Forest Farming Glossary

ABFFC - Appalachian Beginning Forest Farmer Coalition

​

Agroforestry - agroforestry is the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems to create environmental, economic, and social benefits. Silvopasture, alley cropping, windbreaks, riparian buffers, and forest farming are agroforestry practices.

​

At-risk species - at-risk plant species are locally or broadly at risk of overharvest, environmental pressures or mis-management. 

​

-------------------------------------------

​

Botanical - relating to plants, botany.

​

Botanical name - latin binomial, scientific name

​

Business plan - a document setting out a business's future objectives and strategies for achieving them.

​

-------------------------------------------

​

Conservation - preservation, protection, or restoration of the natural environment and of wildlife.

​

Craft & Traditional Crafts - a skilled activity in which something is made in a traditional way with the hands rather than being produced by machines in a factory, or an object made by such an activity. Forest Farming provides several important craft goods and raw materials. 

​

Cultivation - cultivation is the act of caring for or raising plants.

​

-------------------------------------------

​

Dendrology - the scientific study of trees.

​

Diversity - (Ecological biodiversity) refers to the variations in the plant and animal species living together and connected by food chains and food webs.

​

-------------------------------------------

​

Edible - fit or suitable to be eaten. 

​

Ecology - the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.

​

Ecological community - An ecological community is defined as a group of species that are commonly found together. Ecological communities may be animal or plant assemblages with similar habitat requirements and contain species which may influence each other or rely on similar processes in their environment.

​

Endangered species - An endangered species is a type of organism that is threatened by extinction. Species become endangered for two main reasons: loss of habitat and loss of genetic variation.

​

Enterprise budget - Enterprise budgets assist in understanding the costs and returns of a production activity, identifying potential sources of risk, and evaluating alternatives.

​

Extirpation - the state or condition of having become locally or regionally extinct

​

-------------------------------------------

​

Forest canopy - In forest ecology, canopy refers to the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crowns and including other biological organisms

​

Forest management - Forest management focuses on managing vegetation, restoring ecosystems, reducing hazards, and maintaining forest health.

 

Forest - A forest is an area of land dominated by trees.

​

Forester - Foresters oversee forest land, manage budgets, create plans for forestry projects, and supervise forest and conservation technicians and workers.

​

Forest farming - Forest farming is the cultivation of high-value crops under the protection of a managed tree canopy.

​

Food forest - A food forest, also called a forest garden, is a diverse planting of edible plants that attempts to mimic the ecosystems and patterns found in nature.

​

-------------------------------------------

​

Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) - Appropriate production practices, careful harvesting, and proper storage, and transport all contribute to good produce quality after harvesting.

​

Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) - a system for ensuring that products are consistently produced and controlled according to quality standards.

​

Guild - In Permaculture, a guild is a grouping a plants, trees, animals, insects, and other components that work together to help ensure their health and productivity.

​

-------------------------------------------

​

Herbivore - an animal that feeds on plants.

​

Harvest - the process or period of gathering in crops.

​

-------------------------------------------

​

Indicator species - An indicator species is an organism whose presence, absence or abundance reflects a specific environmental condition.

​

Indigenous - originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native.

​

Invasive species - An invasive or alien species is an introduced species to an environment that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment.

​

-------------------------------------------

​

Latin binomial - botanical name.

​

-------------------------------------------

​

Medicinal plant - Medicinal plants can be defined as the plants that possess therapeutic properties or exert beneficial pharmacological effect on the human or animal body.

​

-------------------------------------------

​

Nursery (botanical) - place where plants are grown for transplanting, for use as stock for budding and grafting, or for sale.

​

Non Timber Forest Products (NTFP) - products that originate from trees or plant parts but are not derived from timber.

​

Native species - a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention").

​

-------------------------------------------

​

Permaculture - an approach to land management and design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. 

​

Poaching (plants)- plant poaching involves the illegal removal of plants and plant parts. RE: THEFT

​

Population -  the number of plants in a given unit or area of land.

​

Post Harvest handling - In agriculture and agroforestry, postharvest handling is the stage of production immediately following harvest, including cooling, cleaning, sorting and packing.

​

Predation (herbivory) - the action of species that browse/eat forest plants and crops, thereby damaging or removing plants.  

​

-------------------------------------------

​

Post Harvest recovery - the amount of time it takes a harvested population to recover from the removal of plant material.

​

Restoration - actions to recreate and reinstate ecological processes, forest structure, ecological functioning and biodiversity levels towards those typical of a healthy forest ecosystem.

​

Riparian - relating to wetlands, adjacent to rivers, streams and springs.

​

-------------------------------------------

​

Stewardship

​

Silviculture

​

Species

​

Succession

​

Security

​

Site Assessment

​

Silvopasture

​

-------------------------------------------

Thinning

Theft

Tools

Technical service provider

Toxic

-------------------------------------------

Understory

-------------------------------------------

VAP - Value Added Products

-------------------------------------------

Watershed

Woodland

Wild simulated

Wild / Uncultivated