Forest

This article is about a community of trees. For other uses, see Forest (disambiguation).
For a broader coverage related to this topic, see Plant community.
A conifer forest in the Swiss Alps (National Park)
The Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York form the southernmost part of the Eastern forest-boreal transition ecoregion.
Forest on Mount Dajt, Albania

A forest is a large area of land covered with trees or other woody vegetation.[1] Hundreds of more precise definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing and ecological function.[2][3][4] According to the widely used[5][6] United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization definition, forests covered four billion hectares (15 million square miles) or approximately 30 percent of the world's land area in 2006.[4]

Forests are the dominant terrestrial ecosystem of Earth, and are distributed across the globe.[7] Forests account for 75% of the gross primary productivity of the Earth's biosphere, and contain 80% of the Earth's plant biomass.[7]

Forests at different latitudes form distinctly different ecozones: boreal forests near the poles tend to consist of evergreens, while tropical forests near the equator tend to be distinct from the temperate forests at mid-latitude. The amount of precipitation and the elevation of the forest also affects forest composition.

Human society and forests influence each other in both positive and negative ways.[8] Forests provide ecosystem services to humans and serve as tourist attractions. Forests can also impose costs, affect people's health, and interfere with tourist enjoyment. Human activities, including harvesting forest resources, can negatively affect forest ecosystems.

Definition

Forest in the Scottish Highlands

Although forest is a term of common parlance, there is no universally recognised precise definition, with more than 800 definitions of forest used around the world.[4] Although a forest is usually defined by the presence of trees, under many definitions an area completely lacking trees may still be considered a forest if it grew trees in the past, will grow trees in the future,[9] or was legally designated as a forest regardless of vegetation type.[10][11]

There are three broad categories of forest definitions in use: administrative, land use, and land cover.[10] Administrative definitions are based primarily upon the legal designations of land, and commonly bear no relationship to the vegetation growing on the land: land that is legally designated as a forest is defined as a forest even if no trees are growing on it.[10] Land use definitions are based upon the primary purpose that the land serves. For example, a forest may defined as any land that is used primarily for production of timber. Under such a land use definition, cleared roads or infrastructure within an area used for forestry, or areas within the region that have been cleared by harvesting, disease or fire are still considered forests even if they contain no trees. Land cover definitions define forests based upon the type and density of vegetation growing on the land. Such definitions typically define a forest as an area growing trees above some threshold. These thresholds are typically the number of trees per area (density), the area of ground under the tree canopy (canopy cover) or the section of land that is occupied by the cross-section of tree trunks (basal area).[10] Under such land cover definitions, and area of land only be defined as forest if it is growing trees. Areas that fail to meet the land cover definition may be still included under while immature trees are establishing if they are expected to meet the definition at maturity.[10]

Under land use definitions, there is considerable variation on where the cutoff points are between a forest, woodland, and savanna. Under some definitions, forests require very high levels of tree canopy cover, from 60% to 100%,[12] excluding savannas and woodlands in which trees have a lower canopy cover. Other definitions consider savannas to be a type of forest, and include all areas with tree canopies over 10%.[9]

Etymology

Since the 13th century, the Niepołomice Forest in Poland has had special use and protection. In this view from space, different coloration can indicate different functions.[13]

The word forest comes from Middle English, 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[14] without the necessity in definition for the existence of trees.[15] 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 practice 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" (English frith), and Old Norse fýri "coniferous forest", all of which derive from Proto-Germanic *furhísa-, *furhíþija- "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.[16] 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).[16][17]

Tywi forest, in Wales

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 14th century, the word appeared in English texts, indicating all three senses: the most common one, the legal term and the archaic usage.[16] 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.[18]

Ecology

Main article: Forest ecology
Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge

Forests account for 75% of the gross primary productivity of the Earth's biosphere, and contain 80% of the Earth's plant biomass.[7] Forest ecosystems 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 53°N and 67°N 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.

Components

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.

A forest consists of many components that can be broadly divided into two categories that are biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components. The living parts include trees, shrubs, vines, grasses and other herbaceous (non-woody) plants, mosses, algae, fungi, insects, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and microorganisms living on the plants and animals and in the soil.

