Download now
Mixed deciduous forest in Stara Planina, Serbia
A forest, also referred to as a wood or maybe the woods, is definitely an area which has a high density of trees. As with cities, depending on various ethnical definitions, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have distinct classifications relating to just how and what of the forest is composed. These plant communities cover roughly 9. four percent from the Earth’s surface (or 30 % of total land area), though they once protected much more (about 50 percent of total land area), in several different regions and function while habitats intended for organisms, hydrologic flow modulators, and soil conservers, constituting one of the most significant aspects of the biosphere.
Although forests are classified primarily by trees, the concept of a forest ecosystem includes additional species (such as smaller plants, fungi, bacteria, and animals) as well as physical and chemical processes such as energy flow and nutrient cycling.
A typical forest is composed of the overstory (canopy or upper tree layer) and the understory.
The understory is further subdivided into the shrub layer, herb layer, and also the moss layer and soil microbes. In some complex forests, there is also a well-defined lower tree layer. Forests are central to all human life because they provide a diverse range of resources: they store carbon, aid in regulating the planetary climate, purify water and mitigate natural hazards such as floods. Forests also contain roughly 90 percent of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. Contents * 1 Etymology * 2 Distribution * 3 Classification * 3.1 Temperate
A typical forest is composed of the overstory (canopy or upper tree layer) and the understory. The understory is further subdivided into the shrub layer, herb layer, and also the moss layer and soil microbes. In some complex forests, there is also a well-defined lower tree layer. Forests are central to all human life because they provide a diverse range of resources: they store carbon, aid in regulating the planetary climate, purify water and mitigate natural hazards such as floods. Forests also contain roughly 90 percent of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity.
Etymology
The word “forest comes from Middle English forest, from Old French forest (also forès) “forest, vast expanse covered by trees; first introduced in English as the word for wild land set aside for hunting without the necessity in definition for the existence of trees (James 1981;Muir 2000,2008). Possibly a borrowing (probably via Frankish or Old High German) of the Medieval Latin word foresta “open wood, foresta was first used by Carolingian scribes in the Capitularies of Charlemagne to refer specifically to the king’s royal hunting grounds. The term was not endemic to Romance languages (e.g. native words for “forest in the Romance languages evolved out of the Latin word silva “forest, wood (English sylvan); cf. Italian, Spanish, Portuguese selva; Romanian silvă; Old French selve); and cognates in Romance languages, such as Italian foresta, Spanish and Portuguese floresta, etc. are all ultimately borrowings of the French word.
The exact origin of Medieval Latin foresta is obscure. Some authorities claim the word derives from the Late Latin phrase forestam silvam, meaning “the outer wood; others claim the term is a latinisation of the Frankish word *forhist “forest, wooded country, assimilated to forestam silvam (a common practise among Frankish scribes). Frankish *forhist is attested by Old High German forst “forest, Middle Low German vorst “forest, Old English fyrhþ “forest, woodland, game preserve, hunting ground, and Old Norse fýri “coniferous forest, all of which derive from Proto-Germanic *furχÃsa-, *furχÃþja- “a fir-wood, coniferous forest, from Proto-Indo-European *perkwu- “a coniferous or mountain forest, wooded height.
Uses of the word “forest in English to denote any uninhabited area of non-enclosure are now considered archaic. The word was introduced by the Norman rulers of England as a legal term (appearing in Latin texts like the Magna Carta) denoting an uncultivated area legally set aside for hunting by feudal nobility (see Royal Forest). These hunting forests were not necessarily wooded much, if at all. However, as hunting forests did often include considerable areas of woodland, the word “forest eventually came to mean wooded land more generally. By the start of the fourteenth century the word appeared in
English texts, indicating all three senses: the most common one, the legal term and the archaic usage. Forest near Rajgir, Bihar, India
Other terms used to mean “an area with a high density of trees are wood, woodland, wold, weald, holt, frith and firth. Unlike forest, these are all derived from Old English and were not borrowed from another language. Some classifications now reserve the term woodland for an area with more open space between trees and distinguish among woodlands, open forests, and closed forests based on crown cover. Distribution
Amazon Rainforest in Brazil
Temperate rainforest in Tasmania’s Hellyer Gorge
Forests can be found in all regions capable of sustaining tree growth, at altitudes up to the tree line, except where natural fire frequency or other disturbance is too high, or where the environment has been altered by human activity. The latitudes 10 north and south of the Equator are mostly covered in tropical rainforest, and the latitudes between 53N and 67N have boreal forest. As a general rule, forests dominated by angiosperms (broadleaf forests) are more species-rich than those dominated by gymnosperms (conifer, montane, or needleleaf forests), although exceptions exist. Forests sometimes contain many tree species only within a small area (as in tropical rain and temperate deciduous forests), or relatively few species over large areas (e.g., taiga and arid montane coniferous forests). Forests are often home to many animal and plant species, and biomass per unit area is high compared to other vegetation communities.
