Editing Woodland

{{Short description|Land covered in trees}}
{{Redirect|Wooded|the racehorse|Wooded (horse)}}
{{About|the type of forest|}}
[[File:Woodland, Bogside - geograph.org.uk - 2215308.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|An open woodland in [[North Lanarkshire]], Scotland]]

A '''woodland''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-woodland.ogg|ˈ|w|ʊ|d|l|ə|n|d}}) is, in the broad sense, land covered with [[woody plant]]s ([[tree]]s and [[shrub]]s),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/woodland |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115212207/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/woodland |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 15, 2020 |title=Definition of Woodland |website=[[Lexico]] |language=en |access-date=2020-01-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/woodland |title=Woodland definition and meaning |website=[[Collins English Dictionary]] |language=en |access-date=2020-01-15}}</ref> or in a narrow sense, synonymous with '''wood''' (or in the U.S., the ''[[plurale tantum]]'' '''woods'''), a low-density [[forest]] forming open [[habitat]]s with plenty of [[sunlight]] and limited [[shade (shadow)|shade]] (see differences between [[British English|British]], [[American English|American]] and [[Australian English]] explained below). Some [[savanna]]s may also be woodlands, such as ''savanna woodland'', where trees and shrubs form a light [[canopy (biology)|canopy]].<ref>Smith, Jeremy M.B.. "savanna". [[Encyclopedia Britannica]], 5 Sep. 2016, https://www.britannica.com/science/savanna/Environment. Accessed 8 February 2023.</ref>

Woodlands may support an [[understory]] of shrubs and [[herbaceous plant]]s including [[grass]]es. Woodland may form a transition to [[shrubland]] under drier conditions or during early stages of [[primary succession|primary]] or [[secondary succession]].  Higher-density areas of trees with a largely closed canopy that provides extensive and nearly continuous shade are often referred to as [[forest]]s. 

Extensive efforts by [[conservation movement|conservationist]] groups have been made to preserve woodlands from [[urbanization]] and [[agriculture]]. For example, the woodlands of [[Northwest Indiana]] have been preserved as part of the [[Indiana Dunes State Park|Indiana Dunes]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Smith, S. |author2=Mark, S. |year=2006 |title=Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes |journal=The South Shore Journal |volume=1
|url=http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-1-2006/78-journals/vol-1-2006/117-alice-gray-dorothy-buell-and-naomi-svihla-preservationists-of-ogden-dunes |access-date=2012-06-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913013557/http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-1-2006/78-journals/vol-1-2006/117-alice-gray-dorothy-buell-and-naomi-svihla-preservationists-of-ogden-dunes |archive-date=2012-09-13}}
</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Smith, S. |author2=Mark, S. |year=2009 |title=The Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation |journal=The South Shore Journal |volume=3 |url=http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-3-2009/83-journals/vol-3-2009/75-the-historical-roots-of-the-nature-conservancy-in-the-northwest-indianachicagoland-region-from-science-to-preservation |access-date=2015-11-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101021140/http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-3-2009/83-journals/vol-3-2009/75-the-historical-roots-of-the-nature-conservancy-in-the-northwest-indianachicagoland-region-from-science-to-preservation |archive-date=2016-01-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Smith, S. |author2=Mark, S. |year=2007 |title=The cultural impact of a museum in a small community: The Hour Glass of Ogden Dunes |journal=The South Shore Journal |volume=2 |url=http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-2-2007/82-journals/vol-2-2007/104-the-cultural-impact-of-a-museum-in-a-small-community-the-hour-glass-in-ogden-dunes |access-date=2012-06-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130085605/http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-2-2007/82-journals/vol-2-2007/104-the-cultural-impact-of-a-museum-in-a-small-community-the-hour-glass-in-ogden-dunes |archive-date=2012-11-30}}</ref>

