Woodland

Biologically, a woodland is differentiated from a forest. In these terms, a forest has a largely-closed canopy -- in other words, the branches and foliage of trees interlock overhead to provide extensive and nearly continuous shade. A woodland, however, has a largely-open canopy, with sunlight penetrating between trees. Some types of woodland are essentially grasslands with shrubs and scattered trees.

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A woodlot is a closely-related term, referring generally to a small area of woods left remaining in a farm or other non-forest matrix, and reserved for wood production, generally for firewood. While these woodlots often technically have closed canopies, they are usually so small that the edge penetration is such that they are ecologically more woodland than forest.

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See also:

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• Savanna
• Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and shrub
Woodland: Woodland ecoregions ►



 

Forest: :This article is about forests as communities of trees. For other uses of the word, see Forest (disambiguation)....

Grassland: Grassland is one of several types of terrestrial biomes, where grasses form the predominant vegetation, usually mixed with herbs and sometimes with shrubs, but usually without trees. Grassland dotted with trees is called savanna....




Woodland related Images and Photos (experimental)

Woodland Walk	Woodland Path	Woodland Nymph	Woodland Trail
Woodland Stream	Woodland Twilight	Woodland Ferns V	Woodland Ferns VI
Woodland's Edge	Woodland Thoughts IV	Woodland Pinecones II	Lauren Woodland