The Use of Forested Lands FAO defines a forest as land spanning more than 0.5 hectares (1.2 acres) with trees higher than 5 metres and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is predominantly under agriculture or urban land use. Any area of land which supports forest can be used in two ways: • •
As a source of various products obtained from the forest itself. Or the forest can be destroyed to enable it’s site to be used for a variety of other purposes.
3 Forests are described above by climatic domain and ecological zone. Worldwide, there are five major climatic domains - boreal, polar, temperate, subtropical and tropical.
3 Source - FAO The State of the World’s Forests 2020. 5
