Facts about Forest
Forest plantations, generally intended for the production of timber and pulpwood increase the total area of forest worldwide.
The UNEP-WCMC forest category classification system is a simplification of other more complex systems (e.g.
A forest category classification has been developed by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the World Conservation Monitoring Center (WCMC).
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.
More than 90 percent of forest land is publicly owned and about 50 percent of the total forest area is allocated for harvesting.
A number of global forest classification systems have been proposed but none has gained universal acceptance (Jenkins and Groombridge 2007).
A forest is a type of ecosystem in which there is high density of trees occupying a relatively large area of land.
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.
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.
Twenty-six forest categories in the UNEP-WCMC system are used to enable the translation of forest types from national and regional classification systems to a harmonized global one.
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.
Another distinction is whether the forest is composed predominantly of broadleaf trees, coniferous trees, or mixed.
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.
Note that categories 12 and 13 below have been created as a result of data holdings that do not specify the forest type, hence 26 categories are quoted, not 28 shown here (UNEP 2007).
Forest ecologists concentrate on forest patterns and processes, usually with the aim of elucidating cause and effect relationships.
The woody component of a forest contains lignin, which is relatively slow to decompose compared with other organic materials such as cellulose or carbohydrate.
Rainfall: rainforests receive at least 80 inches (200 cm) of rain per year. Canopy: rainforests have a canopy, which is the layer of branches and leaves formed by closely spaced rainforest trees [picture]. Most of the plants and animals in the rainforest live in the canopy.
Rainforests are often called the lungs of the planet for their role in absorbing carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and producing oxygen, upon which all animals depend for survival. Rainforests also stabilize climate, house incredible amounts of plants and wildlife, and produce nourishing rainfall all around the planet.
Epiphytic ferns are one of the most common features in rainforests. They grow on the trunks and limbs of trees but unlike parasitic plants such as mistletoe, do not steal nutrients from their host tree. They survive instead on rainwater and the nutrients they get from trapped fallen leaves.