The present publication is an up-to-date, authentic and comprehensive dictionary of forestry, which recognises that forestry is a field in its own right, and with its own language. It aims to provide clear, concise, and correct definitions and descriptions of the terms used in forestry. This work is designed to be a comprehensive reference tool for forestry professionals, students and all who are interested in forestry. It is earnestly hoped that it will be an authoritative source to which one can turn with confidence for meaning and knowledge of the common, specialised and latest terms in forestry and allied fields.

This dictionary includes more than 4,500 terms and is published jointly by CAB INTERNATIONAL and the Society of American Foresters. It replaces the 1971 Terminology of Forest Science, Technology, Practice, and Products edited by F.C. Ford-Robertson under the authorization of the Joint FAO/IUFRO Committee on Forest Bibliography and Terminology. Since 1971, there have been substantial changes in the forestry profession - from a focus on multiple use and sustained yield of forest products to a broader, more complex context of sustaining diverse forest uses and values. These changes have modified the use of existing terms, introduced new terms, and created the need for an up-to-date dictionary that permits consistent use of professional language. The dictionary was compiled with input from the SAF's Forest Science and Technology board and members of its 29 working groups. The publication was extensively reviewed by forestry experts, who endorsed the dictionary for its contribution to the forestry profession and usefulness to all those interested and involved in forestry. It will help students, professionals, and the public - all those interested in the science, management, and conservation of forests - communicate technically with precision, clarity, and consistency.

The dictionary contains approx. 10,000 terms used today in forest science, management and conservation, comprising forest ecology, forest entomology and pathology, forest fire management, forest geomatics, forest meteorology and hydrology, forest soils and geomorphology, forest surveys and mensuration, genetics and tree improvement, harvesting and forest operations, integrated forest management, photogrammetry and remote sensing, physico-mechanical properties of wood, processing (panels, pulp and paper, sawing, etc.), silviculture, tree physiology, agroforestry, urban forestry, wildlife and wilderness management and arboriculture, wood anatomy and structure.

The most up-to-date and comprehensive reference work available, Dictionary of Natural Resource Management provides a single source of definitions of natural resource management terms. It includes more than 6,000 entries, many of them illustrated and annotated, and a detailed set of appendices covering conversion factors, geological time scales, and classifications of organisms.