Walks in the Wild by Peter Wohlleben

Author:Peter Wohlleben
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473552432
Publisher: Ebury Publishing

12

A Pocket Dictionary

Every profession has its own jargon. It is not absolutely necessary; after all, most concepts can be expressed with more widely understood terms. And yet these charming old linguistic traditions reflect a culture we should seek to preserve, as long as the terminology doesn’t obscure the facts.

I remember my first days as an apprentice in the Rhineland-Palatinate state forestry commission, when I had my first experience of this harmless variation in language. We were checking the damage after a storm and the forest ranger I was working with asked me to pass a Kluppe. To me that sounded funny, like he was asking for a clothes peg. I couldn’t resist a grin.

‘What is that exactly?’ I asked, with the innocence of a newbie. The forester rolled his eyes and went over to the car himself. Out of the boot he pulled a calliper, a measuring tool, and passed it to me.

‘For measuring the diameter of the trunks that have fallen along the road,’ he muttered.

I’ve got nothing against traditions when it comes to technical jargon. On the contrary, they show that the craft in question draws on a long history, and that’s particularly important in the forest: after all, the trees that we make use of today were planted generations ago. It seems rather sly, though, when these supposedly harmless synonyms are used to influence the public. One example is the German word Waldpflege, which literally can be taken as meaning ‘forest care’. How might we interpret this word? Perhaps, if foresters care for their forest, the forest is better off as a result. The forest is fit and healthy, able to withstand pests and the challenges of climate change. That’s what most people would understand by it. But what would you say if a butcher referred to his trade as ‘animal care’? Bizarre? And rather sinister? And yet the term would communicate just as much as ‘forest care’ does for forestry. Forest maintenance, or ‘forest care’, in reality means little more than felling trees. It starts with the very young ones. Logically, the process is called ‘nursery care’ (Jungbestandspflege), and it involves dense growth being felled with the chainsaw. This leaves the remaining trees with more space and light to grow faster. This is called ‘thinning’ and it’s the same process at later stages: the forester makes more space for the most attractive trees by chopping down their neighbours.

Another rather old-fashioned term for managing young stock, which is nevertheless still in use, is Läuterung, meaning ‘purification’ or ‘refinement’. Speaking of ‘purifying’ the forest stand reminds me of the Middle Ages and purification by fire. Does the comparison seem a little harsh? Well, looking at it the other way, can we say this method of ‘caring’ for trees is actually good for the forest? Certainly not, and you can deduce that for yourself. Consider the Amazon rainforest. Does it really make it a healthier ecosystem when trees are felled to leave tidy, empty spaces? Of course not, and it’s the same with our woodlands.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.