Forest: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 4, 2026

News •

Overlapping Plagues Are Killing American Forests • Oct. 28, 2026, 3:00 AM ET (New York Times)

Photos and Videos

Dense green forest with tall trees, leafy canopy, and sunlight filtering through at Belovezhskaya Forest in eastern Poland. A fallen log and tree stump are visible on the forest floor.

World map displaying the geographic distribution of forests by wood type, with tropical hardwood forests in light green mainly near the equator, temperate hardwood forests in teal in parts of North America, Europe, and Asia, softwood (coniferous) forests in purple across northern regions, and mixed forests in blue in select temperate zones. Examples of tree species for each category are listed at the bottom of the map.

Dense subalpine coniferous forest with a narrow stream winding through the Sayan mountains in Siberia, Russia, under a blue sky.

The Oulankajoki River winds through dense coniferous forest in Oulanka National Park, northeast Finland, with green trees covering the landscape.

Adirondack Mountains

Tropical rainforest

Deciduous forest

Prescribed fire

Worldwide distribution of boreal forests.

How bacteria recycle forest litter into minerals

Understanding biomass in forests

How does a forest recover after a wildfire?

How an ecosystem works

Know about the role of fungi in the forest ecosystem, where some digest plant matter, while others team with the plant (mycorrhizal) mutually

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Topics

jungle Tropical rainforest equatorial rain forest mangrove forest Why are rainforests so important?Temperate rainforest Tropical dry forest Cloud forest tree forestry mountain glacier glacial landform continental landform valley Wetland Tundra coastal landforms Desert Polar ecosystem

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Key People

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Pierre Dansereau

Canadian plant ecologist

Chutes d'Ekom - a waterfall on the Nkam river in the rainforest near Melong, in the western highlands of Cameroon in Africa.

Ecosystems

Chutes d'Ekom - a waterfall on the Nkam river in the rainforest near Melong, in the western highlands of Cameroon in Africa.

Ecosystems

Chutes d'Ekom - a waterfall on the Nkam river in the rainforest near Melong, in the western highlands of Cameroon in Africa.

Ecosystems