Woodlands may support an
understory of shrubs and
herbaceous plants including
grasses. Woodland may form a transition to
shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of
primary or
secondary succession. Higher-density areas of trees with a largely closed canopy that provides extensive and nearly continuous shade are often referred to as
forests.
Woodland is used in
Britishwoodland management to mean tree-covered areas which arose naturally and which are then managed, while
forest is usually used in the
British Isles to describe
plantations, usually more extensive, or hunting
Forests, which are a land use with a legal definition and may not be wooded at all.[7] The term ancient woodland is used in British
nature conservation to refer to any wooded land that has existed since 1600, and often (though not always) for thousands of years, since the
last Ice Age[7] (equivalent to the American term
old-growth forest).
North America
Woodlot is a closely related term in
Americanforest management, which refers to a stand of trees generally used for firewood. While woodlots often technically have closed canopies, they are so small that
light penetration from the edge makes them ecologically closer to woodland than forest. North American forests vary widely in their ecology and is greatly dependent on abiotic factors as climate and elevation. Much of the old growth deciduous and pine dominated forests of the eastern United States was harvested for products like lumber, paper pulp, telephone poles, creosote, pitch, and tar.
Australia
In Australia, a woodland is defined as an area with sparse (10–30%) cover of trees, and an open woodland has very sparse (<10%) cover. Woodlands are also subdivided into tall woodlands, or low woodlands, if their trees are over 30 m (98 ft) or under 10 m (33 ft) high respectively. This contrasts with forests, which have greater than 30% cover by trees.[8]
^"A simplified look at Australia's vegetation". Information about Australia's Flora: The Australian Environment. Canberra: Australian National Botanic Gardens and Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research. 24 December 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2017.