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{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}▼
{{short description|Dense collection of trees covering a relatively large area}}
{{about|a community of trees}}
▲{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{broader|Plant community}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Not to be confused with|Woodland}}[[File:
A '''forest''' is an
Forests are the largest terrestrial [[
Forests account for 75% of the [[gross primary production]] of the Earth's [[biosphere]], and contain 80% of the Earth's plant [[biomass]]. [[
Forests form distinctly different [[biome]]s at different latitudes and elevations, and with different precipitation and [[evapotranspiration]] rates.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Holdridge |first=L.R. |url=http://reddcr.go.cr/sites/default/files/centro-de-documentacion/holdridge_1966_-_life_zone_ecology.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005035018/http://reddcr.go.cr/sites/default/files/centro-de-documentacion/holdridge_1966_-_life_zone_ecology.pdf |archive-date=5 October 2016 |url-status=live |title=Life zone ecology |publisher=Tropical Science Center |location=San Jose, Costa Rica}}</ref> These biomes include boreal forests in subarctic climates, [[tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests|tropical moist forests]] and [[tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests|tropical dry forests]] around the [[tropics|Equator]], and [[temperate forest]]s at the [[middle latitudes]]. Forests form in areas of the Earth with high rainfall, while drier conditions produce a transition to [[savanna]]. However, in areas with intermediate rainfall levels, forest transitions to savanna rapidly when the percentage of land that is covered by trees drops below 40 to 45 percent.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Edwards |first1=Lin |title=Forest and savanna can switch quickly |url=https://phys.org/news/2011-10-forest-savanna-quickly.html |website=Phys.org}}</ref> Research conducted in the [[Amazon rainforest]] shows that trees can alter rainfall rates across a region, releasing water from their leaves in anticipation of seasonal rains to trigger the wet season early. Because of this, seasonal rainfall in the Amazon begins two to three months earlier than the climate would otherwise allow.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rasmussen |first1=Carol |title=New study shows the Amazon makes its own rainy season |url=https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2608/new-study-shows-the-amazon-makes-its-own-rainy-season/ |website=nasa.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Loomis |first1=Ilima |title=Trees in the Amazon make their own rain |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/trees-amazon-make-their-own-rain}}</ref> [[Deforestation]] in the Amazon and anthropogenic [[climate change]] hold the potential to interfere with this process, causing the forest to pass a threshold where it transitions into savanna.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kimbrough |first1=Liz |title=More droughts are coming, and the Amazon can't keep up: Study |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/more-droughts-are-coming-and-the-amazon-isnt-ready-study/ |website=Mongabay|date=16 September 2022 }}</ref>
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The precise origin of Medieval Latin {{Lang|la-x-medieval|foresta}} is obscure. Some authorities claim the word derives from the [[Late Latin]] phrase ''forestam silvam'', denoting "the outer wood"; others claim the word is a latinisation of the Frankish *''forhist'', denoting "forest, wooded country", and was assimilated to ''forestam silvam'', pursuant to the common practice of Frankish scribes. The Old High German ''forst'' denoting "forest"; [[Middle Low German]] ''vorst'' denoting "forest"; [[Old English]] ''fyrhþ'' denoting "forest, woodland, game preserve, hunting ground" (English ''[[wikt:frith|frith]]''); and [[Old Norse]] ''fýri'', denoting "coniferous forest"; all of which derive from the [[Proto-Germanic]] *''furhísa-'', *''furhíþija-'', denoting "a fir-wood, ''coniferous'' forest", from the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] *''perk<sup>w</sup>u-'', denoting "a ''coniferous'' or mountain forest, wooded height" all attest to the Frankish *''forhist''.
