Afforestation/reforestation: Planting of trees in a deforested area to create a forest or to restore one that has been damaged or destroyed.
Agroforestry: A land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland, a practice that enhances biodiversity and reduces erosion in Mauritius.
Arboretum: A reserve or garden dedicated to cultivating and conserving various species of trees, especially rare or endangered ones.
Biodiversity: The variety of plant and animal life in a particular habitat, a high level of which is characteristic of Mauritius’ remaining forests.
Biomass: Organic material derived from living or recently living organisms, primarily plants. In forestry, biomass refers to the mass of living forest biomass inclusive of bark, leaves, and woody material.
Biosphere Reserve: An internationally recognized reserve that aims to balance the conservation of natural ecosystems with sustainable human activities. Biosphere reserves promote ecological, economic, and cultural sustainability.
Canopy: The upper layer of the forest, formed by mature tree crowns and including other biological organisms such as epiphytes, found in the lush forests of Mauritius.
Carbon Sequestration: The process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide. It is one method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with the goal of reducing global climate change.
Deforestation: The removal of a forest or stand of trees from land which is then converted to a non-forest use. Deforestation in Mauritius has significant impacts on biodiversity and climate.
Ecosystem Services: The benefits that humans freely gain from the natural environment and from properly-functioning ecosystems, such as clean air, water, and soil conservation.
Endemic Species: Species that are native to a single geographic location, such as an island. Mauritius has many forest-related endemic species.
Exotic Species: Non-native species introduced to an area. In Mauritius, exotic forest species can sometimes threaten local biodiversity.
Forest Ecology: The study of the interactions among forest organisms and between these organisms and their environment.
Forest service: A government agency responsible for the regulation and management of national forests or state forests.
Forest species: Species of plants and animals that are native to and dependent on the forest ecosystems.
Forestry protection measures: Activities or policies implemented to protect forest areas from threats such as deforestation, fires, and pests.
Habitat Conservation: Managing natural habitats to prevent them from disappearing or being degraded, crucial for maintaining biodiversity in Mauritius.
Herbivory: The act of eating plants, which influences forest health and regeneration.
Indigenous Species: Species that occur naturally in a region; in Mauritius, this refers to species native to the island.
Insectivory: The consumption of insects, which can affect pest populations in forest ecosystems.
Invasive Species: Non-native species that spread widely in a new ecosystem and can cause harm to the environment, human economy, or health in Mauritius.
Juglone: A toxic chemical secreted by the roots of walnut trees that inhibits the growth of other plants around it.
Keystone Species: A species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically.
Leaf Litter: Dead plant material, such as leaves and branches, that has fallen to the ground. Leaf litter is important for nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems.
Litterfall: Leaves, twigs, and other organic material that fall from trees and accumulate on the ground in forests.
Logging: The cutting down of trees for commercial purposes or to clear land. Sustainable logging practices are important in Mauritius to prevent deforestation.
Mycorrhiza: A symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular host plant, commonly found in forest ecosystems.
Natural Regeneration: The process by which forested areas naturally repopulate with trees without human intervention, which can occur in protected areas in Mauritius.
Nurse Log: A fallen tree which, as it decays, provides ecological facilitation to seedlings.
Old Growth Forest: Forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance and thereby exhibits unique ecological features. Mauritius has remnants of such forests.
Omnivory: The practice of consuming a variety of food of both plant and animal origin.
Phenology: The study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate.
Primary Forest: Virgin forest that has never been significantly disturbed by human activity and has developed following natural disturbances and under natural processes.
Private forest: A forest owned by an individual, family, or corporation rather than by the government or community.
Protection forest: Forest areas designated for the purpose of safeguarding biodiversity, landscapes, and specific natural or cultural resources.
Public forest: Forest land owned and managed by governmental entities for the benefit of the public.
Quadrat: A plot used in ecology and geography to isolate a standard unit of area for study of the distribution of an item over a large area.
Reforestation: The natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands that have been depleted, often through deforestation.
Restoration Ecology: The scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human intervention and action.
Riparian Zone: The interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian zones are significant for maintaining water quality and biodiversity.
Silviculture: The practice of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests to meet diverse needs and values.
Sustainable Forest Management (SFM): The management of forests according to principles and techniques that maintain their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality, and their potential to fulfill relevant ecological, economic, and social functions.
Tree Nursery: A place where young trees (seedlings) are propagated and grown to usable size. They play a crucial role in reforestation efforts in Mauritius.
Trophic Level: The position that an organism occupies in a food chain - what it eats, and what eats it.
Umbrella Species: Species selected for making conservation-related decisions, typically because protecting these species indirectly protects the many other species that make up the ecological community of its habitat.
Understory: A layer of vegetation beneath the main canopy of a forest. It includes shrubs, herbs, and young trees.
Vernalization: The induction of a plant's flowering process by exposure to the prolonged cold of winter.
Wildlife Corridor: A strip of natural habitat connecting populations of wildlife otherwise separated by cultivated land, roads, and other developments.
Woodland: Land covered with dense growth of trees and shrubs.
Xylem: The vascular tissue in plants that conducts water and dissolved nutrients upward from the roots to the rest of the plant.
Yield: The output of a forest in terms of timber or other products that can be sustainably harvested.
Zero-Cut Policy: A forestry policy which prohibits the cutting down of trees, particularly applied in conservation areas to preserve habitats.