These interact with one another and with the non-living part of the environment including the soil, water, and minerals to make up what we know as a forest.[19][20]

Layers

Biogradska forest in Montenegro
Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation

A forest is made up of many layers. Starting from the ground level and moving up, the main layers of all forest types are the forest floor, the understory and the canopy. The emergent layer exists in tropical rainforests. Each layer has a different set of plants and animals depending upon the availability of sunlight, moisture and food.

Types

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.

The number of trees in the world, according to a 2015 estimate, is 3 trillion, of which 1.4 trillion are in the tropics or sub-tropics, 0.6 trillion in the temperate zones, and 0.7 trillion in the coniferous boreal forests. The estimate is about eight times higher than previous estimates, and is based on tree densities measured on over 400,000 plots. It remains subject to a wide margin of error, not least because the samples are mainly from Europe and North America.[22]

Forests can also be classified according to the amount of human alteration. Old-growth forest contains mainly natural patterns of biodiversity in established seral patterns, and they contain mainly species native to the region and habitat. In contrast, secondary forest often contains significant elements of species which were originally from other regions or habitats.

Different global forest classification systems have been proposed, but none has gained universal acceptance.[23] 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, 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, and are classed as broadleaf and mixed forests.

Temperate broadleaf and mixed

Broadleaf forest in Bhutan

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, with lowland evergreen broad leaf tropical 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. Seasonal tropical forests, perhaps the best description for the colloquial term "jungle", typically range from the rainforest zone 10 degrees north or south of the equator, to the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. 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.[24]

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.

Societal significance

Main articles: Forestry, Logging and Deforestation
Coastal Douglas fir woodland in northwest Oregon
Redwood tree in northern California redwood forest, where many redwood trees are managed for preservation and longevity, rather than being harvested for wood production
A forest near Vinitsa, Republic of Macedonia

Forests may provide a diversity of ecosystem services including recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen, acting as a carbon sink, aiding in regulating climate, purify water, mitigating natural hazards such as floods, and serving as a genetic reserve. Forests also serve as a source of lumber and as recreational areas.

Some researchers state that forests do not only provide benefits, but can also incur large and significant costs to humans.[25][26] Forests may impose a considerable economic burden,[27][28] diminish the enjoyment of natural areas,[29] cause a dramatic decline in the food producing capacity of grazing land [30] and cultivated land,[31] reduce biodiversity [32][33] remove available water for humans and wildlife,[34][35] harbour dangerous and destructive wildlife,[25][36] and act as reservoirs of human and livestock disease.[37][38]

The management of forests is often referred to as forestry. Forest management has changed considerably over the last few centuries, with rapid changes from the 1980s onwards culminating in a practice now referred to as sustainable forest management. Forest ecologists concentrate on forest patterns and processes, usually with the aim of elucidating cause-and-effect relationships. Foresters who practice sustainable forest management focus on the integration of ecological, social, and economic values, often in consultation with local communities and other stakeholders.

Humans have generally decreased the amount of forest worldwide. Anthropogenic factors that can affect forests include logging, urban sprawl, human-caused forest fires, acid rain, invasive species, and the slash and burn practices of swidden agriculture or shifting cultivation. The loss and re-growth of forest leads to a distinction between two broad types of forest, primary or old-growth forest and secondary forest. There are also many natural factors that can cause changes in forests over time including forest fires, insects, diseases, weather, competition between species, etc. In 1997, the World Resources Institute recorded that only 20% of the world's original forests remained in large intact tracts of undisturbed forest.[39] More than 75% of these intact forests lie in three countries—the boreal forests of Russia and Canada and the rainforest of Brazil.

