"Woodland" is often just another name for a forest. Most of the time, though, geographers use the term to describe a forest with an open canopy. The canopy is the highest layer of foliage in a forest. It is made up of the crowns, or tops, of trees. An open canopy allows full sunlight to enter the woodland, limiting shade and moisture.
Woodlands are often transition zones between different ecosystems, such as grasslands, true forests, and deserts.
Woodlands that lead to grasslands are sparse. Grasslands, sometimes called prairies or savannas, are composed mostly of grasses and have few trees. The woodlands of Ethiopia border grasslands in the highlands of the Horn of Africa. Ethiopian woodlands are densely populated and contain some of the best agricultural land in the country. Organisms that live in the Ethiopian woodlands must be able to thrive in both the partly shady woodland and the open grassland. The critically endangered Walia ibex, a type of small mountain goat, is such an animal.
Woodlands can also transition to true forests, which are larger and have denser foliage and closed canopies. Eucalyptus forests, composed of the most common type of tree in Australia, are often surrounded by eucalyptus woodlands. The trees themselves are often the same, but woodland eucalyptus trees have fewer branches and are shorter than forest varieties.
Woodlands that border desert ecosystems are sometimes called xeric woodlands. (Xeric means dry.) The succulent woodlands on the island of Madagascar, located off the southeast coast of Africa, are xeric woodlands. Succulent woodlands are full of cactus-like plants that are adapted to hot, dry climates.
Photograph by Chris Johns
Ancient Woodlands
Ancient woodlands are the British version of North Americas old-growth forests. Ancient woodlands are stands of trees that have existed in a natural state since before 1600. The largest ancient woodland in the United Kingdom is Glen Finglas, Scotland. Glen Finglas is 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres).
the art and science of cultivating land for growing crops (farming) or raising livestock (ranching).
type of plant native to dry regions.
one of the top layers of a forest, formed by the thick leaves of very tall trees.
heavily or crowded.
area of land that receives no more than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of precipitation a year.
leaves of a plant, or the leaves and branches of a tree or shrub.
ecosystem filled with trees and underbrush.
person who studies places and the relationships between people and their environments.
type of plant with narrow leaves.
ecosystem with large, flat areas of grasses.
large peninsula in northeast Africa, including the countries of Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. Also called the Somali Peninsula.
type of wild, horned mountain goat.
large grassland; usually associated with the Mississippi River Valley in the United States.
type of tropical grassland with scattered trees.
scattered and few in number.
type of plant that has thick leaves and stems for storing water.
to develop and be successful.
area between two natural or artificial regions.
top branches of a tree.
dry.
land covered with trees near a desert.
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