Forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending on various cultural definitions, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have different classifications according to how and of what the forest is composed. A forest is usually an area filled with trees but any tall densely packed area of vegetation may be considered a forest, even underwater vegetation such as kelp forests, or non-vegetation such as fungi, and bacteria. Tree forests cover approximately 9.4 percent of the Earth's surface (or 30 percent of total land area), though they once covered much more (about 50 percent of total land area). They function as habitats for organisms, hydrologic flow modulators, and soil conservers, constituting one of the most important aspects of the biosphere.

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Famous quotes containing the word forest:

    They say he is already in the forest of Arden, and a many
    merry men with him; and there they live like the old Robin
    Hood of England.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    All nature is a temple where the alive
    Pillars breathe often a tremor of mixed words;
    Man wanders in a forest of accords
    That peer familiarly from each ogive.
    Allen Tate (1899–1979)

    Now it is time to call attention
    to our bed, a forest of skin
    where seeds burst like bullets.
    We are in our room. We are in
    a shoe box. We are in a blood box.
    Anne Sexton (1928–1974)