In 2010, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations[40] reported that world deforestation, mainly the conversion of tropical forests to agricultural land, had decreased over the past ten years but still continues at a high rate in many countries. Globally, around 13 million hectares of forests were converted to other uses or lost through natural causes each year between 2000 and 2010 as compared to around 16 million hectares per year during the 1990s. The study covered 233 countries and areas. Brazil and Indonesia, which had the highest loss of forests in the 1990s, have significantly reduced their deforestation rates. China instituted a ban on logging, beginning in 1998, due to the erosion and flooding that it caused.[41] In addition, ambitious tree planting programmes in countries such as China, India, the United States and Vietnam - combined with natural expansion of forests in some regions - have added more than seven million hectares of new forests annually. As a result, the net loss of forest area was reduced to 5.2 million hectares per year between 2000 and 2010, down from 8.3 million hectares annually in the 1990s. In 2015, a study for Nature Climate Change showed that the trend has recently been reversed, leading to an "overall gain" in global biomass and forests. This gain is due especially to reforestation in China and Russia.[42] On September 7, 2015, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations released a new study stating that, over the last 25 years, the global deforestation rate has decreased by 50% due to improved management of forests and greater government protection.[43][44]

Smaller areas of woodland in cities may be managed as urban forestry, sometimes within public parks. These are often created for human benefits; Attention Restoration Theory argues that spending time in nature reduces stress and improves health, while forest schools and kindergartens help young people to develop social as well as scientific skills in forests. These typically need to be close to where the children live, for practical logistics.

Canada

Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia

Canada has about 4,020,000 square kilometres (1,550,000 sq mi) of forest land. More than 90% of forest land is publicly owned and about 50% of the total forest area is allocated for harvesting. These allocated areas are managed using the principles of sustainable forest management, which includes extensive consultation with local stakeholders. About eight percent of Canada’s forest is legally protected from resource development.[45][46] Much more forest land—about 40 percent of the total forest land base—is subject to varying degrees of protection through processes such as integrated land use planning or defined management areas such as certified forests.[46]

By December 2006, over 1,237,000 square kilometers of forest land in Canada (about half the global total) had been certified as being sustainably managed.[47] Clearcutting, first used in the latter half of the 20th century, is less expensive, but devastating to the environment, and companies are required by law to ensure that harvested areas are adequately regenerated. Most Canadian provinces have regulations limiting the size of clearcuts, although some older clearcuts can range upwards of 110 square kilometres (27,000 acres) in size which were cut over several years.

United States

Trees on a mountain in northern Utah during early autumn.

In the United States, most forests have historically been affected by humans to some degree, though in recent years improved forestry practices has helped regulate or moderate large scale or severe impacts. However, the United States Forest Service estimates a net loss of about 2 million hectares (4,942,000 acres) between 1997 and 2020; this estimate includes conversion of forest land to other uses, including urban and suburban development, as well as afforestation and natural reversion of abandoned crop and pasture land to forest. However, in many areas of the United States, the area of forest is stable or increasing, particularly in many northern states. The opposite problem from flooding has plagued national forests, with loggers complaining that a lack of thinning and proper forest management has resulted in large forest fires.[48][49]

Land area

Forest Land Area[50]
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
('000 km2) ('000 mi2) ('000 km2) ('000 mi2) ('000 km2) ('000 mi2) ('000 km2) ('000 mi2) ('000 km2) ('000 mi2)
Australia 1,511 5831,502 580 1,493 5761,473 5691,467 566
Brazil 5,239 2,0235,217 2,014 5,195 2,006 5,183 2,0015,173 1,997
Canada 3,101 1,1973,101 1,197 3,101 1,1973,101 1,1973,101 1,197
China 2,013 7772,041 788 2,069 7992,159 8342,168 837
European Union 1,559 6021,564 604 1,569 6061,573 6071,578 609
Germany 111 43111 43111 43 113 44113 44
India 681 263683 264 684 264693 268693 268
Indonesia 958 370951 367 944 364937 362931 359
Japan 250 97250 97 250 97251 97 251 97
Russia 8,090 3,1208,090 3,120 8,091 3,1248,092 3,124 8,093 3,125
United States 3,033 1,1713,036 1,172 3,040 1,170 3,049 1,177 3,051 1,178
World total 40,318 15,56740,261 15,545 40,204 15,52340,184 15,515 39,519 15,258

