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Paleoclimatology (thesaurus)

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natural environment > forest > gallery forest

Preferred term

gallery forest  

Definition

  • A gallery forest is one formed as a corridor along rivers or wetlands, projecting into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands, or deserts. Gallery forests are able to exist where the surrounding landscape does not support forests for a number of reasons. The riparian zones in which they grow offer greater protection from fire which would kill tree seedlings. In addition, the alluvial soils of the gallery habitat are often of higher fertility and have better drainage than the soils of the surrounding landscape with a more reliable water supply at depth. As a result, the boundary between gallery forest and the surrounding woodland or grassland is usually abrupt, with the ecotone being only a few metres wide. (Adapted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallery_forest)

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http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/QX8-63ZP1CBK-G

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