Definitions

Afforestation - The conversion of land that has not been forested for a certain period of time (50 years in the Kyoto Protocol) to forested land through human activities such as planting and seeding.
Biomass - The total mass of living organisms in a given area or volume. Forest biomass consists primarily of above-ground and below-ground tree components (stems, branches, leaves, and roots); other woody vegetation; and mosses, lichens, and herbs. Animal biomass typically comprises only a very small portion of total forest biomass.
Canada’s managed forest – Those forests in Canada that are actively managed for timber or non-timber forest resources, or that fall under intensive protection against natural disturbances. According to current inventories, there are almost 240 million hectares of managed forest lands in Canada.
CanFI 85 - The 1985 version of Canada’s Forest Inventory.
CanFI 2001 - The 2001 version of Canada’s Forest Inventory.
Carbon cycle - The term used to describe the flow of carbon through a system. The forest carbon cycle refers to the flow of carbon through a forest ecosystem. The global carbon cycle refers to the flow of carbon through the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, forests, and other terrestrial ecosystems.
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) - A naturally occurring gas, which is also a by-product of burning fossil fuels, biomass burning, land-use changes, and other industrial processes. It is the principal greenhouse gas being emitted by human activities.
Carbon flux - The transfer of carbon from one carbon pool to another.
Carbon pool - A system having the capacity to accumulate or release carbon. Examples of carbon pools are forest biomass, wood products, soils, and the atmosphere.
Carbon sequestration – The process of removing carbon from the atmosphere.
Carbon sink – A carbon pool that is increasing in size. A carbon pool can be a sink for atmospheric carbon if, during a given time interval, more carbon is flowing into it than out of it.
Carbon source – A carbon pool that is decreasing in size. A carbon pool can be a source for atmospheric carbon if, during a given time interval, more carbon is flowing out of it than into it.
Carbon stock - The absolute quantity of carbon held within a pool at a specified time.
CBM-CFS2 – The research version of the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector.
CBM-CFS3 – The operational-scale version of the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector.
Climate - The prevailing environmental conditions resulting from the interactions of wind, water, and temperature.
Climate change - A statistically significant variation in either the average state of the climate or in its variability, persisting for an extended period of time (decades or longer).
Dead organic matter (DOM) - A generic term for all dead organic compounds in the ecosystem, including standing dead trees, downed trees, coarse and fine woody debris, litter, soil carbon, and peat.
Deforestation - The conversion of forested land to nonforested land as a direct result of human activities.
EOSD - Earth Observation for Sustainable Development of Forests.
FAACS - The Feasibility Assessment of Afforestation for Carbon Sequestration (a Canadian federal government initiative).
Forest - A vegetation type dominated by trees. Many definitions of the term forest are used throughout the world. For reporting on managed forest carbon stock changes, Canada uses the definitions of 1 ha minimum area, 25% canopy cover of trees that have the potential to reach 5 m height at maturity.
Forest stand - A community of trees, including above-ground and below-ground biomass and soils, sufficiently uniform in species, composition, age, and management type.
GIS - Geographic information system. A computer-based system that provides the capability to input, store, retrieve, manipulate, analyze, and output georeferenced data.
Greenhouse gases - Greenhouse gases are those gaseous constituents—both natural and anthropogenic—of the Earth’s atmosphere that absorb infrared radiation emitted from the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere, and clouds. By absorbing infrared radiation, these gases trap energy in the Earth’s atmosphere and cause the greenhouse effect—the trapping of heat in the lower atmosphere—and influence the global climate. Water vapour (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) are the primary greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere.
IPCC - The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry - Guidance prepared by the IPCC and accepted by Canada for use in developing estimates of its carbon sinks and sources associated with forests and land-use change. More information....
Land cover - The observed physical and biological cover of the land as vegetation or man-made features.
Land-use change - A change in the use or management of land by humans, which may lead to a change in land cover.
Mitigation - A human intervention to reduce the sources or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases.
NFI - Canada’s National Forest Inventory.
PERD - Panel on Energy Research and Development
Reforestation - The conversion of non-forested land to forested land through human activities, on land that was forested but that had been converted to non-forested land.
Sequestration - The process of increasing the carbon content of a carbon pool other than the atmosphere.
Soil carbon pool - Refers to the relevant carbon in soil. It includes various forms of soil organic carbon (humus) and inorganic soil carbon and charcoal. It excludes soil biomass, such as roots and living organisms.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - Canada has ratified this convention, which has the ultimate objective of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system. More information....