): The increase in tree radius over a period of time (e.g., 10 years or period between measurements) at breast height or occasionally at the base.

RANGE: See LAND LOCATION (GLO).

RANGE TREATMENT CLASS: Standard treatment categories identified in inventories of range resources to assess forage availability and treatments needed to improve forage production and/or protect the soil.

RANGELAND (RANGE): Land on which vegetation is predominantly grasses, forbs, or shrubs suitable for grazing or browsing. Rangeland is generally and Shrubland, but may include some Treeland and Barren land. Agricultural land is excluded. Also included are areas seeded to native or adapted introduced species that are managed like native vegetation.

RAPIDS: Stream habitats which possess a gradient greater than 4 percent with swiftly flowing water ( > 50 cm/sec) having considerable turbulence. The substrate of rapids is generally coarser than the substrate of low gradient riffles, and during low streamflow conditions large boulders typically protrude through the surface.

REACH NUMBER: Number given to a location on or segment of a stream within the Hydrologic Unit Code.

RECREATION OPPORTUNITY CLASS: An assessment of the general potential of the site for outdoor recreation. The following minimum number of classes are recognized:

• Primitive: Area characterized by essentially unmodified natural environment with a high probability of experiencing isolation from the sights and sounds of man.
• Roaded Natural: Area is characterized by a predominantly natural or natural-appearing environment with a low probability of experiencing isolation from the sights and sounds of man.
• Rural: Area characterized by a substantially modified natural environment with a low probability of experiencing isolation from the sights and sounds of man.
• Semi-primitive: Area characterized by a predominantly natural or natural-appearing environment with a moderate probability of experiencing isolation from the sights and sounds of man.
• Urban: Area characterized by a substantially urbanized environment, although the background may have natural-appearing elements.

RECREATION USE: The primary type of recreation use observed in the vicinity of the sample unit.

REGION/STATION/AREA: Geographic grouping of Forest Service administrative units.

RELATIVE HUMIDITY: A ratio, expressed in percent, of the amount of moisture in a volume of air to the total amount which that volume can hold at the given temperature and atmospheric pressure.

RIFFLE: A shallow rapids where the water flows swiftly over completely or partially submerged obstructions to produce surface agitation, but standing waves are absent. Three types of riffle habitats are identified. Low gradient riffles are shallow (< 20 cm deep) stream reaches with moderate current velocity (20-50 cm/sec) and moderate turbulence. Substrate is usually composed of gravel, pebble, and cobble-sized particles. The upper gradient for this habitat is arbitrarily limited to 4 percent.

ROAD FUNCTIONAL CLASS: Alpha code designating the functional classification to road segment.

• Arterial: A road segment that provides service to large land areas and usually connect with other arterial roads or public highway.
• Collector - Intermediate Links: Segments that connect major heavily traveled multiple purpose arterial routes and single source local roads.
• Local: Segments which connect terminal facilities such as log landings and recreation sites with Forest collector or arterial roads or with public highways. Usually single purpose.

ROAD SURFACE: An alpha code describing the general type of running surface on an existing road management section.

ROAD SYSTEM: An alpha code indicating primary systems designation where primary indicates the system under which principle funding and management criteria for operation and maintenance of a road is derived.

 

- S -

SAWLOG LENGTH: The length in feet of the merchantable portion of a sawtimber growing-stock tree.

SAWLOG TOP DIAMETER: The span of the tree stem outside bark (d.o.b.) at the top of the SAWLOG LENGTH of the bole.

SEEDLING/SHRUB COUNT: The number of established tree seedlings or shrub stems on a fixed area or sample plot.

SEVERELY BURNED SOIL: A condition where most woody debris and the entire Forest floor is consumed down to bare mineral soil. Soil may have turned red due to extreme heat. Also, fine roots and organic matter are charred in the upper one-half inch of mineral soil.

SHORE DEPTH: A measure of the water depth at the shoreline.