==Definitions ==
===United Kingdom=== 
''Woodland''  is used in [[United Kingdom|British]] [[woodland management]] to mean tree-covered areas which arose naturally and which are then managed. At the same time, [[forest]] is usually used in the [[British Isles]] to describe [[plantation]]s, usually more extensive, or hunting [[Royal forest|Forests]], which are a land use with a legal definition and may not be wooded at all.<ref name="Woodlands (New Naturalist 100)" /> The term ''[[ancient woodland]]'' is used in British [[Conservation (ethic)|nature conservation]] to refer to any wooded land that has existed since 1600, and often (though not always) for thousands of years, since the [[Last glacial period|last Ice Age]]<ref name="Woodlands (New Naturalist 100)">{{cite book|last=Rackham|first=Oliver|author-link = Oliver Rackham|title=Woodlands (New Naturalist 100)| date= 2006| publisher= HarperCollins| location= London| isbn= 9780007202447}}</ref> (equivalent to the American term [[old-growth forest]])

===North America===
[[Woodlot]] is a closely related term in [[American English|American]] [[forest management]], which refers to a stand of trees generally used for firewood. While woodlots often technically have closed canopies, they are so small that [[edge effect|light penetration]] from the edge makes them ecologically closer to woodland than forest. North American forests vary widely in their ecology and are greatly dependent on abiotic factors such as climate and elevation. Much of the old-growth deciduous and pine-dominated forests of the eastern United States was harvested for lumber, paper pulp, telephone poles, creosote, pitch, and tar. 

===Australia===
In Australia, a woodland is defined as an area with a sparse (10–30%) cover of trees, and an open woodland has a very sparse (<10%) cover. Woodlands are also subdivided into tall woodlands or low woodlands if their trees are over {{cvt|30|m}} or under {{cvt|10|m}} high, respectively. This contrasts with forests, which have more than 30% of their area covered by trees.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.anbg.gov.au/aust-veg/veg-map.html | title=A simplified look at Australia's vegetation | work=Information about Australia's Flora: The Australian Environment | publisher= Australian National Botanic Gardens and Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research | location= Canberra | date=24 December 2015 | access-date=15 February 2017}}</ref>

==Woodland ecoregions==
{{Main|Ecoregions}}
===Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands===
{{Main|Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands}}
[[File:Nyika miombo.jpg|thumb|right|Miombo woodland in [[Malawi]]]]
* [[Afrotropical realm]]
** [[Angolan miombo woodlands]] (Angola)
** [[Angolan mopane woodlands]] (Angola, Namibia)
** [[Central Zambezian miombo woodlands]] (Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia)
** [[Eastern miombo woodlands]] (Mozambique, Tanzania)
** [[Kalahari Acacia-Baikiaea woodlands]] (Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe)
** [[Zambezian and mopane woodlands]] (Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe)
** [[Zambezian Baikiaea woodlands]] (Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe)
* [[Nearctic realm]]
** [[Madrean pine–oak woodlands]] (Mexico)
* [[Neotropical realm]]
** [[Cerrado woodlands and savannas]] (Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay)

===Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands===
[[File:Cumberland Plains Woodlands, Prestons - 2.jpg|thumb|A dry [[sclerophyll]] woodland in western Sydney.]]
[[File:Open Woodland in Illinois United States.jpg|thumb|An open woodland in Northern Illinois supporting an herbaceous understory of forbs and grasses]]
{{Main|Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands}}
* [[Afrotropical realm]]
** [[Al Hajar montane woodlands]] (Oman)
* [[Australasian realm]]
** [[Central Hunter Valley eucalypt forest and woodland]] (Australia)
** [[Cumberland Plain Woodland]] (Australia)
** [[Gippsland Plains Grassy Woodland]] (Australia)
** [[Southeast Australia temperate savanna|Grey Box Grassy Woodlands]] (Australia)
** [[Lowland Grassy Woodland]] (Australia)
** [[New England Peppermint Grassy Woodland]] (Australia)
* [[Nearctic realm]]
** [[Central forest–grasslands transition]] (United States)
** [[Upper Midwest forest–savanna transition]] (United States)
* [[Palearctic realm]]
** [[Gissaro-Alai open woodlands]] (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan)

