SAF Forest Resource Management & Planning 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The concept of 'forest regulation' in classical forest management refers to:
- Government permitting requirements for logging
- Adjusting the age-class distribution to achieve a regulated or normal forest (Correct answer)
- Setting maximum pesticide application rates
- Controlling invasive species spread
Correct answer: Adjusting the age-class distribution to achieve a regulated or normal forest
Forest regulation means organizing age classes and stocking so that equal volumes can be harvested annually or periodically on a sustained basis.
Question 2: A site index of 85 (base age 50) for a loblolly pine stand indicates:
- Average dominant tree height of 85 feet at age 50 (Correct answer)
- Volume of 85 cords per acre at rotation
- Soil productivity rating of 85 on a 100-point scale
- Stand density index of 85
Correct answer: Average dominant tree height of 85 feet at age 50
Site index is defined as the average height of dominant and co-dominant trees at a specified base age, commonly 50 years for southern pines.
Question 3: When preparing a timber sale, a forester marks trees using the 'leave tree' marking method. What is the main objective?
- Identify trees to remove for maximum immediate revenue
- Mark trees to retain for future crops, residual stocking, or wildlife (Correct answer)
- Flag property boundaries for harvest crews
- Designate trees for salvage after disturbance
Correct answer: Mark trees to retain for future crops, residual stocking, or wildlife
Leave tree marking designates which trees stay after harvest to meet stocking, quality, wildlife, and future crop objectives.
Question 4: Which harvesting system typically results in the lowest soil disturbance and is most appropriate on steep or erosion-prone terrain?
- Ground-based skidder
- Cable yarding (skyline) (Correct answer)
- Rubber-tired forwarder
- Tracked feller-buncher
Correct answer: Cable yarding (skyline)
Cable yarding systems suspend logs off the ground during extraction, greatly reducing soil compaction and erosion on steep slopes.
Question 5: A stand exam reveals regeneration is inadequate after a shelterwood seed cut. The most likely corrective action is:
- Immediately remove all residual overstory
- Conduct a fill planting or site preparation followed by planting (Correct answer)
- Apply broadcast herbicide to the understory
- Conduct a commercial thinning of residuals
Correct answer: Conduct a fill planting or site preparation followed by planting
When natural regeneration fails to meet stocking standards, foresters typically intervene with fill planting or site preparation and artificial regeneration.
Question 6: The 'culmination of mean annual increment' (CMAI) occurs when:
- Annual volume growth peaks for the first time
- Mean annual increment equals periodic annual increment (Correct answer)
- The stand reaches maximum basal area
- Mean annual increment peaks and begins to decline
Correct answer: Mean annual increment equals periodic annual increment
CMAI occurs at the point where mean annual increment and periodic annual increment are equal, after which MAI begins to fall.
Question 7: In multi-resource forest planning, which tool is most commonly used to optimize timber harvest schedules while satisfying constraints on wildlife habitat, water quality, and other resources?
- Linear programming / operations research models (Correct answer)
- Geographic information systems (GIS) mapping only
- Diameter-class distribution tables
- Site index curves
Correct answer: Linear programming / operations research models
Linear programming and other operations research models are standard tools for simultaneously optimizing harvest levels while meeting multiple resource constraints.
SAF Forest Resource Management & Planning 3
The concept of 'forest regulation' in classical forest management refers to: