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Appendix A: Glossary

For legal and/or strict technical definitions, refer to the Forest Practices Code definitions and registered glossaries where applicable. The definitions below are mainly to provide readers with an understanding of the terms used in this manual. Glossary items appear in bold the first time they used in the test of this manual.

Aerial photograph: A photograph of the earth's surface taken from the air. It is usually a vertical view, and one of a series of photos taken from an aircraft flying a systematic pattern at a given altitude in order to obtain continuous photo coverage for mapping purposes (RIC, 1997c).

Air call: A site description usually made from a low-flying helicopter. The data may consist of one or more significant attributes confirming an observation. The information is recorded on a map or aerial photograph as a permanent record (BC Ministry of Forests, 1985).

Air photo number: The number recorded on each photo, assigning the flightline and the frame number.

Algorithm: A set of mathematical instructions or problem-solving procedures designed to provide answers to complex problems. It is used in modelling applications to portray the interrelationships between different sets of data (e.g., timber supply yield tables, wildlife habitat, or fire spread) (Dunster and Dunster, 1996). Also a series of commands that specifically assign habitat use values and hierarchies to ecosystem unit polygons, based on assumptions, ratings and adjustments for an animal species (RIC, 1998). An algorithm may also be a simple set of statements.

Alpine: Non-forest land that, owing to its elevation, is above the tree line. Alpine vegetation on zonal sites is dominated by low shrubs, herbs, bryophytes and lichens. Alpine is considered to be above the krummholz and parkland forest, although treeless by definition, rare stunted (krummholz) trees may occur. Much of the alpine will be non-vegetated, covered primarily by rock and ice (RIC, 1996).

Anthropogenic sites: Sites modified by human activities to the extent that their initial physical properties (e.g., structure, cohesion, consolidation) have been drastically altered. Includes, for example, spoil heaps, fill, waste water, and archaeological sites.

Area of polygon: The total area (ha2) on the ground covered by a polygon boundary.

Aspect: The orientation of a slope by means of compass points; indicates whether the slope is exposed to the north, south, east, west, or any point between. Aspect is measured in degrees (Luttmerding et al., 1990).

Attribute: A characteristic required for describing or specifying some entity (Dunster and Dunster, 1996), that is associated with an ecosystem map unit.

Bedrock: The solid rock, usually older than Quaternary (except rock formed by the cooling of lava), underlying soil and the regolith or exposed at the surface (Agriculture Canada, 1976).

Bedrock type: A rock type from one of three bedrock groups, Sedimentary, Igneous, or Metamorphic. Examples of bedrock types are calcareous sandstone 'ks' or granite 'gr.' They are explained and listed in Terrain Classification for British Columbia Version 2.0 (Howes and Kenk, 1997).

Biogeoclimatic phase: Accommodates the variation, resulting from local relief, in the regional climate of subzones and variants. Phases are useful in designating significant, extensive areas of ecosystems that are, for topographic or topo-edaphic reasons, atypical for the regional climate. Examples could be extensive areas of grassland occurring only on steep, south slopes in an otherwise forested subzone, or valley-bottom, frost-pocket areas in mountainous terrain. For example, ICHmc1a refers to the coastal (a) phase of the Nass (1) variant of the moist cold (mc) subzone of the Interior Cedar-Hemlock (ICH) zone. (Meidinger and Pojar, 1991).

Biogeoclimatic subzone: A more site specific level of the biogeoclimatic classification system than the biogeoclimatic zone. The subzone describes the zonal/or climax vegetation, and corresponding climate and soil. For example:
ESSFmm - Moist Mild Engelmann Spruce-Subalpine fir
ESSFdc - Dry Cold Engelmann Spruce-Subalpine fir
ESSFdcp - Dry Cold Parkland Engelmann Spruce-Subalpine Fir
Biogeoclimatic units: A general term referring to any level of Biogeoclimatic zones, subzones, variants or phases. Biogeoclimatic units are inferred from a system of ecological classification based on a floristic hierarchy of plant associations. The recognized units are a synthesis of climate, vegetation, and soil data. (Pojar et al., 1987).

