A high forest is a type of
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
originated from seed or from planted seedlings. In contrast to a low forest (also known as a
coppice forest), a high forest usually consists of large, tall mature trees with a closed canopy. High forests can occur naturally or they can be created and maintained by human management. Trees in a high forest can be of one, a few or many species. A high forest can be
even-aged or uneven-aged.
Even-aged forests contain trees of one, or two successional age classes (generations). Uneven-aged forests have three or more age classes represented.
High forests have relatively high
genetic diversity
Genetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species, it ranges widely from the number of species to differences within species and can be attributed to the span of survival for a species. It is dis ...
compared with coppice forests, which develop from
vegetative reproduction
Vegetative reproduction (also known as vegetative propagation, vegetative multiplication or cloning) is any form of asexual reproduction occurring in plants in which a new plant grows from a fragment or cutting of the parent plant or spe ...
. A high forest can have one or more
canopy layers. The
understory
In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abo ...
of a high forest can be open (parklike, easy to see and walk through), or it can be dense. A high forest's understory can have high or low vegetation
species diversity
Species diversity is the number of different species that are represented in a given community (a dataset). The effective number of species refers to the number of equally abundant species needed to obtain the same mean proportional species abundan ...
.
See also
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Coppicing
Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeate ...
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Ecological thinning
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Old-growth forest
An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological feature ...
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Pollarding
Pollarding is a pruning system involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches. In ancient Rome, Propertius mentioned pollarding during the 1st century BCE. The practice ...
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Silviculture
Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, and quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production.
The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests and wo ...
References
{{Authority control
Forest ecology
Trees
Habitat management equipment and methods