SHRUB: A plant that has persistent woody stems and a relatively low growth habit, and that generally produces several basal shoots instead of a single bole. It differs from a tree by its low stature and nonarborescent form. Usually less than 16 ft. tall at maturity.

SHRUBLAND: Areas on which vegetation is dominated by shrubs, provided these areas do not qualify as Built-up land or Cultivated cropland. Examples are areas consisting of such species as big sagebrush, shadscale, greasewood, creosotebush, and fourwing saltbrush.

SINUOSITY: The ratio of the channel length to valley length.

SITE INDEX: Height of a tree at a specified index or base age. Used as an indicator of site quality.

SITE PRODUCTIVITY CLASS: A classification of forest lands in terms of inherent capacity to grow crops of industrial wood. The class identifies the potential growth in merchantable cubic feet/acre/year and is based on the age of culmination of mean annual increment of fully stocked natural stands. Classes are as follows:

• 1: 225 or more cubic feet per acre
• 2: 165 to 224 "
• 3: 120 to 164 "
• 4: 85 to 119 "
• 5: 50 to 84 "
• 6: 20 to 49 "
• 7: less than 20 "

SITE TREE QUALITY: A classification of sample tree according to how well the tree reflects the productive potential of the site.

SIZE DOWN WOODY MATERIAL: Dead twigs, branches, stems, and boles of trees and brush that have fallen and lie on or above the ground but within 1.8, (6 feet) meters of the ground.

• Small Twigs: Small twigs are defined as those fuel pieces which have a cross section diameter of less than 1/4 inch (6mm) at the point of intersection with the sampling plane.
• Large Twigs: Large twigs are defined as those fuel pieces which have a cross section diameter of between .25 and .99 inches (6 and 25mm) inclusive at the point of intersection with the sampling plane.
• Branches: Branches are defined as those fuel pieces with a cross section diameter of between 1.0 and 2.99 inches (25 and 75mm) inclusive at the point of intersection with the sampling plane.
• Large Fuel: Branches or pieces 3.0. (75mm) or larger at the point of intersection with the sampling place. The actual diameter is usually recorded for each large piece selected.

SNAG CONDITION: A description of the deterioration of a standing dead tree.

• Stage 1. Branches, twigs, bark intact.
• Stage 2. Loose bark, secondary branches gone.
• Stage 3. Bole clean.
• Stage 4. Top broken.
• Stage 5. Top broken, bole decomposed.

SOIL BULK DENSITY: The mass of undisturbed or disturbed dry soil per unit bulk volume. The bulk volume is determined before drying to a constant weight at 105 c. The value is expressed in grams per cubic centimeter (g/cc).

SOIL COMPACTION: A physical change in soil properties that results in a decrease in porosity and an increase in soil bulk density and soil strength.

SOIL COVER: The type of cover on the soil surface.

• Soil covered by live vegetation
• Soil covered by litter
• Soil covered by rock
• Soil covered by pavement
• Soil not covered - exposed.

SOIL DISPLACEMENT: The movement of the forest floor (litter, duff and humus layers) and surface soil from one place to another by mechanical forces such as a blade used in piling or windrowing. Mixing of surface soil layers by discing, chopping, or bedding operation, are not considered displacement.

SOIL DRAINAGE CLASS: Natural soil drainage refers to the rapidity and extent of the removal of water from the soil, in relation to incoming water. This is especially true of water by surface runoff and by flow through the soil to underground spaces. Soil drainage, as a condition of the soil, refers to the frequency and duration of periods when the soil is free of saturation or partial saturation. The seven classes are:

• Excessively Drained: Soils with very high and high hydraulic conductivity and low water holding capacity. They are not suited for crop production unless irrigated.
• Somewhat Excessively Drained: Soils with high hydraulic conductivity and low water holding capacity. Without irrigation only a narrow range of crops can be grown and yields are low.
• Well Drained: Soils with intermediate water holding capacity. They retain optimum amounts of moisture, but they are not wet close enough to the surface or long enough during the growing season to adversely affect yields.
• Moderately Well Drained: Soils that are wet close enough to the surface for long enough that planting or harvesting operations are adversely affected unless artificial drainage is provided. Moderately well drained soils, commonly have a layer with low hydraulic conductivity, wet state relatively high in the profile, additions of water by seepage, or some combination of these conditions.
• Somewhat Poorly Drained: Soils that are wet close enough to the surface or long enough that planting or harvesting operations are markedly restricted unless artificial drainage is provided. Somewhat poorly drained soils commonly have a layer with low hydraulic conductivity, wet state high in the profile, additions of water through seepage, or a combination of these conditions.
• Poorly Drained: Soils commonly wet at or near the surface during a considerable part of the year. Poorly drained conditions are caused by a saturated zone, a layer with low hydraulic conductivity, seepage, or a combination of these conditions.
• Very Poorly Drained: These soils are wet to the surface most of the time. These soils are wet enough to prevent the growth of important crops (except rice) unless artificially drained.

SOIL EROSION TYPE: Soil erosion is the process of removal of soil material by running water, wind or gravitational creep. Factors that affect soil erosion are climate, nature of the soil, slope, vegetation and cultivation practices. Classes of erosion by water are:

• Class 1: Soils that have lost some of the original A horizon but on the average less than 25 percent of the original A horizon or of the uppermost 20 cm if the original A horizon was less that 20 cm thick. Throughout most of the area the thickness of the surface layer is within the normal range of variability of the non eroded soil. Scattered spots amounting to less than 20 percent of the area may be modified appreciably. Evidence for class 1 erosion includes (1) a few rills, (2) accumulation of sediment at the base of slopes or in depressions, (3) scattered spots where the plow layer contains material from below the original plow layer, and (4) evidence of formation of widely spaced deep rills or shallow gullies without consistently measurable reduction in thickness or other change in properties between the rills or gullies.
• Class 2: Soils that have lost on the average 25 to 75 percent of the original A horizon or of the uppermost 20 cm if the original A horizon was less than 20 cm thick. Throughout most cultivated areas of class 2 erosion the surface layer consists of a mixture of the original A horizon and material from below. Some areas may have intricate patterns ranging from non eroded spots to spots where all of the original A horizon has been removed. Where the original A horizon was very thick, little or no mixing of underlying material with the original A horizon may have taken place.
• Class 3: Soils that have lost on the average 75 percent or more of the original A horizon or of the uppermost 20 cm if the original A horizon was less than 20 cm thick. In most areas of class 3 erosion, material below the original A horizon is exposed at the surface in cultivated areas. The plow layer consists entirely or largely of material that was below the original A horizon. Even where the original A horizon was very thick, at least some mixing of underlying material with the original A horizon has generally taken place.
• Class 4: Soils that have lost all of the A horizon or the uppermost 20 cm if the original A horizon was less than 20 cm thick plus some or all of the deeper horizons throughout most of the area. The original soil can be identified only in spots. Some areas may be smooth, but most have an intricate pattern of gullies.

Classes of erosion by wind:

• Class 1: Soils that have lost some of the original A horizon but on the average less than 25 percent of the original A horizon or of the uppermost 20 cm if the original A horizon was less that 20 cm thick. Throughout most of the area the thickness of the surface layer is within the normal range of variability of the non eroded soil. Scattered spots amounting to less than 20 percent of the area may be modified appreciably. Evidence for class 1 wind erosion includes (1) a surface layer coarser in texture than in the non eroded areas nearby, (2) low mounds of sand and perhaps coarser particles, and (3) lower depressions, or swales, from which soil material has been blown.
• Class 2: Soils that have lost on the average 25 to 75 percent of the original A horizon or of the uppermost 20 cm if the original A horizon was less than 20 cm thick. Throughout most cultivated areas of class 2 wind erosion the surface layer consists of a mixture of the original A horizon and material from below. Most class 2 areas consist of an intricate pattern of eroded and non eroded spots and some spots of deposition.
• Class 3: Soils that have lost on the average 75 percent or more of the original A horizon or of the uppermost 20 cm if the original A horizon was less than 20 cm thick. In most areas of class 3 wind erosion, material below the original A horizon is exposed at the surface; in places enough of the original surface layer remains that it can be identified. The removal of material is generally not uniform. A few blow-out areas may be included.
• Class 4: Soils that have lost all the A horizon or the uppermost 20 cm if the original A horizon was less than 20 cm thick plus some or all of the deeper horizons throughout most of the area. The original soil can be identified only in spots. Depressions where all of the material has been blown out are common. Areas between blowouts may be buried by soil from the blowouts.