Uses of ''forest'' in English to denote any uninhabited and unenclosed area are presently considered archaic.<ref name="oed" /> The [[Norman conquest of England|Norman rulers of England]] introduced the word as a legal term, as seen in Latin texts such as
These hunting forests did not necessarily contain any trees. Because that often included significant areas of woodland, "forest" eventually came to connote woodland in general, regardless of tree density.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} By the beginning of the fourteenth century, English texts used the word in all three of its senses: common, legal, and archaic.<ref name="oed">{{cite web |url=http://www.oed.com/ |title=forest, noun |website=[[Oxford English Dictionary]] online edition |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |access-date=22 May 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111125659/http://www.oed.com/ |archive-date=11 January 2008}}</ref> Other English words used to denote "an area with a high density of trees" are ''firth'', ''frith'', ''holt'', ''weald'', ''wold'', ''wood'', and ''woodland''. Unlike ''forest'', these are all derived from Old English and were not borrowed from another language. Some present classifications reserve ''woodland'' for denoting a locale with more open space between trees, and distinguish kinds of woodlands as ''open forests'' and ''closed forests'', premised on their [[crown cover]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.daff.gov.au/brs/forest-veg/nfi/forest-info/what-is |website=Australian Government/Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry/Rural Areas |title=What is a Forest? |date=28 March 2007 |access-date=25 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091009061955/http://www.daff.gov.au/brs/forest-veg/nfi/forest-info/what-is |archive-date=9 October 2009}}</ref> Finally, ''sylva'' (plural ''sylvae'' or, less classically, ''sylvas'') is a peculiar English spelling of the Latin ''silva'', denoting a "woodland", and has precedent in English, including its plural forms. While its use as a [[synonym]] of ''forest'', and as a [[Latin]]ate word denoting a woodland, may be admitted; in a specific technical sense it is restricted to denoting the ''species'' of trees that comprise the woodlands of a region, as in its sense in the subject of [[silviculture]].<ref>Confer John Evelyn, FRS, ''[[Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-Trees and the Propagation of Timber|Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-Trees and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesty's Dominions]]'' (1664); and the title of and use ''passim'' in Edward Step, FLS, ''Wayside and Woodland Trees: A Pocket Guide to the British Sylva'' (Frederick Warne and Company Limited, London and New York, [many editions]).</ref> The resorting to ''sylva'' in English indicates more precisely the denotation that the use of ''forest'' intends.
== Evolutionary history ==
The first known forests on Earth arose in the [[
== Ecology<span class="anchor" id="Distribution"></span> ==
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[[File:Hellyer Gorge, Tasmania.jpg|thumb|[[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.<ref name="yude" /> [[Biomass (ecology)|
Forest ecosystems broadly differ based on [[climate]]; latitudes 10° north and south of the [[equator]] are mostly covered in [[tropical rainforest]], and the latitudes between [[53rd parallel north|53°N]] and [[67th parallel north|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. The trees that form the principal structural and defining component of a forest may be of a great variety of species (as in [[tropical rainforest]]s and [[temperate deciduous forest]]s), or relatively few species over large areas (e.g., [[taiga]] and arid [[montane]] coniferous forests). The biodiversity of forests also encompasses [[shrubs]], herbaceous plants, [[moss]]es, [[fern]]s, [[lichen]]s, [[fungi]], and a variety of [[animal]]s.
Trees rising up to {{convert|35|meters|ft}} in height add a vertical dimension to the area of land that can support plant and animal species, opening up numerous [[ecological niche]]s for [[arboreal locomotion|arboreal]] animal species, [[epiphyte]]s, and various species that thrive under the regulated microclimate created under the canopy.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cannon |first1=Charles |last2=Schlesinger |first2=William H. |title=Arboreal Dimensions of Biodiversity |date=2 August 2021 |url=https://blogs.nicholas.duke.edu/citizenscientist/arboreal-dimensions-of-biodiversity/}}</ref> Forests have intricate three-dimensional structures that increase in complexity with lower levels of disturbance and greater variety of tree species.<ref>{{cite web |title=Forests of the world in 3-D: Research team analyses complexity of forest structure |url=https://phys.org/news/2021-02-forests-world-d-team-analyses.html |website=phys.org |publisher=University of Gottingen}}</ref>