Much of this biomass occurs below ground in the root systems and as partially decomposed plant detritus. The woody component of a forest contains lignin, which is relatively slow to decompose compared with other organic materials such as cellulose or carbohydrate. Forests are differentiated from woodlands by the extent of canopy coverage: in a forest, the branches and the foliage of separate trees often meet or interlock, although there can be gaps of varying sizes within an area referred to as forest. A woodland has a more continuously open canopy, with trees spaced farther apart, which allows more sunlight to penetrate to the ground between them (also see: savanna).
Among the major forested biomes are:
* rain forest (tropical and temperate)
* taiga
* temperate hardwood forest
* tropical dry forest
Classification
Biogradska forest in Montenegro
Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation
Even, dense old-growth stand of beech trees (Fagus sylvatica) prepared to be regenerated by their saplings in the understory, in the Brussels part of the Sonian Forest.
Trees on a mountain in northern Utah during early autumn.
Forests can be classified in different ways and to different degrees of specificity. One such way is in terms of the “biome in which they exist, combined with leaf longevity of the dominant species (whether they are evergreen or deciduous). Another distinction is whether the forests are composed predominantly of broadleaf trees, coniferous (needle-leaved) trees, or mixed. * Boreal forests occupy the subarctic zone and are generally evergreen and coniferous. * Temperate zones support both broadleaf deciduous forests (e.g., temperate deciduous forest) and evergreen coniferous forests (e.g., temperate coniferous forests and temperate rainforests).
Warm temperate zones support broadleaf evergreen forests, including laurel forests. * Tropical and subtropical forests include tropical and subtropical moist forests, tropical and subtropical dry forests, and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests. * Physiognomy classifies forests based on their overall physical structure or developmental stage (e.g. old growth vs. second growth). * Forests can also be classified more specifically based on the climate and the dominant tree species present, resulting in numerous different forest types (e.g., ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forest). A number of global forest classification systems have been proposed, but non-e has gained universal acceptance. UNEP-WCMC’s forest category classification system is a simplification of other more complex systems (e.g. UNESCO’s forest and woodland ‘subformations’). This system divides the world’s forests into 26 major types, which reflect climatic zones as well as the principal types of trees. These 26 major types can be reclassified into 6 broader categories: temperate needleleaf; temperate broadleaf and mixed; tropical moist; tropical dry; sparse trees and parkland; and forest plantations. Each category is described as a separate section below.