Biogeoclimatic variant: A further subdivision of biogeoclimatic subzone reflecting further differences in regional climate. Variants are described as warmer, colder, drier, wetter, or snowier than the "typical" subzone (e.g., ESSFmm1-Moist Mild Raush Engelmann Spruce-Subalpine Fir).

Biogeoclimatic zone: Geographical areas having similar patterns of energy flow, vegetation and soils as a result of a broadly homogeneous macroclimate. Biogeoclimatic zones are comprised of biogeoclimatic subzones with similar zonal climax ecosystems. For example:
ESSF - Engelmann Spruce-Subalpine fir biogeoclimatic zone
BG - Bunchgrass biogeoclimatic zone
IDF - Interior Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone
Capability: Ability of the habitat, under optimal natural (seral) conditions to provide life requisites of a species, irrespective of its current conditions (RIC, 1997c).

Cliffs: Steep, vertical or overhanging rock faces. Cliffs provide the physical protection for wildlife and may concentrate a variety of reptiles, birds, and mammals into relatively small but stable environments (Sinnemann, 1992).

Climax ecosystem: The final and relatively stable stage in plant succession for a given environment where the species present perpetuate themselves in the absence of disturbance (BC Ministry of Forests, 1985).

Closed legend: A map where every single or combined symbol in a delineation corresponds to an entry in the legend is said to have a "closed" legend. The map delineations are grouped into a finite number of map units, each with a unique symbol (Mitchell, 1989).

Coarse fragments>2mm: Soil particles > 2 mm in size; they are classed as gravels, cobbles, or stones and are described by size, dominant type, and volume of each class in each soil horizon. Coarse fragments are defined as percent by volume (Luttmerding et al., 1990).

Coarse fragment lithology: The rock types that make up the coarse fraction, gravels, cobbles and stones, of the soils material. Lithologies include such types as argillite 'ar' or granite 'gr'.

Coarse woody debris: Refers to large (> 7.5 cm in diameter) dead and down woody material at various stages of decomposition, located above the soil, and not self-supporting. Trees and stumps are considered self-supporting. It is described by five decay classes, with 1 being the least deteriorated and 5 the most deteriorated (RIC, 1997a).

Composition of leading species: A list of dominant vegetation species, described as the total percent (%) cover of each species, in each vegetation layer. Vegetation layers are described and defined in Field Manual for Describing Terrestrial Ecosystems (BC Ministry of Forests and BC Ministry of Environment, 1998a).

Critical wildlife habitat: Part or all of an ecosystem occupied by wildlife species, or a population of such species, that is recognized as essential for the maintenance and long-term survival of the population (Dunster and Dunster, 1996).

Data source: The source of the data used to determine map units. Describes how data that is mapped and/or described in databases has been collected. Data sources can be air photo interpretation, full plot inspections, ground inspections, visual checks, and previous sampling data or maps.

Decile: The proportion (in tenths), of a polygon covered by a particular ecosystem unit.

Depth of forest floor (LFH): The depth of the uppermost layer of organic soil (LFH) measured in centimeters until a mineral soil layer is reached. Describes the organic horizons developed primarily from the accumulation of leaves, twigs and woody materials with or without a minor component of mosses (Luttmerding et al., 1990).

Depth to root restricting layer: The depth (cm) at which a soil layer or condition severely restricts root penetration. A root restricting layer results in no greater than "few" roots being present. Examples of root restricting layers include pans, cemented horizons, compact parent materials, chemical concentrations such as salts, bedrock, and saturated soil conditions (Luttmerding et al., 1990).

Depth to water table: The measured depth (cm) of the water table at the time of sampling, as indicated by the surface of the zone of saturation (Luttmerding et al., 1990).

Dominant species: Those species of plants that have the highest cover values in an ecosystem and/or represent the majority of the biomass.

Ecological land classification and mapping: "A hierarchical, multi-factor approach to categorizing and delineating at different levels of resolution, areas of land having similar capabilities and potential for management. These areas of land are characterized by unique combinations of the physical environment, biological communities and human dimension" (Avers et al., 1993).

Ecological processes: The actions or events that link organisms and their environment, such as mutualism, successional development, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, primary productivity, and decay (Avers et al., 1993).

