Indian Forest Service Examination Silvicultural Systems: practice questions

1 · Classification of silvicultural systems · medium

What distinguishes high forest from coppice?

1. High forest is any forest above a set canopy height, while coppice is any forest kept below that height by browsing animals
2. High forest arises mainly from seed on long rotations; coppice arises from stool shoots or suckers on short rotations
3. High forest is always natural and unplanted, while coppice is always a plantation established by planting rooted cuttings
4. High forest is managed only by selection fellings, while coppice is managed only by clear felling of the whole area at once

2 · Clear-felling system and its variants · medium

Clear strips intended to be regenerated naturally from the standing forest beside them are usually laid out:

1. Across the direction of the prevailing wind, and narrow enough to be seeded from the adjoining stand
2. Along the direction of the prevailing wind, and as wide as the extraction machinery can manage
3. Along the contour on slopes only, and wide enough to let full sunlight dry the soil completely
4. At random through the compartment, and as large as possible to keep the felling costs down for the contractor

3 · Irregular shelterwood and strip systems · hard

Why is irregular shelterwood often chosen for mountain forests that protect villages and roads?

1. It keeps continuous cover against erosion, rockfall and avalanche while still allowing regeneration
2. It produces the largest possible clear-felled coupes, which are easiest to replant on steep ground
3. It eliminates all need for skilled marking because every tree is felled at the same fixed age
4. It converts the forest to coppice, which holds snow and rock better than any high forest can

4 · Simple coppice, coppice with standards, pollarding · medium

How does coppice of two rotations differ from ordinary coppice with standards?

1. Standards are kept for four or more rotations, so the upper storey has many age classes of different sizes and ages
2. Coppice is cut twice in each rotation, once for fuel and once for fodder from shoots
3. Standards are kept for one extra coppice rotation only, so there is a single age class of standards
4. Two species are coppiced together, each on its own rotation in alternate years

5 · Accessory systems: two-storied high forest, conversion · medium

Which is a benefit of underplanting oak with beech in two-storied high forest?

1. The beech fixes atmospheric nitrogen in root nodules and so doubles oak growth
2. The beech shades the oak stems, suppressing epicormic shoots, and protects and improves the soil
3. The beech kills the oak gradually and so converts the stand to pure beech coppice
4. The beech makes the oak deciduous instead of evergreen, reducing water use in summer and protecting it from drought

6 · Conversion between systems · medium

Why does yield usually fall during conversion of coppice to high forest?

1. High forest species cannot grow on sites that were once under coppice
2. Converted forests are legally closed to all harvesting for one full rotation
3. Stored coppice shoots stop growing until the old stools have completely rotted
4. Short-term coppice cuts are given up to build growing stock of larger trees

7 · Conversion between systems · hard

Which is a common criticism of converting natural mixed forest to single-species plantations?

1. It always reduces timber yield because plantations grow more slowly than natural forest
2. It is impossible because natural forest sites cannot support any planted species
3. It lowers species diversity and can reduce local people's access to non-timber products
4. It increases the area of reserved forest, which conflicts with working-plan rules

8 · Silviculture of temperate, subtropical, humid tropical and dry tropical forests · hard

Why have commercial regeneration fellings largely ceased in several Himalayan temperate conifer forests in India?

1. Bans on green felling have shifted management towards protection and salvage
2. The conifers have all been converted to coppice for fuelwood by the forest department
3. The forests have been replanted entirely with teak, which needs no regeneration felling
4. The working plans now prescribe clear felling of whole valleys every ten years

9 · Selection system and group selection · hard

A 2,400 ha forest under selection has a felling cycle of 20 years and an exploitable girth of 180 cm. What is the annual coupe area?

1. 120 ha
2. 13.3 ha
3. 48 ha
4. 1,200 ha

10 · Simple coppice, coppice with standards, pollarding · hard

A coppice-with-standards forest has a coppice rotation of 15 years and standards are felled at 60 years. For how many coppice rotations is each standard kept, and how many age classes of standards stand just before a felling?

1. 3 rotations and 3 age classes (15, 30 and 45 years)
2. 4 rotations and 4 age classes (15, 30, 45 and 60 years)
3. 60 rotations and 60 age classes of one year each
4. 4 rotations but only 1 age class of 60 years