Planted forests: definitions and concepts

Establishing consistent definitions and reliable data for quantifying plantation forests or planted forest resources in either industrialized or developing countries has proven to be problematic. It is not always possible to distinguish forest plantations from natural forests in those countries where natural species were grown on long-rotation, mixed-species, mixed-age plantings (usually in temperate and boreal regions). The distinction between natural forest and plantation forest has been more clear-cut in intensively managed single-species plantings, where uniform planting densities, even-age classes and shorter rotations are more characteristic (usually in tropical and sub-tropical regions).

In addition, incomplete, inconsistent and unreliable data on gross/net areas of planted forests by species, purpose, ownership, age class distribution, intensity of management, growth, rotation, harvest yield and forest product output are significant impediments to analysing the status and trends for outlook studies, for policy-making or for planning the size of planted forests and their effects on supplies of raw materials or any other social, environmental or economic values.

The Forest Resources Assessment definitions published in 1980, 1990 and 2000 are summarized in the following table.


Definition FRA 1980 FRA 1990 FRA 2000
Forest Stands with a crown density of at least 10% or at least 7 metres in height Stands with a crown density of at least 10% or at least 5 metres in height Land with tree crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than 10% and an area of more than 0.5 hectares. The trees should be able to reach a minimum height of 5 metres at maturity in situ
Forest plantation Forest stands established artificially by afforestation on land which previously did not carry forest; and forest stands established artificially by reforestation on land which carried forest within the previous 50 years or within living memory and involving the replacement of the previous crop by a new and essentially different crop Forest stands established artificially by afforestation on land which previously did not carry forest; and forest stands established artificially by reforestation on land which carried forest within the previous 50 years or within living memory and involving the replacement of the previous crop by a new and essentially different crop Forest stands established by planting or/and seeding in the process of afforestation or reforestation. They are either of introduced species (all planted stands), or intensively managed stands of indigenous species, which meet all the following criteria: one or two species at planting, even age class, regular spacing

New plantations were defined as afforestation for artificial establishment of forest on lands which previously did not carry forest within living memory or the past 10 years; and reforestation for artificial establishment of forest on lands which carried forest before

Classifiers Hardwoods, softwoods
Industrial, non-industrial 		Industrial, non-industrial Broadleaves, softwoods
Industrial, non-industrial
Public, private, other ownership
Trees outside forests     Trees outside forests are trees and tree environments on land not defined as forest or other wooded land
Exclusions Rubber, palm oil and coconut plantations Rubber, palm oil and coconut plantations  
Inclusions     Rubber and cork oak included as forest plantations and oil palm and coconut included as non-forest plantations


The concept of planted forest is larger than that of plantation forest. Both are generally defined according to the extent of human intervention in the establishment and/or management of the forest. In many instances, because an extensive range of silvicultural practices is applied in intensive forest management, the difference between semi-natural forest and planted forest is essentially arbitrary.

There is a need to recognize semi-natural forests that are neither strictly natural forests with minimal management, nor planted forests with intensive management, that provide critical wood and non-wood forest product supplies and enhance social, cultural, environmental and economic values. Semi-natural forests may be selectively harvested for wood and non-wood forest products, receive enrichment planting and/or seeding or undergo silvicultural treatment to enhance growth and yield. A wider planted forest classification could potentially include indigenous species, particularly in Europe and North America, that were reported as natural forests in previous FAO Global Forest Resources Assessments (including the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000).

Kotka IV (July 2002) participants


Ongoing processes addressing harmonization of forestry-related definitions, including those related to planted forests, include:

  • Kotka Process to improve the Global Forest Resources Assessment led by FAO;

  • UNFCCC/SBSTA Process to develop definitions for afforestation and reforestation under Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol (KP) referring to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM);

  • IPCC, development of Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) (task 1);

  • IPCC, development of definitions for human-induced ¿degradation¿ of forests and ¿devegetation¿ of other vegetation types and methodological options for inventory and reporting on emissions resulting from these activities (task 2);

  • Collaborative Partnerships on Forests¿ (CPF) Task Force, on harmonizing and streamlining forest-related reporting under the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF);

  • IUFRO, forest terminology (e.g. "urban forestry"); electronic discussion groups on key terms; terminological awareness;

  • UNEP/IUFRO, definitions on low forest cover countries;

  • CIFOR/World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and World Conservation Union (IUCN), on plantation typology.

This Web site will be updated regularly to reflect the achievements in harmonization for improved compatibility, consistency, comparability, hierarchies and linkages between terms.

Documents relating to definitions and terms used in FRA 2000 are listed below.

FRA Working Paper 1 - Terms and definitions
FRA Working Paper 2 - FRA 2000 Guidelines for assessments in tropical and sub-tropical countries
FRA Working Paper 33 - On definitions of forest and forest change
FP Thematic Paper 14 - Forest plantation resources, FAO Data-sets 1980, 1990, 1995 and 2000