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Objective:
the end result(s) that must be achieved through management
at any given administrative level. Objectives are quantified and indicate time
and agency responsibility. |
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Old growth:
old growth is a forest that contains live and dead trees
of various sizes, species, composition, and age class structure. Old-growth
forests, as part of a slowly changing but dynamic ecosystem, include climax
forests but not sub-climax or mid-seral forests. The age and structure of old
growth varies significantly by forest type and from one biogeoclimatic zone to
another. |
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Old-growth attributes:
structural features and other characteristics
of old-growth forests, including: large trees for the species and site; wide
variation in tree sizes and spacing; accumulations of large dead standing and
fallen trees; multiple canopy layers; canopy gaps and understory patchiness;
elements of decay such as broken or deformed tops or trunks and root decay; and
the presence of species characteristic of old growth. |
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Old-growth management areas:
areas which contain, or are managed to
replace, specific structural old-growth attributes and which are mapped out and
treated as special management areas. |
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Operable forest: that portion of the production forest that, under
current market conditions, can be harvested at a profit. |
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Operable land:
all lands that are not considered inoperable lands (see
Inoperable
lands). |
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Operable timber: see also
Timber
operability. Available timber that can be economically logged with present
harvesting methods after consideration of access, timber quality and market
price. |
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Operability line:
a line drawn on a map to differentiate between areas
that are operable and those that are not, given status quo harvesting and
reforestation technology. Inoperable areas are not economically viable to
harvest without seriously impairing the site or other resource values. The
operability line is used to determine the operable land base in long-run,
sustained yield calculations. |
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Operating area:
geographic sub-units of timber supply areas that have
been assigned to individual major licensees for the purposes of long-term
planning. The boundaries are subject to change as the timber profile within a
timber supply area changes over time. |
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Operational cruise: an estimate, to a specified degree of accuracy, of
the volume of timber on an area to be harvested. |
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Operational plan:
Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act
states that within the context of area-specific management guidelines,
operational plans detail the logistics for development. Methods, schedules, and
responsibilities for accessing, harvesting, renewing and protecting the resource
are set out to enable site-specific operations to proceed. Operational plans
include forest development plans, logging plans, access management plans,
range-use plans, silviculture prescriptions, stand management prescriptions and
five year silviculture plans. |
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Option: a set of assumptions representing a possible management
direction. Options are constructed as a normal part of a planning process in
order to provide a framework for analysis and to facilitate management
decision-making. |
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Organic soil:
soil containing a high proportion (greater than 20 or 30
percent) of organic matter. |
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Orthophoto: a completely rectified copy of an original photograph. All
variations in scale and displacements, due to relief, have been eliminated,
hence the name ortho (correct) photography. Orthorphoto and orthophoto map are
synonymous, an orthophoto is, very simply, a photo map. |
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Outslope: to shape the road surface to direct water away from the cut
slope side of the road. |
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Overlanding: placing road construction fill over organic soil, stumps
and other plant materials, corduroy or geotextiles, any of which is required to
support the fill. |
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Overlay:
a transparent sheet (either clear or mylar matte film
material) accompanying a map, on which information, colouring, or symbols are
entered so that when the overlay is placed on the map the effect is identical to
having entered the overlay information on the map, itself. |
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Overmature: in even-aged management, those trees or stands past the
mature stage. |
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Overstorey: that portion of the trees in a forest of more than one
storey forming the upper or uppermost canopy layer. |
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Overtopped:
trees with crowns entirely below
the general level of the crown cover receiving little or no direct light from
above or from the sides. |
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Overtopping: vegetation higher than the favored species, as in brush
or deciduous species shading and suppressing more desirable coniferous trees. |