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* Serving as a source of woodlands and trees for millions of people dependent almost entirely on forests for subsistence for their essential fuelwood, food, and fodder needs.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8642en|title=The State of the World's Forests 2020 – Forests, biodiversity and people|publisher=FAO & UNEP|year=2020|isbn=978-92-5-132419-6|location=Rome|doi=10.4060/ca8642en|s2cid=241858489}}</ref>
The main ecosystem services can be summarized in the next table:<ref>{{cite web |title=Primary Forests: Boreal, Temperate, Tropical |url=https://www.woodwellclimate.org/primary-forests-boreal-temperate-tropical/ |website=Woodwell Climate Research Center
{| class="wikitable"
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! Type of forest !! Carbon stored !! Biodiversity !! Other
|-
| Primary [[Boreal forests|
|-
| Primary [[Temperate forest|Temperate Forests]] || 119 billion tonnes (like all CO2 emitted by humans in
|-
| Primary [[Tropical forest|Tropical Forests]] || 471 billion tonnes (more than all CO2 emissions from fossil fuel industry from the year 1750) || Contain about two thirds of all [[species]] of terrestrial [[
|}
Some researchers state that forests do not only provide benefits, but can in certain cases also incur costs to humans.<ref name="R Nasi, S Wunder 2002">{{cite conference|first1=R|last1=Nasi|first2=S|last2=Wunder|first3=JJ|last3=Campos A|title=Forest ecosystem services: can they pay our way out of deforestation?|book-title=UNFF II|location=Costa Rica|date=11 March 2002|url=http://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/Books/BNasi0201.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204162356/http://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/Books/BNasi0201.pdf|archive-date=4 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|first1=Lucy|last1=Emerton|year=1999|title=Mount Kenya: The Economics of Community Conservation|series=Evaluating Eden Series|issue=Discussion Paper No.4|type=Community Conservation research Working Paper|publisher=University of Manchester Institute of Development Policy and Management|url=http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/7797IIED.pdf?origin=publication_detail|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204162356/http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/7797IIED.pdf?origin=publication_detail|archive-date=4 December 2014}}</ref> Forests may impose an economic burden,<ref>{{cite report |last1=Lette |first1=Henk |last2=de Boo |first2=Henneleen |title=Economic Valuation of Forests and Nature A support tool for effective decision-making |url=http://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/fulltext/118103 |year=2002 |series=Theme Studies Series 6 Forests |location=Ede, The Netherlands |publisher=Forestry and Biodiversity Support Group, International Agricultural Centre (IAC), Wageningen National Reference Centre for Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries (EC-LNV) |access-date=16 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Joshua T.|editor-last=Bishop|year=1999|title=Valuing Forests A Review of Methods and Applications in Developing Countries|publisher=Environmental Economics Programme, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)|location=London|url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEEI/214574-1153316226850/20486370/ValuingForestsAReviewOfMethodsAndApplicationsInDevelopingCountriesJuly1999.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123100829/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEEI/214574-1153316226850/20486370/ValuingForestsAReviewOfMethodsAndApplicationsInDevelopingCountriesJuly1999.pdf|archive-date=23 November 2015}}</ref> diminish the enjoyment of natural areas,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gray|first1=Emma F.|last2=Bond|first2=William J.|title=Will woody plant encroachment impact the visitor experience and economy of conservation areas?|journal=Koedoe|year=2013|volume=55|number=1|issn=0075-6458|doi=10.4102/koedoe.v55i1.1106|doi-access=free|hdl=11427/24844|hdl-access=free}}</ref> reduce the food-producing capacity of grazing land<ref>{{cite journal|first1=R.J.|last1=Scholes|first2=S.R.|last2=Archer|year=1997|title=Tree-Grass Interactions in Savannas|journal=Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics|volume=28|pages=517–44|url=http://cals.arizona.edu/research/archer/reprints/Scholes_Archer_1997_AnRevEcolSys.pdf|doi=10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.28.1.517|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204185831/http://cals.arizona.edu/research/archer/reprints/Scholes_Archer_1997_AnRevEcolSys.pdf|archive-date=4 December 2014}}</ref> and cultivated land,<ref>{{cite book|first1=David|last1=Pimentel|first2=Marcia H.