Glossary

The terms used in the app and these guides, in plain words.

For

Everyone

Time

Look up as needed

Updated

2026-10-03

The ⓘ next to a term in the app gives the short version of these.

AFI

Association Futaie Irrégulière — the French irregular-forest monitoring network, and its method: growing stock in a productive band, increment against capital, structure by wood size and transitions between size classes, on ten permanent plots. AFI

Angle-count point (relascope point)

A sample point where every tree that appears wider than the gauge’s angle is counted; each counted tree stands for BAF m²/ha of basal area.

Basal area (BA)

The cross-section area of all stems at breast height, per hectare (m²/ha) — a simple measure of how much wood is standing.

BAF (basal area factor)

The relascope or prism setting: each tree counted stands for BAF m²/ha.

BDq

A target for an irregular stand set by three numbers: B basal area, D the largest diameter kept, q the ratio between neighbouring diameter classes. Stand structure

Big BAF

Counting trees with a small BAF and measuring only those “in” with a large BAF, to estimate volume with fewer measurements.

CCF

Continuous-cover forestry (close-to-nature forestry): managing a woodland without clearfelling, keeping a permanent canopy and a mix of sizes.

CS WD2

Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier option WD2 (England): woodland improvement work against an agreed programme, claimed with photos and maps — one of the grant checklists.

Cut ÷ increment

Basal area removed against basal area grown over a period. 100 % means you cut the increment; above means the growing stock falls.

CV (coefficient of variation)

How much a measure varies from plot to plot, as a % of its mean. It decides how many plots a precision target needs.

Dataset

Imported data that fits no method (cull records, habitat maps, bird records): shown on the map and beside results as context, never scored.

DBH

Diameter at breast height, 1.3 m. Girth ÷ π gives the diameter; the app always asks which was measured.

Direction of travel

For young woodland: whether measures are moving the right way across visits, with no pass or fail.

Evaluation

A visit scored by a method: the indicators, their status against target, and the basis of each. Always with the method version in force on the visit’s date.

EWCO

England Woodland Creation Offer: planting grants with 15 years of maintenance; stocking must be kept by year 5 (checklist).

FGS

Scotland’s Forestry Grant Scheme: woodland creation (with its stocking return) and Sustainable Management of Forests, which includes LISS.

Firewall (verification)

The rule that values read by a machine — voice, camera, instrument, import — stay out of every score until a person confirms them. Review incoming

FT10

Forest Type 10 of Ireland’s Afforestation Scheme 2023–2027: a conifer–broadleaf mixture planted for continuous cover (see Establishment survey).

H:D ratio

Tree height ÷ stem diameter. Lower is sturdier; above about 80–100 trees are more likely to blow over after thinning. Windblow

IBP (Index of Biodiversity Potential)

A score of a stand’s potential to host woodland biodiversity from structural and compositional factors — potential, not a species count. Biodiversity

LISS

Low Impact Silvicultural Systems — Scotland’s FGS support for continuous cover, with annual monitoring (deer damage, visits and time) (checklist).

LPM (local pivotal method)

A way of drawing a few sample points that are well spread over the stand — used when fewer than about 15 points are needed.

PCT (potential crop tree) / frame tree

A good tree chosen to grow on, favoured when thinning.

Proposal

A value the app has read or worked out (a voice note, a camera DBH, an instrument reading, an import, a layout, a marking quota) that waits for a person to accept it.

Provisional

A method or threshold using published defaults that await confirmation against the source documents or your own standard. Results are usable and labelled.

q-factor

How many more trees each smaller diameter class should have than the next larger one. Higher q = more small trees.

Marking quota

How much to take out of each size band to move toward the target. The app proposes the quota; the forester chooses the trees.

Reverse-J curve

The shape of an irregular stand counted by diameter: many small trees, fewer and fewer large ones.

Seed

The number that fixes a random layout, so the same seed reproduces it exactly.

Stems per hectare

The number of trees per hectare.

Transformation stage

How far a stand has come from an even-aged plantation toward an irregular structure (1 = start, 4 = irregular).

Trend to target

A line through the stand’s own measurements showing whether it is moving toward its target — a trend, not a forecast.

UKWAS

The UK Woodland Assurance Standard, the UK’s certification standard for FSC and PEFC (see the certification pack).

VBAR

Volume ÷ basal area for a species, from measured sample trees; multiplied by basal area it gives volume.

Walkthrough method

An edge correction: for a plot near the stand edge, pace the centre-to-tree distance again beyond the tree; if that point is outside the stand, the tree counts twice.

WIS

Ireland’s Woodland Improvement Scheme 2023–27; its Element 3 supports continuous cover forestry, claimed on Form 2 (checklist).

WHIA

Woodland Herbivore Impact Assessment (NatureScot / FLS, guide v5): impact of deer and livestock from stops across the wood, per indicator. Browsing