A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused disturbances, such as timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or equivalently disruptive natural phenomena. It is distinguished from an old-growth forest (primary or primeval forest), which has not recently undergone such disruption, and complex early seral forest, as well as third-growth forests that result from harvest in second growth forests. Secondary forest regrowing after timber harvest differs from forest regrowing after natural disturbances such as fire, insect infestation, or windthrow because the dead trees remain to provide nutrients, structure, and water retention after natural disturbances. Secondary forests are notably different from primary forests in their composition and biodiversity; however, they may still be helpful in providing habitat for native species, preserving watersheds, and restoring connectivity between ecosystems. Secondary forestation is common in areas where forests have been degraded or destroyed by agriculture or timber harvesting; this includes abandoned pastures or fields that were once forests. Additionally, secondary forestation can be seen in regions where forests have been lost by the slash-and-burn method, a component of some shifting cultivation systems of agriculture. While many definitions of secondary forests limit the cause of degradation to human activities, other definitions include forests that experienced similar degradation under natural phenomena like fires or landslides. Secondary forests re-establish by the process of succession. Openings created in the forest canopy allow sunlight to reach the forest floor. An area that has been cleared will first be colonized by pioneer species, followed by shrubs and bushes. Over time, trees that were characteristic of the original forest begin to dominate the forest again.

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Related concepts (10)
Land use, land-use change, and forestry
Land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF), also referred to as Forestry and other land use (FOLU), is defined as a "greenhouse gas inventory sector that covers emissions and removals of greenhouse gases resulting from direct human-induced land use such as settlements and commercial uses, land-use change, and forestry activities." LULUCF has impacts on the global carbon cycle and as such, these activities can add or remove carbon dioxide (or, more generally, carbon) from the atmosphere, influencing climate.
Old-growth forest
An old-growth forest, sometimes synonymous with primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, first-growth forest, or mature forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological features, and might be classified as a climax community. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations defines primary forests as naturally regenerated forests of native tree species where there are no clearly visible indications of human activity and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed.
Woodland
A woodland (ˈwʊdlənd) is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the plurale tantum woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see differences between British, American, and Australian English explained below). Some savannas may also be woodlands, such as savanna woodland, where trees and shrubs form a light canopy. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses.
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