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What Is Basal Area?

By
Real Estate Agent with Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified #1 in Forest Land Mgmt

What Is Basal Area?

 

 

 Basal area is one of the many measurements that Foresters use to determine how dense or close to capacity that a forest is.

 

 

 Technically it is the number of square feet of stumps on an acre of land or if you live a little north of here in Canada, it is the number of square meters per hectare.

 

A forester not only keeps a close eye on this measurement but works to maintain this density in the forest over time with frequent thinnings and harvests.

 

 Different species of trees thrive at different basal area densities and even within a specie group this density target will be adjusted for different age groups and locations.

 

  This is a very abbreviated description of this tool but it may help you to know what is going on now when you see your Forester pull out his/her Prism, Angle Gage, or DME.

 

 You will know that they are taking a measurement of the health and density of the forest, and calculating in their head what needs to be done to maintain the forest health and how soon.

Comments (7)

Joe Petrowsky
Mortgage Consultant, Right Trac Financial Group, Inc. NMLS # 2709 - Manchester, CT
Your Mortgage Consultant for Life

Good morning Bob. Thank you for the education this morning. I was not familiar with the term, hopefully I'll be able to use it correctly when the opportunity presents itself.

Sep 18, 2014 07:16 PM
Myrl Jeffcoat
Sacramento, CA
Greater Sacramento Realtor - Retired

Bob - If anyone really wants to know the nitty-gritty or the what's happenin' now in forestry, they need to follow your blog!

Sep 18, 2014 07:39 PM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Thanks, Bob, for the forestry lesson. We never know what we will learn next when reading ActiveRain blogs.

Sep 18, 2014 11:30 PM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

I scheduled this for a re-blog on 9/29. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Sep 18, 2014 11:35 PM
Than Maynard
Coldwell Banker Heart of Oklahoma - Purcell, OK
Broker - Licensed to List & Sell - 405-990-8862

Good to see you explaining the need to thin the forest or control overall growth. And how the density influences which plants or trees grow and how well.

Sep 19, 2014 12:06 AM
Kristin Johnston - REALTOR®
RE/MAX Platinum - Waukesha, WI
Giving Back With Each Home Sold!

I have never even heard of the term before much less know what it is..now I do

Sep 19, 2014 12:44 AM
Sandy Padula & Norm Padula, JD, GRI
HomeSmart Realty West & Florida Realty Investments - , CA
Presence, Persistence & Perseverance

Bob: Now you have gone and done it! Sandy and I never talk about our Basal Areas. Whoa! You're talking about trees again? Have a great day!

Sep 19, 2014 12:53 AM