===Montane grasslands and shrublands===
{{Main|Montane grasslands and shrublands}}
[[File:Limber pine woodland.jpg|thumb|right|[[Limber Pine]] woodland in the [[Toiyabe Range]] of central Nevada]]
* [[Afrotropical realm]]
** [[Angolan Scarp savanna and woodlands]] (Angola)
** [[Drakensberg alti-montane grasslands and woodlands]] (Lesotho, South Africa)
** [[Drakensberg montane grasslands, woodlands and forests]] (Eswatini, Lesotho, South Africa)
** [[East African montane moorlands]] (Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda)
** [[Ethiopian montane grasslands and woodlands]] (Ethiopia)
* [[Nearctic realm]]
** [[Pinyon–juniper woodland]] (United States)
* [[Palearctic realm]]
** [[Kopet Dag woodlands and forest steppe]] (Iran, Turkmenistan)
===Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub===
{{Main|Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub}}
[[File:MAL Mallee 1 Clyde Hill NR III-2011.jpg|thumb|[[Mallee (habit)|Mallee]] woodland with [[eucalyptus]]es and [[melaleuca]]s in Esperance, Western Australia]]
* [[Australasian realm]]
** [[Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain]] (Australia)
** [[Coolgardie woodlands]] (Australia)
** [[Mount Lofty woodlands]] (Australia)
** [[Murray-Darling woodlands and mallee]] (Australia)
** [[Naracoorte woodlands]] (Australia)
** [[Southwest Australia woodlands]] (Australia)
** [[Swan Coastal Plain Shrublands and Woodlands]] (Australia)
* [[Nearctic realm]]
** [[California chaparral and woodlands]] (United States)
** [[California montane chaparral and woodlands]] (United States)
** [[California interior chaparral and woodlands]] (United States)
[[File:Lebanon cedar forest.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Cedrus|cedar]] woodland in [[Bsharri]], Lebanon]]
* [[Palearctic realm]]
** [[Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests]] (Spain)
** [[Eastern Mediterranean conifer–sclerophyllous–broadleaf forests]] (Turkey, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon)
** [[Mediterranean acacia-argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets]] (Morocco, Canary Islands)
** [[Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe]] (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia)
** [[Mediterranean woodlands and forests]] (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia)
** [[Southeastern Iberian shrubs and woodlands]] (Spain)

===Deserts and xeric shrublands===
{{Main|Deserts and xeric shrublands}}
[[File:Sahel forest near Kayes Mali.jpg|thumb|right|[[Sahel]] woodland in Mali]]
* [[Afrotropical realm]]
** [[East Saharan montane xeric woodlands]] (Chad, Sudan)
** [[Madagascar succulent woodlands]] (Madagascar)
** [[Somali montane xeric woodlands]] (Somalia)
** [[Southwestern Arabian montane woodlands]] (Saudi Arabia, Yemen)
* [[Palearctic realm]]
** [[Baluchistan xeric woodlands]] (Afghanistan, Pakistan)
** [[Central Afghan Mountains xeric woodlands]] (Afghanistan)
** [[Central Asian riparian woodlands]] (Kazakhstan)
** [[North Saharan steppe and woodlands]] (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara)
** [[Paropamisus xeric woodlands]] (Afghanistan)
** [[South Saharan steppe and woodlands]] (Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan)
** [[Tibesti-Jebel Uweinat montane xeric woodlands]] (Chad, Egypt, Libya, Sudan)
** [[West Saharan montane xeric woodlands]] (Algeria, Mali, Mauritania, Niger)

==See also==
{{Portal|Trees}}
{{Columns-list|colwidth=22em|
* [[Agroforestry]]
* [[Biosphere]]
* [[Clearcutting]]
* [[Chase (land)]]
* [[Deforestation]]
* [[Dendrology]]
* [[Dendrometry]]
* [[Ecological succession]]
* [[Forest dynamics]]
* [[Forest migration]]
* [[Forest pathology]]
* [[Forestry Commission]]
* [[Intact forest landscape]]
* [[Natural environment]]
* [[Natural landscape]]
* [[Permaforestry]]
* [[REDD-plus]]
* [[Royal Forestry Society]]
* [[Silviculture]]
* [[Tree allometry]]
* [[Tree farm]]
* [[Wildcrafting]]
* [[Woodland garden]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Woodlands}}
* [http://www.woodland-trust.org.uk/ The UK Woodland Trust]
* [http://www.woodlandbond.co.uk/ Woodland Bond] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806183602/http://www.woodlandbond.co.uk/ |date=2013-08-06 }}

{{Vegetation}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Forests]]
[[Category:Habitats]]