Defining Forests

DEFINING FORESTS

by Anton Antonio

March 14, 2015

What is a forest?  Can we consider the strip of trees along the North and South Expressways a forest?  By common definition, a forest is a large area covered chiefly with trees and undergrowth.  There are other definitions but the central characteristic of a forest is the presence of trees.  So, does the presence of trees along these expressways constitute a forest?

Is there a globally accepted definition of a forest?  The Global Forest Resources Assessments (FRA) of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO) uses the definition of a forest to include (a) a minimum threshold for the height of trees of 5 meters, (b) at least 10 percent crown cover (canopy density is determined by estimating the area of ground shaded by the crown of the trees), and (c) a minimum forest area with the size of 0.5 hectare.  Excluded from this definition are urban parks, orchards and other agricultural tree crops which are considered agroforestry systems used for agriculture.  Using this definition too, it becomes obvious that the strip of trees along our expressways cannot be considered as forests.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) uses a slightly different approach which considers specific parameters to document the greenhouse gas inventory report.  The Kyoto Protocol applies a forest definition using the following parameters: (a) 0.01 to 1.0 hectares for minimum area; (b) 2 to 5 meters for minimum tree height; and, (c) 10 to 30 percent for minimum crown cover.  Curiously, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) uses a different set of parameters in assessing forest areas.

Forests are also defined by their make and type.  This entails a longer discussion which is not covered in this article.

The different parameters being used by leading international agencies (FRA-UN-FAO, UNFCCC, UNEP, etc.) and individual countries gives a confusing picture on the real condition and extent of world forest cover.  There has to be a globally accepted measure of forests area assessment and a globally accepted set of parameters and criteria in defining forests.

Just my little thoughts…

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