Ecoregion: Areas with major physiographic, minor macroclimatic, or oceanographic differences within each Ecoprovince (Demarchi, 1996). Ecoregions can be used to group biogeoclimatic or marine zones for the determination of historical and potential distribution of vegetation and wildlife.

Ecosection: Areas with minor physiographic and macroclimatic or oceanographic differences, defined at the sub-regional level (Demarchi, 1996).

Ecosystem (terrestrial): A volume of earth-space that is composed of non-living parts (climate, geologic materials, groundwater, and soils) and living or biotic parts, which are all constantly in a state of motion, transformation, and development. No size or scale is inferred. For the purposes of terrestrial ecosystem mapping, an ecosystem is characterized by a 'plant community' (a volume of relatively uniform vegetation) and the 'soil polypedon' (a volume of relatively uniform soil) upon which the plant community occurs (Pojar et al., 1987).

Ecosystem condition: Describes the extent of damage or alteration from the community's optimal condition and character (regardless of structural stage). Consideration is given to the type and extent of human-induced disturbances or land use, presence of non-native plants, or any other factor that would result in loss of species or ecological function.

Ecosystem defensibility: Describes the extent to which the ecosystem occurrence can be protected from extrinsic human factors that might otherwise degrade or destroy it. Considers the surrounding land use and degree of fragmentation of surrounding landscape.

Ecosystem map unit: Map units represent mappable portions of the landscape (Valentine, 1986). They are established as a result of applying a classification to map polygons. Ecosystem map units include site series, site modifiers, and vegetation developmental units (structural stages and seral community). An ecosystem map unit contains either predominantly one mapping individual (simple map unit) or more than one (compound map unit). Each may contain a certain proportion of other ecosystem units that are unmappable at the scale of mapping (Valentine, 1986).

Ecosystem rarity: Provides a comparative measure of whether an ecosystem is uncommon or common in a given area (e.g., the number of occurrences of a specific ecosystem in a given project area).

Ecosystem unit: Classification units that are generally derived from the site series of biogeoclimatic ecosystem classification by further differentiating the units based on more specific site conditions (e.g., site modifiers), in order to define more homogeneous site units, and vegetation developmental units, in order to define more homogeneous structural stages.

Ecosystem viability: Describes the long-term prospects for continued existence of the community, considering the effects of surrounding land use and the immediate/near future threats to the site.

Elevation: The vertical distance from a datum, typically mean sea level, to a point or object on the Earth's surface, measured in metres (Dunster and Dunster, 1996).

Existing cattle capacity: The ability of the land in its current state to support cattle (Mumford, 1997).

Expanded legend: An expanded legend is a report that will generally contain descriptive information for each mapped ecosystem. This includes the site series name, all related coding, a description of typical environmental characteristics, and the features that characterize atypical site series as identified by the site modifiers. The vegetation related to structural stages and any important associated features are also described. Presentation of the information can be in a variety of formats. Most agencies have specific requirements as to what must be in the expanded legend.

Flooding/high water: Flooding hazards relate to overflow by rivers, creeks, and streams. Interpretation aids in identification of areas that are prone to this type of flooding. High water relates to the fluctuating of the water table due to periodically high ground water tables and poorly drained catchments (Luttmerding et al., 1990).

Flooding regime: The immersion of substrate by water (saturated peats not covered by surface water are NOT considered flooded). Flooding regime on sites can vary in occurrence (annually to never) and in duration (winter flooding to diurnal flooding) (Mackenzie and Banner, 1998).

Forage potential: The potential amount of available forage (kg/ha) for a specific species on a particular site over a given amount of time.

Forage species: Important plant species used for forage by either domestic or native animal species; listed to show the presence and percent cover.

Forest cover map: Shows relatively homogeneous forest stands or cover types; produced by the BC Ministry of Forests and the forest industry from the interpretation of aerial photographs and information collected in field surveys. Information commonly displayed on forest cover maps includes tree species, height class, and age class. These maps are being replaced by Vegetation Resource Inventory (VRI) maps.

Full plot: Full plots, recorded on the Ecosystem Field Form (FS882), provide the most detailed ecological data for a point sample and are intended for classification of site series, confirmation or classification of biogeoclimatic units, and development of ecosystem unit descriptions and summary statistics.