Temperate needleleaf
Temperate needleleaf forests mostly occupy the higher latitude regions of the northern hemisphere, as well as high altitude zones and some warm temperate areas, especially on nutrient-poor or otherwise unfavourable soils. These forests are composed entirely, or nearly so, of coniferous species (Coniferophyta). In the Northern Hemisphere pines Pinus, spruces Picea, larches Larix, silver firs Abies, Douglas firs Pseudotsuga and hemlocks Tsuga, make up the canopy, but other taxa are also important. In the Southern Hemisphere, most coniferous trees (members of the Araucariaceae and Podocarpaceae) occur in mixtures with broadleaf species that are classed as broadleaf and mixed forests. Temperate broadleaf and mixed
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests include a substantial component of trees in the Anthophyta. They are generally characteristic of the warmer temperate latitudes, but extend to cool temperate ones, particularly in the southern hemisphere. They include such forest types as the mixed deciduous forests of the United States and their counterparts in China and Japan, the broadleaf evergreen rainforests of Japan, Chile and Tasmania, the sclerophyllous forests of Australia, central Chile, the Mediterranean and California, and the southern beech Nothofagus forests of Chile and New Zealand. Tropical moist
There are many different types of tropical moist forests,although most extensive are the lowland evergreen broadleaf rainforests, for example várzea and igapó forests and the terra firma forests of the Amazon Basin; the peat swamp forests, dipterocarp forests of Southeast Asia; and the high forests of the Congo Basin. Forests located on mountains are also included in this category, divided largely into upper and lower montane formations on the basis of the variation of physiognomy corresponding to changes in altitude. Tropical dry
Tropical dry forests are characteristic of areas in the tropics affected by seasonal drought. The seasonality of rainfall is usually reflected in the deciduousness of the forest canopy, with most trees being leafless for several months of the year. However, under some conditions, e.g. less fertile soils or less predictable drought regimes, the proportion of evergreen species increases and the forests are characterised as “sclerophyllous. Thorn forest, a dense forest of low stature with a high frequency of thorny or spiny species, is found where drought is prolonged, and especially where grazing animals are plentiful. On very poor soils, and especially where fire is a recurrent phenomenon, woody savannas develop (see ‘sparse trees and parkland’). Sparse trees and parkland
Taiga forest near Saranpaul in the northeast Ural Mountains, Khanty”Mansia, Russia. Trees include Picea obovata (dominant on right bank), Larix sibirica, Pinus sibirica, and Betula pendula. Sparse trees and parkland are forests with open canopies of 10-30% crown cover. They occur principally in areas of transition from forested to non-forested landscapes. The two major zones in which these ecosystems occur are in the boreal region and in the seasonally dry tropics. At high latitudes, north of the main zone of boreal forest or taiga, growing conditions are not adequate to maintain a continuous closed forest cover, so tree cover is both sparse and discontinuous. This vegetation is variously called open taiga, open lichen woodland, and forest tundra. It is species-poor, has high bryophyte cover, and is frequently affected by fire. Forest plantations
Forest plantations, generally intended for the production of timber and pulpwood increase the total area of forest worldwide. Commonly mono-specific and/or composed of introduced tree species, these ecosystems are not generally important as habitat for native biodiversity. However, they can be managed in ways that enhance their biodiversity protection functions and they are important providers of ecosystem services such as maintaining nutrient capital, protecting watersheds and soil structure as well as storing carbon. They may also play an important role in alleviating pressure on natural forests for timber and fuelwood production. Forest categories
A temperate deciduous broadleaf forest, the Hasenholz, southeast of Kirchheim unter Teck, Baden-Württemberg, Germany Redwoods in old growth forest in Muir Woods National Monument, Marin County, California 28 forest categories are used to enable the translation of forest types from national and regional classification systems to a harmonised global one.
Temperate and boreal forest types
1. Evergreen needleleaf forest ” Natural forest with >30% canopy cover, in which the canopy is predominantly (>75%) needleleaf and evergreen.
2. Deciduous needleleaf forests ” Natural forests with >30% canopy cover, in which the canopy is predominantly (>75%) needleleaf and deciduous.
3. Mixed broadleaf/needleleaf forest ” Natural forest with >30% canopy cover, in which the canopy is composed of a more or less even mixture of needleleaf and broadleaf crowns (between 50:50% and 25:75%).
4. Broadleaf evergreen forest ” Natural forests with >30% canopy cover, the canopy being >75% evergreen and broadleaf.
5. Deciduous broadleaf forest ” Natural forests with >30% canopy cover, in which >75% of the canopy is deciduous and broadleaves predominate (>75% of canopy cover).
6. Freshwater swamp forest ” Natural forests with >30% canopy cover, composed of trees with any mixture of leaf type and seasonality, but in which the predominant environmental characteristic is a waterlogged soil.
7. Sclerophyllous dry forest ” Natural forest with >30% canopy cover, in which the canopy is mainly composed of sclerophyllous broadleaves and is >75% evergreen.
8. Disturbed natural forest ” Any forest type above that has in its interior significant areas of disturbance by people, including clearing, felling for wood extraction, anthropogenic fires, road construction, etc.
