Soil moisture is determined by precipitation, slope, drainage, and amount of sand or organic materials in the soil. Over the years, people studying the landscape have systematically described and labeled forests, woodlands, and other habitats in different ways for different purposes. Below are some of the ways to describe our different kinds of forests and woodlands. Wooded ecological communities are interdependent and even overlap. Many decades of fire suppression led to Missouri’s current landscape, which has a greater proportion of forest to woodland than it did before European settlers arrived. Without occasional fires, in particular, they will eventually become forest. Woodlands, savannas, and prairies are maintained by disturbance. Natural disturbances and fires lit historically by Native Americans kept prairies, savannas, and woodlands from turning into forests. Missouri’s grasslands, if left completely undisturbed, would eventually be colonized by a succession of woody plant species, becoming woodland and finally forest. Barring disasters - such as bulldozing, plowing, fire, or major flood - a climax community can sustain itself for centuries.ĭue to our land types and climate, most of Missouri’s climax community is forest. There is a tendency for a certain type of plant community to develop and dominate an area and remain relatively stable over time. Why Are Some Places Wooded and Others Not?Įcologists have long recognized the concept of a climax community. Fire plays a large role in maintaining woodland habitats. This light permits the growth of a dense ground cover containing a variety of wildflowers, grasses, and sedges. Woodlands have a more open canopy (30 to 100 percent cover), and their sparse, woody mid-story allows more sunlight to reach the ground. There are often several overlapping layers of trees, with a mid-story and understory comprising a variety of shade-tolerant shrubs and a sparse layer of soft-stemmed plants. Technically speaking, forests have a closed canopy permitting very little light to penetrate to the ground below. First, learn the difference between forests and woodlands. We all know that the woods are places where trees predominate, but it’s useful to distinguish between various types of wooded areas. Forests or Woodlands? There's a Difference Soil and underlying rock types, slope, aspect, hydrology, and climatic factors contribute to a variety of plant communities within the broad categories of forest and woodland. Many factors influence the character of forests and woodlands.
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