Gap analysis: The analysis of ecological types that are not sufficiently protected or are not in conservation areas. Defines areas considered to be of significant biodiversity value in terms of plant, animal and habitat uniqueness, overall diversity, and species richness and rarity; estimates how much of these areas are protected; then ranks them and makes recommendations for ensuring a certain percentage of each type of area are protected. Gap analysis can be measured at a coarse filter or landscape level, or at a fine filter or ecosystem level.

Genetic materials: see surficial materials.

Geomorphological process: The natural mechanisms of weathering, erosion, and deposition that result in the modification of the surficial materials and landforms at the earth's surface (e.g., mass movement processes such as snow avalanches, slow mass movement, or rapid mass movements (Howes and Kenk, 1997).

Ground inspection: Ground inspections are abbreviated plots (either point or polygon samples) from which data are recorded to confirm the identification of the ecosystem unit. They also provide some data for characterizing ecosystem attributes (e.g., abbreviated species lists can be used to characterize structural stages). They should make up about 20% of inspections at most survey intensity levels. Data should be recorded on the Ground Inspection Form (GIF).

Humus form: The group of possible horizons (L, F, H and O) located above the soil surface which have formed from organic material, and/or soil fauna and may be intermixed with mineral soil. Describes the degree of decomposition and mineralization of soil organic material (Luttmerding et al., 1990). The Orders include Mor, Moder and Mull; an example of a Group is Mormoder.

Hydrogeomorphic classification: A system that classifies the physical state of a wetland or riparian site by broad hydrological processes and concurrent geomorphological patterns (MacKenzie and Banner, 1998).

Hydrogeomorphology: The broad hydrological processes characterizing landscape units and ecosystems by water sources and hydrodynamics. Described by patterns of waterflow, water courses and connectivity in the landscape (RIC, 1997a).

Identified wildlife: Those species at risk that the Deputy Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks, or a person authorized by that Deputy Minister, and the chief forester, agree will be managed through a higher level plan, wildlife habitat area or general wildlife measure (Province of BC, 1995a).

Inclusions: Ecosystem units that represent, generally, less than 20% of the polygon or an area too small to delineate at the scale of mapping. Inclusions as small as 10% of the polygon may be mapped if they represent important elements required to achieve the project objective. In some cases inclusions may be represented by "on-site symbols."

Indicator species: A plant species that is closely correlated with a particular environmental condition or habitat/ecosystem type such that its presence or absence can be used as an indicator of environmental conditions.

Krummholz: Scrubby, stunted growth form of trees, often forming a characteristic zone at the lower edge of the alpine zone, just above the timberline in subalpine forests (Dunster and Dunster, 1996).

Land cover classification: A revision of the forest cover classification that incorporates non-forested components such as wetlands, uplands, alpine areas, estuaries, heath, and krummholz in its delineation of landscape units (RIC 1997a).

Landscape planning: Broad scale planning aimed at ensuring the continued maintenance and health of ecological systems in the landscape (e.g., Landscape Unit Planning, Forest Development Planning, Forest Ecosystem Networks, or Range Unit Plans, as defined in the Forest Practices Code.)

Map legend: For terrestrial ecosystem maps, the map legend is generally an open format which provides a summarized description of all map unit components and map symbols, together with other supporting information including survey objectives, survey intensity, location, field sampling, other data sources, aerial photograph reference numbers, and map credits. The specific layout and the amount of space allocated to each category may vary by project, and other categories may be added as required (e.g., interpretive information for ecosystem units).

Mapsheet number: The BCGS (British Columbia Geographic System) or NTS (National Topographic Series) location, identification for each mapsheet at all scales (e.g., 92F.057).

Microsite: Small but potentially important habitat features such as seepage areas, which are important to a number of wildlife species.

Mineral horizon: A soil horizon containing 17% or less organic carbon (about 30% organic matter) by weight. Mineral horizons may be one or all of A, B, and C horizons, and may have varying proportions of sand, silt, clay, coarse fragments, and organic matter. A soil horizon is approximately parallel to the land surface and has characteristics altered by processes of soil formation (Agriculture Canada Expert Committee on Soil Survey, 1987).