9. Sparse trees and parkland ” Natural forests in which the tree canopy cover is between 10-30%, such as in the steppe regions of the world. Trees of any type (e.g., needleleaf, broadleaf,
palms).
10. Exotic species plantation ” Intensively managed forests with >30% canopy cover, which have been planted by people with species not naturally occurring in that country.
11. Native species plantation ” Intensively managed forests with >30% canopy cover, which have been planted by people with species that occur naturally in that country.
12. *Unspecified forest plantation ” Forest plantations showing extent only with no further information about their type, This data currently only refers to the Ukraine.
13. *Unclassified forest data ” Forest data showing forest extent only with no further information about their type. Those marked * have been created as a result of data holdings which do not specify the forest type, hence 26 categories are quoted, not 28 shown here. Tropical forest types
The Fatu Hiva rainforest in Polynesia.
1. Lowland evergreen broadleaf rain forest ” Natural forests with >30% canopy cover, below 1,200 m (3,937 ft) altitude that display little or no seasonality, the canopy being >75% evergreen broadleaf.
2. Lower montane forest ” Natural forests with >30% canopy cover, between 1200″1800 m altitude, with any seasonality regime and leaf type mixture.
3. Upper montane forest ” Natural forests with >30% canopy cover, above 1,800 m (5,906 ft) altitude, with any seasonality regime and leaf type mixture.
4. Freshwater swamp forest ” Natural forests with >30% canopy cover, below 1,200 m (3,937 ft) altitude, composed of trees with any mixture of leaf type and seasonality, but in which the predominant environmental characteristic is a waterlogged soil.
5. Semi-evergreen moist broadleaf forest ” Natural forests with >30% canopy cover, below 1,200 m (3,937 ft) altitude in which between 50-75% of the canopy is evergreen, >75% are broadleaves, and the trees display seasonality of flowering and fruiting.
6. Mixed broadleaf/needleleaf forest ” Natural forests with >30% canopy cover, below 1,200 m (3,937 ft) altitude, in which the canopy is composed of a more or less even mixture of needleleaf and broadleaf crowns (between 50:50% and 25:75%).
7. Needleleaf forest ” Natural forest with >30% canopy cover, below 1,200 m (3,937 ft) altitude, in which the canopy is predominantly (>75%) needleleaf.
8. Mangroves ” Natural forests with >30% canopy cover, composed of species
of mangrove tree, generally along coasts in or near brackish or seawater.
9. Disturbed natural forest ” Any forest type above that has in its interior significant areas of disturbance by people, including clearing, felling for wood extraction, anthropogenic fires, road construction, etc.
10. Deciduous/semi-deciduous broadleaf forest ” Natural forests with >30% canopy cover, below 1,200 m (3,937 ft) altitude in which between 50-100% of the canopy is deciduous and broadleaves predominate (>75% of canopy cover).
11. Sclerophyllous dry forest ” Natural forests with >30% canopy cover, below 1,200 m (3,937 ft) altitude, in which the canopy is mainly composed of sclerophyllous broadleaves and is >75% evergreen.
12. Thorn forest ” Natural forests with >30% canopy cover, below 1,200 m (3,937 ft) altitude, in which the canopy is mainly composed of deciduous trees with thorns and succulent phanerophytes with thorns may be frequent.
13. Sparse trees and parkland ” Natural forests in which the tree canopy cover is between 10-30%, such as in the savannah regions of the world. Trees of any type (e.g., needleleaf, broadleaf, palms).
14. Exotic species plantation ” Intensively managed forests with >30% canopy cover, which have been planted by people with species not naturally occurring in that country.
15. Native species plantation ” Intensively managed forests with >30% cover cover, that have been planted simply by people with varieties that occur naturally because country. Forest loss and management
Primary articles: Forestry, Logging and Deforestation
Coastal Douglas fir wood land in southwest Oregon
Redwood tree in northern Cal redwood forest, where various redwood trees are managed for preservation and extended life, rather than becoming harvested to get wood production The study of forest species and their interaction while using environment is called forest ecology, while the administration of woodlands is often referred to as forestry. Forest management is promoting considerably over the last few hundreds of years, with quick changes from the 1980s onwards culminating within a practice today referred to as eco friendly forest supervision.
