1. Tree measurement
Michael Ferguson

2. Terms - Timber uses
Saw timber – trees suitable for sawing into planks, boards, etc.
Construction material
Measured in logs (16’ sections)
Cord wood- trees suitable for firewood or pulpwood (paper or fiber)
Measured in feet. Height of a tree is determined with measurement tools, then the total height is rounded down to the lowest 5 foot increment.
A “cord” of wood is a measurement of volume of 128 cubic feet of wood.
1 cord is equal to a well stacked pile of wood that is 4 feet wide, 4 feet deep, and 8’ high

3. One Cord

4. Forestry Measurement Terms to know
Diameter – width of tree trunk
Distance in inches divided by Pi (3.14)
DBH (diameter at breast height)
Usually about 4.5 from the base of the tree
Round DBH up or down to the nearest inch
Diameter tape – tool used to measure DBH
Pi is factored in for you.
Used like a standard measuring tape and it is used as if you were measuring a tree’s circumference
Chain- unit of measurement that is equal to 66’
Log- unit of measurement equal to 16’ in height
Tree heights are measured in logs and half logs (8 feet)

5. Forestry Measurement Terms to know
Clinometer- tool used to shoot the height of a tree
Biltmore stick- manual tool used to determine the number of logs that can be taken from saw timber.
Not used
Merchantable height- specified diameter at the top of a tree.
Minimum top diameter for saw timber is generally set at 8 inches
Chain- unit of measurement that is equal to 66 feet
Use a measuring tape to position yourself 1 “chain” from the tree when using height measurement tools
Log- unit of measurement equal to 16’ in height with a diameter of 8 inches
Saw timber heights are measured in logs (16’) and half logs (8’)

6. Finding a tree’s DBH

7. Using a clinometer to measure tree height
Tree height = tree top + tree bottom

8. How to use a biltmore stick to determine a log total

9. Now I can figure a trees volume using the charts and tables