Moisture regime: Indicates, on a relative scale, the available moisture for plant growth in terms of the soil's ability to hold, lose, or receive water. Described as moisture classes from Very Xeric (0) to Hydric (8) (Luttmerding et al., 1990).

Municipal settlement planning: Soil and terrain characteristics that may affect municipal planning in terms of development, road building, hazard assessments, resource extraction, greenspaces, etc.

Nutrient regime: Indicates the available nutrient supply for plant growth on a site, relative to the supply on all surrounding sites. Nutrient regime is based on a number of environmental and biotic factors, and is described as classes from Oligotrophic (A) to Hypereutrophic (F) (Luttmerding et al., 1990).

On-site symbol: Symbols that are graphic representations used to display linear, point or polygon features not portrayed by the ecosystem or terrain symbols. They may be manually or digitally created. Examples of features which might be displayed using on-site symbols are eskers, springs and cliffs (Howes and Kenk, 1997).

Open legend: A map has an open legend when the map delineations are not classified into map units. The legend serves to summarize the list of symbols that may be used singly or in combination on a map delineation. Map labels are flexible, depending on the component site units (Mitchell, 1989).

Organic horizons: Found in organic soils and commonly at the surface of mineral soils; they may occur at any depth beneath the surface in buried soils (river flooding, for example), or overlying geologic deposits. Organic horizons contain more than 17% organic C (approximately 30% organic matter) by weight. Two groups of these horizons are recognized: the O horizons (for wetlands) and the L, F, H horizons (for terrestrial humus forms) (Canada Soil Survey Committee, 1978).

Parkland: Subalpine area characterized by forest clumps interspersed with open subalpine meadows and shrub thickets. Vegetation cover may vary in the proportion of treed patches, meadows, and shrub thickets. The term parkland can also be used for lower elevation forest that are open due to restricted moisture availability, such as occurs in the Ponderosa Pine zone.

Partial Cover Flag: Indicates that the overlying material in the terrain component only partially covers the underlying material. Eolian veneer is an example.

Plant community: An assemblage of plants which occurs in areas of equivalent environmental conditions. Plant communities are characterized by certain species which are inconspicuous or unrepresented in other communities. Fundamentally, communities are the result of differing environmental tolerances of the various taxa which compromise the flora, and the heterogeneity of the environment (Daubenmire, 1968).

Plant community conservation: The preservation/conservation of examples of all possible natural plant communities at their climax state. It includes conservation of both common and restricted types of natural plant communities.

Plot number: A unique identifier recorded on field forms. The same number must be recorded on each field form component (e.g., Site, Soil, and Vegetation) and be located and referenced on a map and/or airphoto.

Polygon: Delineations that represent discrete areas on a map, bounded by a line. On an ecosystem map, polygons depicting ecosystem map units are nested within larger polygons containing the biogeoclimatic and ecoregion map units. Polygons depicting ecosystem units represent areas from less than one hectare to several hundred hectares, depending on the scale of mapping.

Polygon adjacency: A determination that provides a measure of how similar the habitats of adjacent polygons are. The relative closeness of one habitat to another can be important for particular species.

Polygon number: A unique identifier for each map polygon, and also serves to link the polygon to the associated database (e.g., 0001).

Potential natural community (PNC): The biotic community that would establish itself on an ecological site if all successional sequences were completed, without interference by humans, under the present environmental conditions. Natural disturbances are inherent in PNC development. The PNC may include acclimatized or naturalized non-native species (Range Term Glossary Committee, 1974). This term is not used by all agencies.

Polygon sliver: A small aerial feature commonly occurring along the borders of polygons following the overlay of two or more coverages.

Pre-typing: Tentative delineations mapped on aerial photographs using patterns in tone, texture, shadows and relief on the photos to distinguish physiographic features (slope, aspect, slope position), overstory vegetation, and parent materials. Map delineation boundaries should be established where changes occurring in air photo features correspond to changes in relevant site units (Mitchell, 1989).

Project name: Text characters to give a unique name to a project; used on field forms such as Ground Inspection Forms, and in databases. Usually appears in the top right corner of field forms used for the particular project (e.g., TEM_Beaver Cove).

