For forest and forestry analysis, land use is classified into four basic categories by FAO:
• Forest,
• Other wooded land,
• Other land,
• Inland water.
These four categories are mutually exclusive and add up to the total land area. A new sub-category to forest - "area under reforestation" is introduced below.
In addition, Trees outside forests is an important category when studying forest products and services. Trees outside forests are not assigned an area, but occur within Other land.
Forests are lands of more than 0.5 hectares, with a tree canopy cover of more than 10 percent, which are not primarily under agricultural or urban land use.
Explanatory note
Forests are determined both by the presence of trees and the absence of other predominant land uses. The trees should be able to reach a minimum height of 5 meters in situ. Areas under reforestation which have yet to reach a crown density of 10 percent or tree height of 5 m are included, as are temporarily unstocked areas, resulting from human intervention or natural causes, that are expected to regenerate. The term specifically includes: forest nurseries and seed orchards that constitute an integral part of the forest; forest roads, firebreaks and other small open areas; forest in national parks, nature reserves and other protected areas such as those of specific scientific, historical, cultural or spiritual interest; windbreaks and shelterbelts of trees with an area of more than 0.5 ha and width of more than 20 m; plantations primarily used for forestry purposes, including rubberwood plantations and cork oak stands. The term specifically excludes trees planted primarily for agricultural production, for example in fruit plantations and agroforestry systems.
Other Wooded Land is land with a canopy cover of 5-10 percent of trees able to reach a height of 5 m in situ; or a canopy cover of more than 10 percent when smaller trees, shrubs and bushes are included.
Other land is, for the purpose of forestry, any land not classified as forest or other wooded land as defined above. Includes agricultural land, meadows and pastures, built-on areas, barren land, etc.
Area occupied by major rivers, lakes and reservoirs.
Trees outside forests are trees and tree environments on land not defined as forest or other wooded land.
Explanatory note
Trees outside forests (ToF) include: (a) groups of trees covering an area of less than 0.5 ha, including lines and shelterbelts along infrastructure features and agricultural fields; (b) scattered trees in agricultural landscapes; (c) tree plantations mainly for other purposes than wood, such as fruit orchards and palm plantations; and (d) trees in parks and gardens and around buildings. ToF are not assigned an area in the overall land use classification, but occurs inside Other wooded land and Other land. Although the definition of ToF is based on the trees, the concept includes also the site and other vegetation at the location.