SOIL MAP UNIT: A named portion of a landscape shown by a closed delineation and symbol on a soil map.

SOIL PUDDLING: A physical change in soil properties due to shearing forces that alters soil structure and porosity. Puddling occurs when the soil is at or near liquid limit.

SOIL STRUCTURE: Structure is described by grade, class and type. Terms are used to describe natural aggregates in the soil called peds in contrast to clods caused by disturbance, fragments by rupture of peds, and concentrations by local concentrations of compounds that irreversibly cement the soil grains together. Classes are as follows:

• Granular, approximately spherical with no accommodation of faces to surrounding peds.
• Platy, with vertical dimension small with regard to horizontal dimensions; faces accommodate with those of adjacent peds.
• Prismatic, without rounded caps, vertical faces well defined and with angular vertical length relatively long with respect to horizontal dimensions; faces accommodate with those of adjacent peds.
• Columnar, with rounded caps, otherwise similar to the prismatic.
• Angular blocky, blocklike with all 3 dimensions of the same order of magnitude, faces flattened, most vertices sharply angular; faces accommodate with those of adjacent peds.
• Subangular blocky, similar to angular blocky but both rounded and flattened faces occur with many rounded vertices.
• Structureless - massive or single grain.

SOIL TAXONOMIC UNIT: A soil class at any categorical level in the U.S. system of soil taxonomy e.g. order, suborder, great group, subgroup, family, or series.

SOIL TEXTURE: The relative proportions of clay, silt, and sand (less than 2mm in diameter). Clay particles are the smallest, silt particles are intermediate, and sand particles are the largest. Loams contain various mixtures of the three basic particle sizes. Rock fragments in the soil can modify textural names depending on size and amount. Stones and boulders on the surface can affect use and coverage should be estimated.

SPECIES MANAGEMENT STATUS: Special management status of wildlife and fish species as determined by State or Federal wildlife agencies.

STAND AGE: The mean age of the dominant and codominant trees in the stand.

STAND CONDITION: A classification of forest stands based upon the age of maturity and structure of the overstory and understory.

• Old-Growth Stands: Ecosystems distinguished by old trees and related structural attributes. Old growth encompasses the later stages of stand development which typically differ from earlier stages in a variety of characteristics that may include tree size, accumulations of large dead woody material, number of canopy layers, species composition, and ecosystem function. The age at which old growth develops and the specific structural attributes that characterize old growth will vary widely according to forest type, climate, site conditions and disturbance regime. For example, old growth in fire-dependent forest types may not differ from younger forests in the number of canopy layers or accumulation of down woody material. However, old growth is typically distinguished from younger growth by several of the following structural attributes:
• Large trees for species and site.
• Wide variation in tree sizes and spacing.
• Accumulations of large-size dead standing and fallen trees that are high relative to earlier stages.
• Decadence in the form of broken or deformed tops or bole and root decay.
• Multiple canopy layers.
• Canopy gaps and understory patchiness.
• Young-Growth Stand: Any forested stand not meeting the definition of old growth.

STAND HISTORY: The kind of disturbance (prior to plot establishment) on the sample location.

STAND ORIGIN: The apparent source of vegetation on the location - natural or artificial regeneration.

STAND SIZE CLASS: A classification of land based on the stocking of all live vegetation of various sizes.

