The Forestry Commission has published a revised and updated edition of its popular Field Guide to Timber Measurement.

First published in 1983 as Booklet 49, the Guide's punchy, practical style proved popular with practitioners taking basic measurements of trees and timber and applying standard forest mensuration procedures in the field.

The revised edition was written by Ewan Mackie and Robert Matthews of Forest Research, the research agency of the Forestry Commission. It has been produced primarily to achieve consistency with the second edition of Forest Mensuration: a handbook for practitioners, which was published in 2006.

The authors aimed to retain as much as possible of the content and style of the original book, but the new edition includes a number of significant changes. The main changes are in the section dealing with weight measurement, which has been completely revised, while the content of the discussion of abbreviated tariffing has been amended to achieve consistency with Forest Mensuration: a handbook for practitioners.

As a major enhancement to the original format, the authors have included a number of decision trees to help guide users through the various methods and procedures.

The Guide has been designed for use in the field, featuring water-resistant paper with a tough plastic cover and tabbed sections. It is organised into three sections, all based on the information given in Forest Mensuration.

The Field Guide to Timber Measurement is priced £16 and can be ordered from Forestry Commission Publications, PO Box 25, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, LS23 7EW; tel: 0870 121 4180; quoting stock code FCFG002.

NOTES TO EDITOR:

1. The Forestry Commission is the government department for forestry in Great Britain. It supports woodland owners with grants, tree felling licences, regulation and advice; promotes the benefits of forests and forestry; and advises Ministers in the UK Government, the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government on forestry policy. It manages more than 1.04 million hectares (2.56 million acres) of national forest land owned by Ministers for multiple public benefits such as sustainable timber production, public recreation, nature conservation, and rural and community development. For further information, visit www.forestry.gov.uk.
2. Forest Research is the Commission's agency that carries out world-class scientific research and technical development relevant to forestry for a range of internal and external clients. For further information, visit www.forestresearch.gov.uk .

NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: Charlton Clark, Forestry Commission press office, 0131 314 6500