High forest

{{Short description|Type of forest consisting of large, tall mature trees with a closed canopy}}{{Other uses|High Forest (disambiguation){{!}}High Forest}}

A high forest is a type of forest originated from seed or from planted seedlings. In contrast to a low forest{{cite web|url=http://dictionaryofforestry.org/dict/term/low_forest|title=SAFnet Dictionary: Definition of [low_forest]|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712035805/http://dictionaryofforestry.org/dict/term/low_forest|archivedate=2013-07-12}} (also known as a coppice forest), a high forest usually consists of large, tall mature trees with a closed canopy.{{cite web|title=Dictionary of Forestry|url=http://dictionaryofforestry.org/dict/term/high_forest|work=Society of American Foresters|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709223800/http://dictionaryofforestry.org/dict/term/high_forest|archivedate=2013-07-09}} High forests can occur naturally or they can be created and maintained by human management. Trees in a high forest can be of one, a few or many species. A high forest can be even-aged or uneven-aged.{{cite web|url=http://dictionaryofforestry.org/dict/term/uneven-aged_system|title=SAFnet Dictionary: Definition of [uneven-aged_system]|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227204847/http://dictionaryofforestry.org/dict/term/uneven-aged_system|archivedate=2013-12-27}}{{cite book|last=Smith|first=D.M.|title=The Practice of Silviculture|year=1986|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|location=New York|pages=527}} Even-aged forests contain trees of one, or two successional age classes (generations). Uneven-aged forests have three or more age classes represented.{{cn|date=July 2023}}

High forests have relatively high genetic diversity compared with coppice forests, which develop from vegetative reproduction. A high forest can have one or more canopy layers. The understory of a high forest can be open (parklike, easy to see and walk through), or it can be dense. A high forest's understory can have high or low vegetation species diversity.{{cn|date=July 2023}}