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Definitions

  • 14/06/2007

Oxford English Dictionary
A large tract of land covered with trees and undergrowth sometimes mixed with pastures (in proper names also a district formerly forest but now cultivated); the trees growing in such a tract.

United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification
Dense canopy with multi-layered structure including large trees in the upper storey.

UN-FAO Land under forestry or no land use, 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. NOTE: Forests are determined both by the presence of trees and the absence of other predominant land uses. The term specifically includes forest roads, firebreaks and other small open areas; forest in national parks, nature reserves and other protected areas such as those of specific scientific, historical, cultural or spiritual interest; windbreaks, shelterbelts and corridors of trees with an area of more than 0.5 hectare and width of more than 20 meters; plantations primarily used for forestry purposes, including rubberwood plantations and cork oak stands.

United Nations framework Convention on climate change

Young natural stands and all plantations which have yet to reach a crown density of 10-30 per cent or tree height of 2-5 metres are included under forest, as are areas normally forming part of the forest area which are temporarily unstocked as a result of human intervention such as harvesting or natural causes but which are expected to revert to forest.

kyoto forest: A forest planted since 1 January 1990 on land that was previously non-forest. Non-kyoto forest: or 'pre-1990 forest', refers to forests already in existence on 1 January 1990.

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