• Nonstocked with vegetation
• Land less than 10-percent stocked with trees, but having vegetation.
• Grass-Forb Stands: Stands less than 10 percent stocked with trees. Shrubs less than 40 percent crown canopy.
• Shrub Stands: Stands less than 10 percent stocked with trees. Shrubs greater than 40 percent crown canopy.
• Stocked with trees.
• Seedling-Sapling Stands: Stands at least 10 percent stocked with live trees of all sizes, of which half or more of the stocking consists of seedling and/or saplings (trees < 5.0" d.b.h.).
• Poletimber Stands: Stands at least 10 percent stocked with live trees of which half or more of the stocking is in trees, 5.0 inches d.b.h. and larger, and in which the stocking of poletimber (softwoods-5.0 to 8.9 inches d.b.h., hardwoods-5.0 to 10.9 inches d.b.h.) exceeds the stocking of sawtimber (trees larger than poletimber).
• Sawtimber Stands: Stands at least 10-percent stocked with live trees of which half or more of the stocking is in trees 5.0 inches d.b.h. and larger, in which the stocking of sawtimber trees is at east equal to the stocking of poletimber trees.

STAND STRUCTURE: A description of the distribution and representation of STAND AGE and STAND SIZE classes within a stand.

• Even-Aged Single Storied: Theoretically, stands in which all the trees are one age. In actual practice, these stands are marked by an even canopy of uniform height characterized by intimate competition between trees of approximately the same size. The smaller trees are usually tall spindly members of the stand that have fallen behind their associates. The greatest number of stems are in a diameter class represented by the average of the stand; there are fewer trees in the classes above and below this mean. A single even canopy characterizes the stand. The greatest number of trees are in a height class represented by the average height of the stand; there are substantially fewer trees in height classes above and below this mean. The ages of the trees usually do not differ by more than 20 years.
• Even-Aged Two-Storied: Stands composed of two distinct canopy layers, such as, an overstory and understory sapling layer possibly from seed tree and shelterwood operations. This may also be true in older plantations where tolerant hardwoods may become established as management intensity decreases (burning and other means of understory control). Two relatively even canopy levels can be recognized in the stand. The frequency distribution of trees by height class tends to be bimodal. Understory or overtopped trees are common. Neither canopy level is necessarily continuous or closed, but both canopy levels tend to be uniformly distributed across the stand. The average age of each level differs significantly from the other.
• Uneven-Aged: Theoretically, these stands contain trees of every age on a continuum from seedlings to mature canopy trees. In practice, uneven-aged stands are characterized by a broken or uneven canopy layer. Usually the largest number of trees is in the smaller diameter classes. As trees increase in diameter, their numbers diminish throughout the stand. Many times, instead of producing a negative exponential distribution of diminishing larger diameters, uneven-aged stands behave irregularly with waves of reproduction and mortality. Consider any stand with 3 or more structural layers as uneven-aged. Logging disturbance (examples are selection, diameter limit and salvage cutting) will give a stand an uneven-aged structure.
• Mosaic: At least two distinct size classes are represented and these are not uniformly distributed, but are grouped in small repeating aggregations, or occur as stringers less than 120 feet wide, throughout the stand. Each size class aggregation is too small to be recognized and mapped as an individual stand. The aggregations may or may not be even-aged.

STAND YEAR OF ORIGIN: Year the stand was planted or created.

STATE/TERRITORY: The constituent unit, or "first order subdivision" of the United States.

STOCKING PERCENT: The amount of live trees on a given area in relation to what is considered the optimum. A calculation using either the total number of trees, total basal area, or total volume per unit area divided by the optimum total number of trees, optimum total basal area or optimum total volume for a particular species and management objective, expressed as a percent. The classes are 10 percent intervals with an overall range from non-stocked to 100% stocking, relative stocking basis. Data in the form of absolute stocking (0-167 percent basis) should be reduced to relative stocking by dividing by a factor of 1.67.

STREAM CHANNEL-BANK ANGLE: A measure of the angle formed by the downward sloping streambank as it meets the more horizontal stream bottom.

