Page 11 - 4. Pre-Course Reading-Training on Forestry Audit 2019

Chapter 1: Forests

Chapter 1: Forests

1.1 MANY FOREST DEFINITIONS

Many definitions of forest have been developed and proposed by
many parties. The definitions differ based on the perspectives,
ideologies, and interests of the authors, as well as the diversity
of forests and forest ecosystems in the world.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (2005) 11
defines forest as:
Land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher
than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent,
or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. It doesn’t
include land that is predominantly under agricultural or
urban land use.
Other experts have stated that forest can also be defined as a
Other experts have used definitions that are typically tract of land, not necessarily wooded, reserved to the king or a
characterized by: grantee, for hunting deer and other game. The United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has
• the area of land;
defined forest as:
• the area’s function; and
A minimum area of land of 0.5-1.0 hectares with tree
• an ecosystem. crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than
10-30 percent with trees with the potential to reach a
minimum height of 2-5 meters at maturity in situ. A forest
For example, Davis et.al in Forest Management (2001) may consist either of closed forest formations where trees
defined forest as: of various storeys and undergrowth cover a high proportion
of the ground or open forest. Young natural stands and all
An ecosystem characterized by more or less dense and plantations which have yet to reach a crown density
extensive tree cover, often consisting of stands varying in
characteristics such as species compositions, structure, of 10-30 percent or tree height of 2-5 meters are included
under forest, as are areas normally forming part of the
age class and associated processes, and commonly inclu- forest area which are temporarily unstocked as a result of
ding meadows, streams, fish, and wildlife. Thus forest
could be defined as a set of land parcels that has or could human intervention, such as harvesting or natural causes
but which are expected to revert to forest.
have tree vegetation and is managed as a whole to achieve
the objective of the owner. Further examples of how different countries define forests are
given in Table 1.1.
Table 1.1
Forest definitions by country
ALBANIA An area with 30% minimum tree crown cover, minimum 0.1 ha land area value, and 3m of tree potential height. (Fida, 2007)

BRAZIL Land spanning more than 0.5 ha with tress higher than 5m and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ.
CHINA The definition of forest in China was adjusted from a minimum of 30 percent to 20 percent of cover in 1994. In 2004, the definition of forest
was modified again to include special purpose scrubs, which grow in area with annual rainfall below 400 mm or above; the tree line in a
mountain with a minimum canopy cover of 30% and in which its primary function is environmental protection. (Zhang, et.al., 2006)
ESTONIA A plot of land with an area of at least 0.1ha and woody plants with the height of at least 1.3m and with the canopy density
of at least 30 percent grow there.
INDONESIA An area dominated by a group of trees having height usually more than 5m, with a canopy density of more than 10 percent.
MALAYSIA The areas under oil palm, rubber and tree crops are frequently regarded as forest. The official definition of a forest used in Malaysia differs
from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) definition, which excludes areas under agricultural crops (e.g., oil palm). (JoeangoHutan, 2006)
SOUTH AFRICA Forest is a continuous stand of trees at least 10m tall, with their crowns interlocking. It is generally multi-layered vegetation unit dominated by
trees (largely evergreen or semi-deciduous) whose combined strata have overlapping crowns (i.e. crown cover is > 75 percent). (Bailey, et.al., 1999)