Qualifiers: Provide additional information about the mode of geologic formation and/or the depositional environment of surficial materials and about the status of activity of geological processes. Two distinct types of qualifiers are: glacial qualifying descriptors (G), and activity-qualifying descriptors, which are either (A) active or (I) inactive (Howes and Kenk, 1997).

Recreation: The ecological assessment of the land's ability to support recreational activities (e.g., trail building, campsite locations, natural hazards, soil erosion).

Riparian classification: The systematic arrangement or groupings of riparian ecosystems based on established criteria (Mackenzie and Banner, 1998).

Riparian ecosystem: Terrestrial areas where the vegetation complex and microclimate conditions are products of the combined presence and influence of perennial and/or intermittent water, associated high water tables and soils that exhibit some wetness characteristics. Normally used to refer to the zone within which plants grow rooted in the water table of rivers, streams, lakes, ponds reservoirs springs marshes, seeps, bogs, and wet meadows (Dunster and Dunster, 1996). Ecosystems that occur next to streams and lakes and are influenced by flooding, sedimentation, erosion and/or subterranean irrigation (McKenzie, 1998).

Riparian/wetland management: Managing riparian and wetland ecosystems in order to ensure the maintenance and health of a diversity of viable riparian and/or wetland habitats within the landscape.

Root restricting type: See "Depth to root restricting type."

Scale: The degree of resolution at which ecological processes, structure, and changes across space and time are observed and measured (Avers, 1993). Common scales of terrestrial ecosystem mapping are 1:20 000 and 1:50 000.

Seepage depth: The depth, in a "soil pit," of temporary or permanent subsurface water, measured from the ground surface to water level, at the time of sampling.

Seral association: It is based on identification and prediction of the sequences of seral plant associations and structural/developmental stages that occur over time on a site in preclimax condition (Hamilton, 1988). The seral association describes the vegetation at the present time.

Seral community type: Generalized seral units dominated by a similar group of plant species, often in the upper strata (tree and/or shrub layers in the case of forest and shrub communities; shrub or herb layers, in the case of shrub steppe or grassland communities), but being more variable in understory composition than occurs in true seral associations.

Shrub crown closure: A measure of the area covered by the total shrub layer within a specified area and expressed as percentage.

Site association: Site associations are all ecosystems capable of producing vegetation belonging to the same plant association (or subassociation, in some cases) at climax. A site association is a group of ecosystems physically and biologically similar enough that they have or would have similar vegetation at climax (Meidinger and Pojar, 1991).

Site disturbance: Disruption to a site as a result of either natural events or human activities, such that the resulting vegetation and soil characteristics of the site differ from those expected at climax. Examples include fire, forest harvesting, wildlife browsing, and avalanching.

Site index/productivity: Describes the relative productivity of forest sites for growth of trees. Site index relationships are used to determine forest site productivity.

Site modifiers: Site modifiers are used to characterize site conditions more specifically where they differ significantly from the typical conditions described for a site series in the Provincial Site Series Mapping Codes And Typical Environmental Conditions (RIC, 1997b). A list of standard site modifiers has been developed and others may be added on a project specific basis. The standard list of site modifiers is based on topography, moisture, and/or soil factors. Up to two modifiers can be used per site series (e.g., HFsw indicates a HwCw-Falsebox-Feathermoss site series that is atypical in that it occurs on shallow soils and warm aspects).

Site preparation: Any planned measure to prepare a site for the favorable reception and satisfactory growth of naturally disseminated seed, sown seed, or planted seedlings.

Site sensitivity: see soil and site sensitivity.

Site series: Describes all land areas capable of producing the same late seral or climax plant community within a biogeoclimatic subzone or variant (Banner et al., 1993). Site series can usually be related to a specified range of soil moisture and nutrient regimes within a subzone or variant, but other factors, such as aspect or disturbance history may influence it as well. Site series form the basis of ecosystem units.

Slope: Recorded as a (%) percent gradient of the land (Province of BC, 1998).

Slope (meso) position: The position of a site relative to a local catchment area. Slope position ranges from crest or ridge positions to level ground (Province of BC, 1998).

Soil and site sensitivity: Describes the potential negative impacts that could affect an ecosystem in response to resource extraction, road building, or other human activities. Site sensitivities are categorized by the following (Province of BC, 1995b):