|last2=Pimentel|year=2007|title=Food, Energy, and Society|publisher=CRC Press}}</ref> reduce biodiversity,<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Zakary|last1=Ratajczak|first2=Jesse B.|last2=Nippert|first3=Scott L.|last3=Collins|year=2012|title=Woody encroachment decreases diversity across North American grasslands and savannas|journal=Ecology|volume=93|issue=4|pages=697–703|pmid=22690619|url=http://www.k-state.edu/ecophyslab/pdf%27s/Ratajczak,%20Nippert,%20and%20Collins.%202012.%20Ecology.pdf|doi=10.1890/11-1199.1|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150307025203/http://www.k-state.edu/ecophyslab/pdf's/Ratajczak,%20Nippert,%20and%20Collins.%202012.%20Ecology.pdf|archive-date=7 March 2015|doi-access=free|bibcode=2012Ecol...93..697R }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first1=Catherine L.|last1=Parr|first2=Emma F.|last2=Gray|first3=William J.|last3=Bond|year=2012|title=Cascading biodiversity and functional consequences of a global change–induced biome switch|journal=Diversity and Distributions|volume=18|issue=5|pages=493–503|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259397524|doi=10.1111/j.1472-4642.2012.00882.x|s2cid=84089636|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131191537/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Emma_Gray5/publication/259397524_Cascading_biodiversity_and_functional_consequences_of_a_global_change-induced_biome_switch/links/0046352b6eb15ccff5000000.pdf|archive-date=31 January 2017|doi-access=free|bibcode=2012DivDi..18..493P }}</ref> reduce available water for humans and wildlife,<ref>{{cite conference|last1=Wilcox|first1=B.P.|last2=Kreuter|first2=U.P.|year=2003|title=Woody plant: streamflow interactions as a basis for land management decisions in drylands|conference=Proceedings VIIth International Rangelands Congress|pages=989–96}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Scott|first=D.F.|year=1999|title=Managing riparian vegetation to sustain streamflow: results of paired catchment experiments in South Africa|journal=Canadian Journal of Forest Research|volume=29|issue=7|pages=1149–51|url=http://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/bitstream/10204/2110/3/scott_1999.pdf|doi=10.1139/x99-042|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205151715/http://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/bitstream/10204/2110/3/scott_1999.pdf|archive-date=5 December 2014}}</ref> harbour dangerous or destructive wildlife,<ref name="R Nasi, S Wunder 2002"/><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Davidson|first1=A|last2=Elliston|first2=L|last3=Kokic|first3=P|last4=Lawson|first4=K|year=2005|title=Native vegetation: cost of preservation in Australia|journal=Australian Commodities|volume=12|issue=3|pages=543–48|url=http://data.daff.gov.au/data/warehouse/pe_abare99001738/ac05_sept.pdf#page=101|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201164407/http://data.daff.gov.au/data/warehouse/pe_abare99001738/ac05_sept.pdf#page=101|archive-date=1 February 2018}}</ref> and act as reservoirs of human and livestock disease.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0789e/a0789e03.html | title = Forests and emerging infectious diseases of humans | first1 = B.A. | last1 = Wilcox | first2 = B. | last2 = Ellis | publisher = Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations | access-date = 16 November 2014 | url-status=live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141129213641/http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0789e/a0789e03.html | archive-date = 29 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Small rodents in the forest ecosystem as infectious disease reservoirs|journal=Acta Med Croatica|year=2003|volume=57|issue=5|pages=421–26|pmid=15011471|first=J|last=Margaletic|language=hr}}</ref>
An important consideration regarding carbon sequestration is that forests can turn from a carbon sink to a carbon source if plant diversity, density or forest area decreases, as has been observed in different tropical forests<ref>{{Cite journal |
===Forest-dependent people===
