FOREST
FORESTRY
FOREST
FORESTRY
REFORESTATION
AFFORESTATION
FOREST LINKS
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SECTION 1
FOREST
A forest is a large area dominated by trees. 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.
Forests at different latitudes and elevations form distinctly different
ecozones: boreal forests near the poles, tropical forests near the
equator and temperate forests at mid-latitudes. Higher elevation areas
tend to support forests similar to those at higher latitudes, and amount
of precipitation also affects forest composition.
Human society and forests influence each other in both positive and
negative ways. Forests provide ecosystem services to humans and serve
as tourist attractions. Forests can also affect people's health. Human
activities, including harvesting forest resources, can negatively affect
forest ecosystems.
Components
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.
Layers
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.
Forest floor contains decomposing leaves, animal droppings, and dead trees.
Decay on the forest floor forms new soil and provides nutrients to the plants.
The forest floor supports ferns, grasses, mushroom and tree seedlings.
Understory is made up of bushes, shrubs, and young trees that are adapted to
living in the shades of the canopy.
Canopy is formed by the mass of intertwined branches, twigs and leaves of the
mature trees. The crowns of the dominant trees receive most of the sunlight.
This is the most productive part of the trees where maximum food is produced.
The canopy forms a shady, protective "umbrella" over the rest of the forest.
Emergent layer exists in the tropical rain forest and is composed of a few
scattered trees that tower over the canopy.
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.
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).
Forest
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest
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SECTION 2
FORESTRY
Forestry is the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using,
conserving, and repairing forests and associated resources to meet
desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is
practiced in plantations and natural stands. The main goal of forestry
is to create and implement systems that manage forests to provide
environmental supplies and services. The challenge of forestry is
to create systems that are socially accepted while sustaining the
resource and any other resources that might be affected.
Silviculture is a process for creating, maintaining, or restoring an
appropriate balance of essential components, structures, and functions
that ensure long-term ecosystem vitality, stability and resiliency.
This is done at the ground level which can contain many varieties of
trees. Modern forestry generally embraces a broad range of concerns,
including ecosystem services by assisting forests to provide timber as
raw material for wood products, wildlife habitat, natural water quality
management, recreation, landscape and community protection, employment,
aesthetically appealing landscapes, biodiversity management, watershed
management, erosion control, and preserving forests as 'sinks' for
atmospheric carbon dioxide. A practitioner of forestry is known as a
forester.
Forest ecosystems have come to be seen as the most important component
of the biosphere, and forestry has emerged as a vital applied science,
craft, and technology.
Forestry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forestry
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SECTION 3
REFORESTATION
Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing
forests and woodlands that have been depleted, usually through
deforestation. Reforestation can be used to improve the quality of
human life by soaking up pollution and dust from the air, rebuild
natural habitats and ecosystems, mitigate global warming since
forests facilitate biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide,
and harvest for resources, particularly timber.
The term reforestation is similar to afforestation, the process of
restoring and recreating areas of woodlands or forests that may have
existed long ago but were deforested or otherwise removed at some
point in the past. Sometimes the term re-afforestation is used to
distinguish between the original forest cover and the later re-growth
of forest to an area. Special tools, e.g. tree planting bar, are used
to make planting of trees easier and faster.
Reforestation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reforestation
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SECTION 4
AFFORESTATION
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an
area where there was no forest. Reforestation is the reestablishment of
forest cover, either naturally (by natural seeding, coppice, or root
suckers) or artificially (by direct seeding or planting).
Many governments and non-governmental organizations directly engage in
programs of afforestation to create forests, increase carbon capture
and sequestration, and help to anthropogenically improve biodiversity.
(In the UK, afforestation may mean converting the legal status of some
land to "royal forest".) Special tools, e.g. tree planting bar, are
used to make planting of trees easier and faster.
Afforestation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afforestation
US Forest Service
https://www.fs.fed.us/
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SECTION 5
FOREST
FORESTRY
LINKS
Forest
https://www.britannica.com/science/forest
Forest area (sq. km)
http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&ctype=l&strail=false&nselm=h&met_y=ag_lnd_frst_k2&hl=en&dl=en
Forest area is land under natural or planted
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.FRST.ZS
Forests in danger
http://www.barrameda.com.ar/ecology/forests-in-danger.htm
Forest Nation
https://forestnation.com/
Forest Service
http://www.fs.fed.us/
Friends of the Trees Society
https://friendsofthetrees.net/
HEALING FOREST
https://healingforest.org/
HOLOS
https://www.holosdesign.com.au/
How to Plant a Food Forest This Winter
https://modernfarmer.com/2017/02/plant-food-forest-winter/
Intact Forests with maps and reports
https://web.archive.org/web/20150908225225/http://intactforests.org/
My Green Space
http://www.mygreenspace.gs/
Plant a Tree and Become Carbon Neutral
http://www.co2tropicaltrees.com
Plant with Purpose
http://www.plantwithpurpose.org/
Shanghai Roots & Shoots - Million Tree Project
http://www.mtpchina.org
Trees and climate change
http://www.forestryhorizons.eu/documents/Nicholsons_ClimateChange_PracticalGuide.pdf
United States Department of Agriculture
http://www.usda.gov/
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APPROPEDIA
SUSTAINABILITY
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
http://www.appropedia.org/
The Plant Encyclopedia
http://theplantencyclopedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
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