SAF Certified Forester (CF)

USA · Society of American Foresters · professional

359practice questions written to this syllabus
28subjects

Format

Eligibility by education and experience (details in the SAF Certification Handbook), then the CF exam written to a published domain and knowledge-area outline. Recertification every three years with 45 continuing forestry education hours (at least 30 in Category 1-CF).

Sections

Over the years

The SAF requirements page was read: it confirms the exam, the domain document, the 45-hour/3-year CFE rule and the fees (US$280 for SAF members, US$400 for non-members). The exam's length, format and domain weights were not available on the page. Some US states accept the CF in their licensing rules.

Official source: https://www.eforester.org/Main/Certification_Education/Certified_Forester/Requirements/Main/Certification/Requirements.aspx

Subjects this exam draws on

Introduction to Forestry & the World's Forests5 questionsDendrology & Tree Identification11 questionsForest Soils & Soil Conservation8 questionsBiometry, Statistics & Computing for Forestry16 questionsForest Surveying & Mapping12 questionsForest Genetics & Tree Improvement10 questionsForest Tree Seed Technology12 questionsForest Hydrology & Watershed Management2 questionsPrinciples of Silviculture14 questionsForest Nursery & Plantation Establishment14 questionsSilvicultural Systems17 questionsStand Tending, Thinning & Pruning20 questionsSilviculture of Important Tree Species16 questionsPlantation Forestry & Short-Rotation Crops7 questionsForest Mensuration14 questionsForest Inventory & Sampling Design26 questionsGrowth & Yield Modelling20 questionsRemote Sensing & Photogrammetry for Forestry3 questionsForest GIS, GNSS & LiDAR Analytics18 questionsForest Fire Science & Management1 questionsForest Management & Yield Regulation15 questionsWorking Plans & Forest Management Planning10 questionsForest Economics & Valuation16 questionsForest Policy, Law & Governance9 questionsAgroforestry Systems & Design7 questionsForest Certification & Sustainable Forest Management25 questionsForests & Climate Change: Carbon, REDD+ & MRV9 questionsProfessional Forestry Practice, Ethics & Registration22 questions

Five practice questions, worked

Original questions written to this exam's published syllabus and pattern. Not past papers.

1. Who was the first chief of the United States Forest Service, known for 'the greatest good for the greatest number in the long run'?

  1. John Muir
  2. Aldo Leopold
  3. Bernhard Fernow
  4. Gifford Pinchot
Answer and working

D. Gifford Pinchot

Pinchot, advised by Brandis, led the Forest Service from 1905 with a utilitarian conservation ethic. Muir championed preservation; Leopold the land ethic; Fernow headed the earlier federal Division of Forestry.

Introduction to Forestry & the World's Forests · History of scientific forestry: German, French and British-Indian traditions

2. Milky latex from cut bark and leaves is typical of:

  1. Pinaceae, such as pines
  2. Moraceae, such as figs
  3. Myrtaceae, such as eucalypts
  4. Dipterocarpaceae, such as sal
Answer and working

B. Moraceae, such as figs

Pinaceae and dipterocarps yield resin; eucalypts kino; figs latex.

Dendrology & Tree Identification · Field characters: bark, blaze, leaf arrangement, stipules, exudates

3. Repeated passes of heavy forwarders on wet clay soil most likely cause:

  1. Lower bulk density and higher porosity
  2. A change of soil texture to sandy loam
  3. Higher bulk density and lower infiltration
  4. Formation of a mull humus layer
Answer and working

C. Higher bulk density and lower infiltration

Compaction raises bulk density, destroys large pores and reduces infiltration and aeration; texture is not changed by management.

Forest Soils & Soil Conservation · Physical properties: texture, structure, bulk density, water holding

4. Three fire lookouts each independently miss a fire with probability 0.2. What is the probability that at least one sees it?

  1. 0.800
  2. 0.600
  3. 0.992
  4. 0.488
Answer and working

C. 0.992

P(at least one) = 1 − 0.2³ = 1 − 0.008 = 0.992. 0.488 is 0.8³, the probability that all three see it.

Biometry, Statistics & Computing for Forestry · Probability and the binomial, Poisson and normal distributions

5. A boundary leg is measured as 80 m of slope distance on a 30% slope. What is its horizontal length?

  1. 56.0 m
  2. 77.6 m
  3. 76.6 m
  4. 83.6 m
Answer and working

C. 76.6 m

Angle = arctan 0.30 = 16.7°; cos = 0.958; 80 × 0.958 = 76.6 m. 56 m subtracts 30%.

Forest Surveying & Mapping · Chain and tape survey

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