The term forest-dependent people is used to describe any of a wide variety of livelihoods that are dependent on access to forests, products harvested from forests, or ecosystem services provided by forests, including those of Indigenous peoples dependent on forests.<ref name="auto1">{{cite journal |last1=Newton |first1=Peter |last2=Miller |first2=Daniel C. |last3=Byenkya |first3=Mugabi Augustine Ateenyi |last4=Agrawal |first4=Arun |title=Who are forest-dependent people? A taxo nomy to aid livelihood and land use decision-making in forested regions |journal=Land Use Policy |date=2016 |volume=57 |pages=388–395|doi=10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.05.032 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In [[India]], approximately 22 percent of the population belongs to forest-dependent communities, which live in close proximity to forests and practice [[agroforestry]] as a principal part of their livelihood.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Prateek |first1=Gautam |last2=Punia |first2=Sumendera |title=India's forest-dependent communities will benefit from policies recognising their integrated agri-forestry livelihood |url=https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/forests/india-s-forest-dependent-communities-will-benefit-from-policies-recognising-their-integrated-agri-forestry-livelihood-86929 |website=DownToEarth}}</ref> People of [[Ghana]] who rely on [[timber]] and [[bushmeat]] harvested from forests and Indigenous peoples of the Amazon rainforest are also examples of forest-dependent people.<ref name="auto1"/> Though forest-dependence by more common definitions is statistically associated with poverty and [[rural]] livelihoods, elements of forest-dependence exist in communities with a wide range of characteristics. Generally, richer households derive more cash value from forest resources, whereas among poorer households, forest resources are more important for home consumption and increase community resilience.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iucn.org/news/forests/201611/understanding-human-dependence-forests-overview-iucn%E2%80%99s-efforts-and-findings-and-their-implications|title=Understanding human dependence on forests: An overview of IUCN's efforts and findings, and their implications|date=2 November 2016|website=IUCN}}</ref>
===Indigenous peoples===
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==Management==
{{main|Forest management|
[[File:World Production Of Selected Forest Products.svg|thumb|World production of selected forest products]]
[[File:Checkerboard forest in Idaho.jpg|alt=Priest River winds through mountains with a checkerboard design of trees to its east|thumb|[[Priest River (Idaho)|Priest River]] winding through Whitetail Butte with lots of [[forestry]] to the east—these lot patterns have existed since the mid-19th century. The white patches reflect areas with younger, smaller trees, where winter snow cover shows up brightly to the astronauts. Dark green-brown squares are parcels]]
Humans have generally decreased the amount of forest worldwide. Anthropogenic factors that can affect forests include logging, [[urban sprawl]], human-caused [[forest fire]]s, [[acid rain]], [[invasive species]], and the [[slash and burn]] practices of swidden agriculture or [[shifting cultivation]]. The loss and re-growth of forests lead 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]], [[Forest pathology#Animals|insects]], [[Forest pathology|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.<ref>World Resources Institute (1997). [http://www.intactforests.org/pdf.publications/Last.Frontier.Forests.1997.pdf The Last Frontier Forests: Ecosystems and Economies on the Edge] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813235644/http://www.intactforests.org/pdf.publications/Last.Frontier.Forests.1997.pdf |date=13 August 2017 }}.</ref> More than 75% of these intact forests lie in three countries: the boreal forests of Russia and Canada, and the rainforest of Brazil.
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===United States===
In the United States, most forests have historically been affected by humans to some degree, though in recent years improved [[forestry]] practices have helped regulate or moderate large-scale impacts. The [[United States Forest Service]] estimated a net loss of about {{convert|2|e6ha|abbr=off}} 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. 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wildrockiesalliance.org/issues/wildfire/enn.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509225620/http://www.wildrockiesalliance.org/issues/wildfire/enn.html|archive-date=9 May 2013 |title=Wildfires Ignite Forest Management Debate |publisher=Wildrockiesalliance.org |access-date=3 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Emily K.|last=Brock|title=Money Trees: The Douglas Fir and American Forestry, 1900–1944|publisher=Oregon State University Press|year=2015}}</ref>
==See also==
{{Portal|Ecology|Environment|Trees}}
{{Columns-list|colwidth=15em|
* [[Bioproducts]]
* [[Close to nature forestry]]
* [[Cloud forest]]
* [[Dendrology]]
* [[Dendrometry]]
* [[Forest dynamics]]
* [[Forest migration]]
* [[Forest pathology]]
* [[Kelp forest]] (A forest made mostly if not entirely of [[Kelp]]; an underwater forest)
* [[List of countries by forest area]]
* [[List of old-growth forests]]
*[[Mangrove forest]]
* [[Permaforestry]]
* [[REDD-plus]]
* [[Urban forest]]
* [[Wilderness]]
* [[Woodland management]]
|