STREAM ORDER: A numbering scheme used to characterize the relative position of stream channels within a drainage. Given a map, the first-order streams are those which have no tributaries. The second-order streams are those which have as tributaries only first-order channels. The third-order stream is formed when two second-order channels come together, etc.

STREAM SHADE COVER: The percent of shade covering a stream or lake shore water surface averaged for the day.

STREAM TYPE: Alpha-numeric identification given to reoccurring stream channel types based on measurable morphological features.

STREAM WIDTH: The width of streams or rivers. Stream or River - means a natural water course.

STREAMBANK UNDERCUT: A measure of the furthest point of protrusion of the bank to the furthest undercut of the bank. Streambank undercut provides cover for fish and may be conducive to producing high biomass of fish. Undercut is a good indicator of how successfully streambank are protected under alternative and uses, such as livestock grazing and road building.

STREAMFLOW: Measure of the volume of water passing a given point in a stream channel at a given point in time. Streamflow is a function of depth, width and velocity of water in a channel. Changes in streamflow affect the available habitat for fish spawning or rearing. Streamflow can be determined using a number of methods. Expressed in cubic feet/sec. or cubic meters/sec.

STUMP HEIGHT: The vertical distance from the ground on the uphill side to the top of the stump on cut trees. Vertical distance from the ground to a stump height set by study objectives or local utilization practice for uncut trees.

SUBDIVISION: See LAND LOCATION (GLO).

SULFATE: A measure of sulfate concentration. Expressed as mg/l of SO4.

SUPPRESSED TREES: Trees or shrubs with crowns receiving no direct light either from above or from the sides, and that will not respond to release. Usually crowns are entirely below the general level of the canopy.

SURFACE EROSION: The detachment and transport of individual soil particles by wind, water, or gravity.

SUSPENDED SEDIMENT: Sediment which remains in suspension in water for a considerable period of time without contact with the bottom. Sediment content is measured in the Laboratory and reported as parts per million or milligrams per liter.

 

 

- T -

T & E SPECIES HABITAT: Those areas currently or potentially occupied or utilized by threatened and endangered species.

• Critical Habitat: Those areas officially designated by the Secretary of
• Interior or Commerce as needed for survival and recovery of listed species.
• Proposed Critical Habitat: Those areas officially proposed for designations as critical habitat by the Secretary of Interior or Commerce.
• Occupied Habitat: Those areas currently occupied or utilized by threatened and endangered species.
• Potential Habitat: Areas of historic habitat not currently occupied or designated as critical that could potentially contribute to the recovery of threatened and endangered species.

TEMPERATURE, AMBIENT: The hourly air temperature of the surrounding area.

TEMPERATURE, WATER: A measure of water temperature heterogeneity.

TIMBER TREATMENT OPPORTUNITY CLASS: A class to identify the physical opportunity for increasing timber production.

TIME SINCE DISTURBANCE: The number of years between when the most recent disturbance took place (STAND HISTORY) and the time of plot establishment.

TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS: A measure of total filterable residue in water. Expressed as mg/l.

TOWNSHIP: See LAND LOCATION (GLO).

TRAFFIC LANES: Numeric code indicating the number of traffic lanes contained within the traveled way of an existing road management section.

TREE: A woody plant usually having one or more perennial stem at least 3 inches d.b.h. at maturity, a more or less definitely formed crown of foliage, and a height of at least 16 feet at maturity.

TREE AGE: The total age of the above ground stem of the tree in years (not the age of the rootstock or the total age from seed). Total age is usually the annual ring count to the pith of the tree at breast height plus an estimate of the number of years it took the tree to reach breast height. This must be an estimate based on local knowledge.

TREE CLASS: The overall quality of live trees 1.0 inches d.b.h. and larger.

• Growing Stock: Merchantable tree.
• Rough Cull Tree: Tree that does not meet regional merchantability standards because of excessive sound cull. May include noncommercial tree species.
• Rotten Cull Tree: Tree that does not meet regional merchantability standards because of excessive unsound cull. May include noncommercial tree species.

TREE HISTORY: A classification of the current status (living or dead) of a tally tree.

