Glossary - M

Maiden: A tree that has grown from a seedling (naturally or planted) and which has not been coppiced.
Management tables: Tables for the species commonly grown commercially and based on yield class. They provide information on volume production, thinning yields and rotations for maximum volume production. Used both for controlling thinning and felling and for forecasting yields.
Mast year: The year in which abundant seed is produced, used specifically in relation to beech and oak.
Mean annual increment (M.A.l.): The average rate of volume increment of a stand from time of planting to the present day, measured in cubic metres per hectare.
Mechanical thinning: See systematic thinning.
Mechanised harvesting: The felling and extraction of trees by machine.
Mensuration: The science of measuring used in forestry to mean the measurement of standing and felled timber.
Miscanthus: Woody, perennial, rhizomatous grasses originating from Asia.
Mixture: Two or more species grown together.
Monoculture: Growing one species as a crop.
Motor-manual harvesting: The felling of trees using chainsaws and subsequent extraction by machine.
Mounding: Type of pre-planting cultivation whereby a weed free raised planting position is created. Often used on wet sites. See Dolloping.
Multi-purpose forestry: Forest management that delivers multiple benefits eg. social, economic, environmental.