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Forest

This article is about forests as a massing of trees. For other uses of the word, see Forest (disambiguation).

A forest is an area with a high density of trees (or, historically, an area set aside for hunting). Forests can be found in all regions capable of sustaining tree growth, at altitudes up to the tree-line, except where rainfall is too low, or natural fire frequency too high. Forests generally contain a large number of different tree species growing to different heights, combined with an understory, which makes efficient use of sunlight. A forest in its natural form is home to many animal and plant species, and biomass per unit area is high compared to most other biomes.

In ecological terms, a forest may be differentiated from a woodland: a forest is considered to have a more or less closed canopy, where the branches and foliage of trees meet or interlock; a woodland is considered to have an open canopy, where some sunlight penetrates between the trees (see also: savanna).

Numerous types of forests exist. Among the ecological types are:

• rain forest (tropical and temperate)
• taiga
• temperate hardwood forest.
• tropical dry forest

See also

• List of forests
• Forests in the United Kingdom
• Forests of Sweden
• Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
• Tropical and Subtropical Coniferous Forests
• Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests
• Rainforest
• Jungle (terrain)
• prescribed burn
• shifting cultivation
• deforestation
• reforestation
• logging
• Illegal logging
• Ecological_succession