It is a land area of at least 0.05-1.0 hectare with tree crown cover (or equivalent level of stock) with more than 10-30% of trees having the potential to reach the minimum height of 2-5 meters in in situ maturity. A forest may consist of closed forest formations, where trees of various strata and sub-forests cover a large proportion of the ground or open forest.
Young natural stands and all planting which have yet to reach a crown density of 10-30 percent or height of 2-5 meters are considered forests, as are the areas that are temporarily out of stock as a result of human intervention, and which are typically part of the forest area, such as harvesting or natural causes, but are expected to revert to forest.
This definition is used for land-use activities, land-use change, and forestry, under Article 3, Paragraphs 3 and 4, of the Kyoto Protocol.