Wood vs Forest
Woods and forest describe similar natural areas full of trees, but woods is smaller and has lesser density of trees than a forest.
Forest, woods, jungle, etc. are words that evoke images of scores of trees in a natural setting. Many people remain confused between a forest and woods as they cannot visualize any differences between these two entities. Though the two terms are very similar to each other in meaning, it is not correct to use the words interchangeably. This article attempts to find out the differences between woods and forest.
Any natural area with a high density of trees is referred to as a forest. Forests are large in size and are either evergreen or deciduous in nature. In the west, forest is an abstract term that is used mainly to refer to national tracts of land that are full of trees and other flora. A wood is also an area in the wild that is covered with trees though it is much smaller than a forest. In the forest, the density of trees is much higher with the natural sunlight barely able to come down crossing the canopy of trees. On the other hand, sunlight is easily able to cross the canopy of trees in the woods with the density of trees being only 25-60%. The term normally reserved for conversations is woods. In normal conversation, ‘woods’ is the word that is used by the people and we rarely say that we have been to the forest. Forest is a word that is used to refer to wild areas with wild animals. Going into the woods envisages an area that is full of trees but forest is a wild area much bigger in size and having much higher number of trees.
What is the difference between Wood and Forest?
• Woods and forest describe similar natural areas full of trees, but woods is smaller and has lesser density of trees than a forest.
• We go into the woods and not into the forest.
• Forest is a natural area full of trees and wildlife as in national forests.
• Forest has a thicker canopy (overstory made up of trees) than woods.