In forest
by Odon Czintos
Title
In forest
Artist
Odon Czintos
Medium
Painting
Description
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed.[1][vague] These plant communities cover approximately 9.4% of the Earth's surface (or 30% of total land area), though they once covered much more (about 50% of total land area), in many different regions and function as habitats for organisms, hydrologic flow modulators, and soil conservers, constituting one of the most important aspects of the biosphere. Although forests are classified primarily by trees, the concept of a forest ecosystem includes additional species (such as smaller plants, fungi,[2] bacteria, and animals) as well as physical and chemical processes such as energy flow and nutrient cycling.
A typical forest is composed of the overstory (canopy or upper tree layer) and the understory. The understory is further subdivided into the shrub layer, herb layer, and also the moss layer and soil microbes. In some complex forests, there is also a well-defined lower tree layer. Forests are central to all human life because they provide a diverse range of resources, they store carbon, aid in regulating our climate, purify water and mitigate natural hazards such as floods. Forests also contain roughly 90% of the world terrestrial biodiversity.
Uploaded
December 26th, 2011
Embed
Share