Forest ecologists concentrate on forest habits and operations, usually with the aim of elucidating cause and effect interactions.
Foresters who practice sustainable forest management concentrate on the integration of ecological, interpersonal and monetary values, often in assessment with neighborhood communities and other stakeholders. Anthropogenic factors that may affect woodlands include signing, urban sprawl, human-caused forest fires, acidity rain, invasive species, plus the slash and burn techniques of swidden agriculture or shifting farming. The loss and re-growth of forest causes a distinction between two broad types of forest, primary or perhaps old-growth forest and extra forest. There are also many natural factors that may cause within forests as time passes including forest fires, bugs, diseases, weather conditions, competition among species, etc .
In 97, the World Methods Institute recorded that only twenty percent of the world’s original woodlands remained in large intact tracts of undisturbed forest. More than 75% of these in one piece forests rest in 3 countries ” the Boreal forests of Russia and Canada and the rainforest of Brazil. 5 years ago this information on intact woodlands was up to date using latest available satellite television imagery. Canada has about 4, 020, 000 sq kilometres (1, 550, 1000 sq mi) of forest land. Much more than 90% of forest property is widely owned and about 50% from the total forest area is definitely allocated intended for harvesting. These types of allocated areas are handled using the guidelines of lasting forest management, which includes considerable consultation with local stakeholders. About 8 percent of Canada’s forest is legally protected from resource creation (Global Forest Watch Canada)(Natural Resources Canada).
Much more forest land ” about forty percent with the total forest land bottom ” can be subject to differing degrees of protection through operations such as included land employ planning or defined managing areas just like certified jungles (Natural Solutions Canada). These kinds of maps represent only virgin forest lost. Some growth has happened but not towards the age, size or level of 1620 due to inhabitants increases and food farming. From Bill B. Greeley’s, The Regards of Geography to Wood Supply, Monetary Geography, 1925, vol. 1, p. 1-11. Source of “Today map: published by George Draffan from roadless area map in The Big Outside: A Descriptive Products on hand of the Big Wilderness Aspects of the United States, simply by Dave Honcho, chief, gaffer boss and Howie Wolke (Harmony Books, 1992). ‘ By simply December 2006, over you, 237, 000 square miles of forest land canada (about 50 percent the global total) had been authorized as being sustainably managed (Canadian Sustainable Forestry Certification Coalition).
Clearcutting, first utilized in the latter half the 20th 100 years, is less expensive, yet devastating for the environment and companies are required by law to ensure harvested areas are sufficiently regenerated. The majority of Canadian pays have rules limiting the size of clearcuts, although some older clearcuts can range upwards of 110 rectangular kilometres (27, 000 acres) in size that were cut over several years. Cina instituted analysis on working, beginning in 1998, due to the destruction caused by clearcutting. Selective reducing avoids the erosion, and flooding, that result from clearcutting. In the United States, the majority of forests have got historically been affected by human beings to some degree, even though in recent years better forestry techniques has helped regulate or moderate large scale or serious impacts.
Nevertheless , the United States Forest Service estimations a net loss of about 2 million hectares (4, 942, 000 acres) between 1997 and 2020; this estimate comes with conversion of forest property to different uses, which include urban and suburban creation, as well as afforestation and natural reversion of abandoned crop and meadow land to forest. Yet , in many areas of the United States, the area of forest is stable or elevating, particularly in lots of northern states. The opposite trouble from water damage has affected national woodlands, with loggers complaining that the lack of loss and proper forest administration has triggered large forest fires.[ Old-growth forest contains generally natural habits of biodiversity in established seral patterns, and they consist of mainly species native to the region and habitat.
The natural formations and operations have not recently been affected by humans with a rate of recurrence or strength to change the natural composition and pieces of the home. Secondary forest contains significant elements of varieties which were originally from other parts or g?te. Smaller aspects of woodland in cities can be managed as Urban forestry, sometimes inside public parks. These are often created for human rewards; Attention Repair Theory argues that hanging out in nature reduces anxiety and enhances health, although forest universities and kindergartens help young adults to develop cultural as well as clinical skills in forests. These types of typically should be close to where children live, for practical logistics.
1