Live trees:

• Survivors: At initial measurement: any live tree on a plot. At remeasurement: survivor--tree previously measured and still living.
• Ingrowth: At remeasurement: ingrowth--newly established seedling or a tree that passed the minimum size for measurement since the previous measurement.
• Ongrowth: At remeasurement: -- a tree not previously measured or previously measured on a smaller plot or with some different sampling probability which has by the time of remeasurement grown enough to be measured on a larger plot or with a different sampling probability.

Dead trees:

• Cut Trees: At initial measurement: A tree cut within the last n years. The number of years, n, within which cut trees are counted will be determined by field units. At remeasurement: a tree present and alive at previous measurement but since cut.
• Nonsalvable mortality: At initial measurement: A tree found dead and judged to have died within the past n years. The number of years, n, will be determined by Regions. At remeasurement: a tree of any size which was alive at the previous measurement, but has since died.
• Salvable mortality: At initial measurement: A tree found dead, judged to have died within the past n years and which, at the time of inventory met the growing stock standards for merchantability. At remeasurement: a tree alive at previous measurement and has since died; at time of death it would meet the growing-stock standards for merchantability.

TREE LENGTH (Height): The total span of a tree from ground level along bole to tip of tree.

TREE TOP CONDITION: An indication as to whether or not the top of the tree is intact. Use for volume estimates.

• Intact live top.
• Broken top.
• Intact dead top. Because tops may be either dead or merely defoliated, use this category with caution.

TREE VOLUME: The amount of wood in a tree. This may be expressed in board feet or cubic feet. It may be gross volume or net volume (gross less defects).

TREELAND: Areas on which vegetation is dominated by trees, provided these areas do not qualify as Built-up land or Cultivated cropland. Examples are areas consisting of such species as Douglas-fir, Ponderosa pine, slash pine, oak, aspen, ash, and maple.

TREND: The direction of change in ecological status observed over time. Trend in ecological status should be described as toward, or away from the potential natural community or as not apparent.

TURBIDITY: A measure of the optical property that causes light to be scattered and absorbed rather than transmitted in straight lines.

 

- U -

URBAN AND SUBURBAN AREAS: Areas within the legal boundaries of cities and towns; suburban areas developed for residential, industrial, or recreational purposes; school yards; cemeteries; or other nonforest land not included in any other specified land use class.

 

- V -

VEGETATION DENSITY: Number of individual plants of a given species in a unit of area. The relative density of a species is the percentage the number of its individuals is of the total number of individuals of all species in the sample.

VEGETATION HEIGHT: The vertical distance from ground level to the top of an individual plant or canopy.

VISIBILITY SENSITIVITY: The determination of how rapidly visibility can be reduced.

VISUAL QUALITY: Degree of obstruction or contrast degradation of viewing scene due to air contaniments or weather.

VISUAL RANGE: The distance at which a large (half a degree) black or dark object disappears from view.

VISUAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CLASS: An assessment of the relative visual resource quality on National Forest system lands as it relates to potential resource use and or development. The five visual quality objectives, each representing a different degree of acceptable alteration of the natural appearing landscape are:

• Preservation: This visual quality objective allows ecological changes only. Management activities, except for very low visual-impact recreation facilities, are prohibited.
• Retention: This visual quality objective provides for management activities which are not visually evident. Under retention activities may only repeat form, line, color, and texture which are frequently found in the characteristic landscape. Changes in their qualities of size, amount, intensity, direction, pattern, etc., should not be evident.
• Partial Retention: Management activities are visually evident but subordinate to the characteristic landscape when managed according to the partial retention visual quality objective. Activities may repeat form, line, color, or texture common to the characteristic landscape but changes in their qualities of size, amount, intensity, direction, pattern, etc., remain visually subordinate to the characteristic landscape.
• Modification: Under the modification visual quality objective management activities may visually dominate the original characteristic landscape. However, activities of vegetative and land form alteration must borrow from naturally established form, line, color, or texture so completely and at such a scale that its visual characteristics are those of natural occurrences within the surrounding area or character type.
• Maximum Modification: Management activities of vegetative and landform alterations may dominate the characteristic landscape. However, when viewed as background, the visual characteristics must be those of natural occurrences within the surrounding area or character type. When viewed as foreground or middle ground, they may not appear to completely borrow from naturally established form, line, color, or texture. Alterations may also be out of scale or contain detail which is incongruent with natural occurrences as seen in foreground or middle ground.

