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Immature:
trees or stands that have grown past the regeneration stage,
but are not yet mature. |
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Immature timber:
stands of timber where the age of the leading species
in a stand is less than the specified cutting age. Cutting ages are established
to meet forest management objectives. Usually stands with lodgepole pine and
whitebark pine or a deciduous species as the leading species are considered as
immature timber when the stand age is less than 81 years. Otherwise, all stands
having conifers other than lodgepole pine and whitebark pine as the leading
species are immature when the stand age is less than 121 years. |
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Impact assessment:
A study of the potential future effects of resource
development on other resources and on social, economic and/or environmental
conditions. |
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Improvement cutting:
the removal of trees of undesirable species, form
or condition from the main canopy of the stand to improve the health,
composition and value of the stand. |
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Increment:
the increase in diameter, basal area, height, volume,
quality or value of individual trees or stands during a given period. |
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Increment borer: a tool used to extract a core of wood from a living
tree for the purpose of studying the annual growth rings of the tree. |
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Increment core: that part of the cross section of a tree extracted by
an increment borer. Used to determine tree age and growth pattern. |
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Incremental silviculture: a Ministry of
Forests term that refers to the treatments carried out to maintain or increase
the yield and value of forest stands. Includes treatments such as site
rehabilitation, conifer release, spacing, pruning, and fertilization. Also known
as intensive silviculture. See Basic
silviculture. |
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Indicator species:
species of plants used to predict site quality and
characteristics. |
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Industrial operation: operations such as land clearing, timber
harvesting, timber processing, mechanical site preparation and other
silvicultural treatments, mining, and road construction. |
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Initial attack:
the action taken to halt the spread or potential
spread of a fire by the first fire fighting force to arrive at the fire. |
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Initial mature inventory: that portion of the existing total mature
forest inventory which is available for harvest. This portion reflects all
management constraints that are necessary to protect the environment and other
forest uses and varies with the constraints identified for each option. |
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Inner gorge:
a stream reach or portion of stream that is bounded by
steep hillslopes (> 40% sideslope) and terminates upslope into more gentle
topography. |
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Inoperable lands:
lands that are unsuited
for timber production now and in the foreseeable future by virtue of their:
elevation; topography; inaccessible location; low value of timber; small size of
timber stands; steep or unstable soils that cannot be harvested without serious
and irreversible damage to the soil or water resources; or designation as parks,
wilderness areas, or other uses incompatible with timber production. |
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Insloping:
shaping the road surface to direct water onto the cut side
of the road. Integrated resource management (IRM): the identification and
consideration of all resource values, including social, economic, and
environmental needs, in land use and development decision making. It focuses on
resource use and land use and management, and is based on a good knowledge of
ecological systems, the capability of the land, and the mixture of possible
benefits. |
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Integrated resource use:
a decision making process whereby all
resources are identified, assessed and compared before land use or resource
management decisions are made. The decisions themselves, whether to approve a
plan or carry out an action on the ground, may be either multiple or single use
in a given area. The application of integrated resource management results in a
regional mosaic of land uses and resource priorities which reflect the optimal
allocation and scheduling of resource uses. |
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Intensive silviculture:
see
Incremental
silviculture. |
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Interior:
the geographic area east of the Cascade Mountains, as
officially delineated by the Cascade Mountains Administrative Line through
British Columbia from Washington state to Alaska, including the portions of the
Kalum Forest District and Cariboo Forest Region lying west of the line, but
excluding the lower Fraser River area south of Hell's Gate (south of Boston
Bar), taking in the Coquihalla, Silverhope, and Skagit River drainages lying
east of the line. |
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Interior conditions: at a point where edge effects no longer influence
environmental conditions within a patch, interior conditions are achieved. For
coastal B.C. forests, the edge effect is generally felt for a distance
equivalent to 2 to 4 times average tree height into the stand. The effects
usually involve light intensity, temperature, wind, relative humidity and snow
accumulation and melt. See Edge effect. |
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Intermediate:
intermediate trees have crowns
below, but still extending into, the general level of the canopy and receive a
little direct light from above but none from the sides. |
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Interpretive forest site:
a designated forest site and ancillary
facilities developed by the Ministry of Forests to interpret, demonstrate, or
facilitate the discussion of the natural environment, forest practices, and
integrated resource management. |
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Intertree distance: the distance between tree boles, usually used in
the context of thinning. Recommended guidelines for intertree distances are
established for different thinning programs depending on site variables, the
species and age of trees, and management objectives. |
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Inventory, forest:
a survey of a forest area to determine such data as
area, condition, timber, volume and species for specific purposes such as
planning, purchase, evaluation, management or harvesting. |