Nonwooded

Nonwooded is a term used to describe land or areas where tree cover is sparse or absent. In land-cover classification, nonwooded areas are those with little or no canopy, typically below a threshold set by the data source; thresholds vary, with some classifications using under 10 percent canopy cover to separate nonwooded from wooded land.

Common nonwooded landscapes include grasslands, savannas with widely spaced trees, deserts, tundra, steppes, shrublands, and barren or sparsely vegetated terrains. Some environments, such as certain wetlands or agricultural lands, may be nonwooded even if they support herbaceous vegetation.

Measurement and data in this area rely on remote sensing and national land-cover inventories that categorize land into woody and non-woody classes. Datasets such as MODIS land cover and Copernicus land cover use definitions of tree cover and land use to distinguish between wooded and nonwooded areas, and to monitor changes over time.

Ecological and social relevance varies across nonwooded regions. These areas differ from forested zones in carbon storage, surface albedo, fire regimes, biodiversity, and hydrology. They can be maintained by natural factors such as climate, soil, and fire, or by human activities like grazing, agriculture, and urban development. Some nonwooded landscapes provide important ecosystem services, including grazing resources and open-habitat biodiversity, while others may be more prone to degradation or desertification if disturbed or poorly managed.