Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Forest ecology is the scientific study of the interrelated patterns, processes, flora, fauna, funga, and ecosystems in forests. [1] The management of forests is known as forestry , silviculture , and forest management .
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. [70]
The mixed age of the forest is an important criterion in ensuring that the forest is a relatively stable ecosystem in the long term. A climax stand that is uniformly aged becomes senescent and degrades within a relatively short time to result in a new cycle of forest succession .
Beech (center) and sugar maple (bottom left) dominate the forest due to their towering height and tolerance of shade. In scientific ecology , climax community or climatic climax community is a historic term for a community of plants , animals , and fungi which, through the process of ecological succession in the development of vegetation in an ...
Temperate coniferous forests sustain the highest levels of biomass in any terrestrial ecosystem and are notable for trees of massive proportions in temperate rainforest regions. [1] Structurally, these forests are rather simple, consisting of 2 layers generally: an overstory and understory. However, some forests may support a layer of shrubs.
Genetic diversity also ensures that forest trees can survive, adapt and evolve under changing environmental conditions. Furthermore, genetic diversity is the foundation of biological diversity at species and ecosystem levels. Forest genetic resources are therefore important to consider in forest management. [16]
The forest is a natural system that can supply different products and services. Forests supply water, mitigate climate change, provide habitats for wildlife including many pollinators which are essential for sustainable food production, provide timber and fuelwood, serve as a source of non-wood forest products including food and medicine, and contribute to rural livelihoods.
The ecosystem of Pacific temperate rainforests is so productive that the biomass on the best sites is at least four times greater than that of any comparable area in the tropics. [1] In sheer mass of living and decaying material - trees, mosses, shrubs, and soil - these forests are more massive than any other ecosystem on the planet.