Forest Edge

Woodland edge

A woodland edge or forest edge is the transition zone (ecotone) from an area of woodland or forest to fields or other open spaces. Certain species of plants and animals are adapted to the forest edge, and these species are often more familiar to humans than species only found deeper within forests. A classic example of a forest edge species is the white-tailed deer in North America.

Forest

A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines a forest as, "Land 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. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban use." Using this definition, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025 found that forests covered 4.14 billion hectares, or approximately 31 percent of the world's land area in 2025.

forest

Noun

1. A dense uncultivated tract of trees and undergrowth, larger than woods.
2. Any dense collection or amount.

Verb

1. To cover an area with trees.

edge

Noun

1. The boundary line of a surface.
2. A one-dimensional face of a polytope. In particular, the joining line between two vertices of a polygon; the place where two faces of a polyhedron meet.

Verb

1. To move an object slowly and carefully in a particular direction.
2. To move slowly and carefully in a particular direction.