Woodland © by Mark Coleman
Woodlands have been used as a mystical setting for fairy tales and folklore for centuries, as in Midsummer’s Night Dream and Snow White. Yet ecologically speaking, what is a woodland really? A woodland is an area dominated by trees that cast a shade upon the understory of other plant species that thrive beneath it. A woodland is a broad term describing a unique reoccurring ecosystem that can vary in form depending on the geographical location, climate and how much sunlight hits the trees and the underlying plants. Although often used interchangeably with “forest”, the difference between a forest and a woodland is that a woodland has a lower density of trees, while a forest generally has a closed canopy, or very limited sunlight. The exception is in British terms, where woodland means any area covered by trees, no matter how densely.
A woodland is completely sustainable on its own without human intervention. The canopy provides protection and housing for the animals. The deciduous trees drop their leaves each fall effectively mulching and warming the soil during the wintertime. When a tree or animal dies, its material form is eventually broken down and reabsorbed as nutrients into another living organism, like a flower or berry that feeds the wildlife.
Many different types of woodland trees, plants and flowers thrive together. In fact the diversity of plant species in a woodland is correlated with animal and insect diversity. Generally, the more sunlight that gets though, the higher species diversity.
Woodland gardens are purposefully cultivated on private property as part of landscaping. People will take their woodland and make a beautiful garden within it. They are a relatively low maintenance and enchanting place where paths can weave between the shade of trees and between shade-loving plants, which largely make up the woodland’s understory. Woodland gardening differs for each site, depending on location. The best woodland plants and flowers are typically native plants that thrive naturally in the region’s forests.
For related reading see, What is a Woodland Garden?