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Forest". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  2. ↑ Schuck, Andreas; Päivinen, Risto; Hytönend, Tuomo; Pajari, Brita (2002). "Compilation of Forestry Terms and Definitions" (PDF). Joensuu, Finland: European Forest Institute. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  3. ↑ "Definitions: Indicative definitions taken from the Report of the ad hoc technical expert group on forest biological diversity". Convention on Biological Diversity. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  4. 1 2 3 "Forest definition and extent" (PDF). United Nations Environment Programme. 2010-01-27. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  5. ↑ "Comparative framework and Options for harmonization of definitions". Second Expert Meeting on Harmonizing Forest-Related Definitions. FAO. Retrieved 2014-11-26.
  6. ↑ Johnson, F.X.; Pacini, H.; Smeets, E (2013). Transformations in EU biofuels markets under the Renewable Energy Directive and the implications for land use, trade and forests. CIFOR. p. 32. ISBN 9786028693813.
  7. 1 2 3 Pan, Yude; Birdsey, Richard A.; Phillips, Oliver L.; Jackson, Robert B. (2013). "The Structure, Distribution, and Biomass of the World’s Forests" (PDF). Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 44: 593–62. doi:10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110512-135914.
  8. ↑ Vogt, Kristina A, ed. (2007). "Global Societies and Forest Legacies Creating Today's Forest Landscapes". Forests and Society: Sustainability and Life Cycles of Forests in Human Landscapes. CABI. pp. 30–59. ISBN 9781845930981.
  9. 1 2 MacDicken, Kenneth (2013-03-15). "Forest Resources Assessment Working Paper 180" (PDF). Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Forestry Department. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Watson, Robert T.; Verardo, David J.; Noble, Ian R.; Bolin, Bert; Ravindranath, N.H.; Dokken, David J., eds. (2000). "Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry". Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  11. ↑ Menzies, Nicholas; Grinspoon, Elisabeth (2007-10-22). "Facts on Forests and Forestry". ForestFacts.org, a subsidiary of GreenFacts.org. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  12. ↑ "Introduction: Definition of a Forest". MuseumLink Illinois. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  13. ↑ "A Polish Royal Forest". NASA Earth Observatory. November 29, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Broadsheet: The News Letter for Broadland Tree Wardens" (PDF). April 2011. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  15. ↑ Ritter, E (2011). Dauksta, D, ed. New Perspectives on People and Forests. World Forests 9. Springer. ISBN 94-007-1149-2.
  16. 1 2 3 "forest, noun". Oxford English Dictionary online edition. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
  17. ↑ "forest, noun". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (3 ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 1996. ISBN 0-395-44895-6.
  18. ↑ "What is a Forest?". Australian Government/Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry/Rural Areas. 28 March 2007. Archived from the original on 9 October 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  19. ↑ Book/The living World/ Published by D.A.V. College Mananging Committee
  20. ↑ The Living World. Chitra Gupta Road, New Delhi- 110055, India: D.A.V. College Managing Committee.
  21. ↑ The Living World. D.A.V. College Managing Committee.
  22. ↑ Amos, Jonathan (3 September 2015). "Earth's trees number 'three trillion'". BBC. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  23. ↑ Jenkins, Martin D.; Groombridge, Brian (2002). World Atlas of Biodiversity: Earth's Living Resources in the 21st Century. World Conservation Monitoring Centre, United Nations Environment Programme. ISBN 9780520236684.
  24. ↑ Chape, S; Spalding, M; Jenkins, M (2008). The world's protected areas: status, values and prospects in the 21st century. Univ de Castilla La Mancha. ISBN 0520246608.
  25. 1 2 Nasi, R; Wunder, S; Campos A, JJ (March 11, 2002). "Forest ecosystem services: can they pay our way out of deforestation?" (PDF). UNFF II. Costa Rica.