 

 

- W -

WATER AREAS: Areas within a land mass persistently covered by water. Examples are bays, estuaries, streams, reservoirs, and lakes.

• Census Water: Streams, sloughs, estuaries, and canals more than 1/8 of a statute mile in width. Lakes, reservoirs, and ponds more than 40 acres in size.
• Non-Census Water: Streams, sloughs, estuaries, and canals more than 120 feet and less than 1/8 of a mile wide. Lakes, reservoirs, and ponds 1 to 40 acres in size.

WATER FLOW VELOCITY: The average velocity of water flowing through a cross-section of a stream.

WATER USES: The status of water uses subject to State water laws.

• Domestic (Household): Includes household water, watering of lawns, gardens, etc., for Forest Service administrative sites or other residential areas not served by a municipal water system, and not directly related to recreational use. For private residences, includes watering of lawns and gardens up to 1/2 acre.
• Domestic (Recreational): Includes camp and picnic grounds, special use concessionaires, recreational residences, lodges, restaurants, etc., not served by a municipal water system. This code should be used for all water systems developed solely to serve recreational purposes regardless of the number of persons served or the number of service connections.
• Fish and Wildlife: Includes, but is not limited to, storage of water that is either retained in the reservoir or released downstream to support these purposes. Also includes instream reservation of natural flow for these purposes.
• Flood Control: Water (stored, directed or rerouted) for the sole purpose of flood control or abatement.
• Industrial: Water used in manufacture or production.
• Instream: In-channel flow for purposes other than those under Recreation, Fish and Wildlife, and Navigation, and when there are multiple instream purposes.
• Irrigation: Application of water for the production of crops or the maintenance of large (more than 1/2 acre) areas of lawns, gardens, etc. This includes Forest Service pastures and golf courses.
• Mining: Any application of water to mining processes (e.g. hydraulic), for drilling and on concentrator tables.
• Municipal: Water provided for human consumption and other purposes through a city, town, community, water district or other formalized water system regularly serving at least 25 individuals at least 60 days out of the year or provides at least 15 service connections.
• Navigation: Use of water specifically for the maintenance of navigation for commerce or trade. Excludes water used for recreational boat travel.
• Other.
• Power: Water used for hydroelectric and hydromechanical power generation.
• Recreation: Any use other than above including impoundment or instream flow specifically intended for recreational use. This also includes water required for Wild and Scenic Rivers.
• Stockwater: Use for domestic livestock grazing on National Forest, other public or private lands.

WATER WIDTH: The width of the top of the water prism from channel bank to channel bank. The line of measure is perpendicular to the flow direction.

WETLAND: Those areas that are inundated by surface or ground water with a frequency sufficient to support, and under normal circumstances do or would support, a prevalance of vegetation or aquatic life that requires saturated soil conditions for growth and reproduction. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas such as sloughs, potholes, wet meadows, river overflows, mud flats, and natural ponds.

WILDLIFE & FISH HABITAT CAPABILITY: The ability of a specified area to support a species expressed in terms of numbers of animals or habitat capability index.

WILDLIFE & FISH USER DAYS (WFUD): A 12-hour day in which a person participates in a wildlife- or fish-related recreation activity.

WILDLIFE/FISH/T&E ABUNDANCE: The population levels of wildlife, fish, and T&E species for a given geographic area.

WIND SPEED: The wind speed at the height of interest (surface, plume height, or upper air).

WITHDRAWALS: Lands that have been removed or segregated from the operation of some or all of the public land laws through Executive or Congressional action.

 

-X-Y-Z-