  26. ↑ Emerton, Lucy (1999). Mount Kenya: The Economics Of Community Conservation (PDF) (Community Conservation research Working Paper). Evaluating Eden Series. University of Manchester Institute of Development Policy and Management.
  27. ↑ Henneleen de Boo, Henk Lette (2002). "Economic Valuation of Forests and Nature A support tool for effective decision-making". Theme Studies Series 6 Forests. Ede, The Netherlands: Forestry and Biodiversity Support Group, International Agricultural Centre (IAC), Wageningen National Reference Centre for Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries (EC-LNV).
  28. ↑ Bishop, Joshua T., ed. (1999). Valuing Forests A Review of Methods and Applications in Developing Countries. London: Environmental Economics Programme, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).
  29. ↑ Gray, Emma F.; Bond, William J. (2013). "Will woody plant encroachment impact the visitor experience and economy of conservation areas?". Koedoe 55 (1). ISSN 0075-6458.
  30. ↑ Scholes, R.J.; Archer, S.R. (1997). "Tree-Grass Interactions in Savannas" (PDF). Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 28: 517–544. doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.28.1.517.
  31. ↑ Pimentel, David; Pimentel, Marcia H. (2007). Food, Energy, and Society. CRC Press.
  32. ↑ Ratajczak, Zakary; Nippert, Jesse B.; Collins, Scott L. (2012). "Woody encroachment decreases diversity across North American grasslands and savannas" (PDF). Ecology 93 (4): 697–703. doi:10.1890/11-1199.1. PMID 22690619.
  33. ↑ Parr, Catherine L.; Gray, Emma F.; Bond, William J. (2012). "Cascading biodiversity and functional consequences of a global change–induced biome switch" (PDF). Diversity and Distributions 18 (5): 493–503. doi:10.1111/j.1472-4642.2012.00882.x.
  34. ↑ Wilcox, B.P.; Kreuter, U.P. (2003). Woody plant: streamflow interactions as a basis for land management decisions in drylands. Proceedings VIIth International Rangelands Congress. pp. 989–996.
  35. ↑ Scott, D.F. (1999). "Managing riparian vegetation to sustain streamflow: results of paired catchment experiments in South Africa" (PDF). Canadian Journal of Forest Research 29 (7): 1149–115. doi:10.1139/x99-042.
  36. ↑ Davidson, A; Elliston, L; Kokic, P; Lawson, K (2005). "Native vegetation: cost of preservation in Australia" (PDF). Australian Commodities 12 (3): 543–548.
  37. ↑ Wilcox, B.A.; Ellis, B. "Forests and emerging infectious diseases of humans". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  38. ↑ Margaletic, J (2003). "Small rodents in the forest ecosystem as infectious disease reservoirs". Acta Med Croatica (in Croatian) 57 (5): 421–6. PMID 15011471.
  39. ↑ World Resources Institute, 1998. The Last Frontier Forests: Ecosystems and Economies on the Edge
  40. ↑ "FAO. 2010. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010. Main report. FAO Forestry Paper 163. Rome, Italy". Fao.org. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  41. ↑ "Ban on Logging Saves Forests". 25 October 2001.
  42. ↑ Liu, Yi Y.; van Dijk, Albert I.J.M.; de Jeu, Richard A.M.; Canadell, Josep G.; McCabe, Matthew F.; Evans, Jason P.; Wang, Guojie (30 March 2015). "Recent reversal in loss of global terrestrial biomass". Nature Climate Change 5 (5): 470. Bibcode:2015NatCC...5..470L. doi:10.1038/nclimate2581.
  43. ↑ "World deforestation slows down as more forests are better managed". fao.org. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  44. ↑ MacDicken, K.; Jonsson, Ö.; Piña, L.; Maulo, S.; Adikari, Y.; Garzuglia, M.; Lindquist, E.; Reams, G.; D’Annunzio, R. "Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015" (PDF). fao.org. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  45. ↑ "Canada". Global Forest Watch Canada. Retrieved 2014-11-28.
  46. 1 2 "Canada's Forests". Natural Resources Canada. 2014-10-14. Retrieved 2014-11-28.
  47. ↑ "Statistics". Certification status - Canada & the globe. Canadian Sustainable Forestry Certification Coalition. Retrieved 2014-11-28.
  48. ↑ "Wildfires Ignite Forest Management Debate". Wildrockiesalliance.org. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  49. ↑ Brock, Emily K. (2015). Money Trees: The Douglas Fir and American Forestry, 1900-1944. Oregon State University Press.
  50. ↑ "Forest Land Area". FAOSTAT. World Bank. 12 February 2014.

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