Human civilization seems to reach the most intense development in what was originally forest and grassland especially in temperate regions. Consequently, most temperate forests and grasslands have been greatly modified from their primeval condition, but the basic nature of these ecosystems has by no means been changed. Man, in fact, tends to combine features of both grasslands and forests into a habitat for himself that might be called forest edge. When man settles in grassland regions he plants tree around his homes, towns, and farms, so that small patches of forest become dispersed in what may have been treeless country. Likewise, when man settles in the forest he replaces most of it with grasslands and croplands (since little human food can be obtained from a forest), but leaves patches of the original forest on farms and around residential areas. Many of the smaller plants and animals originally found in both forest and grassland are able to adapt and thrive in close association with man and his domestic or cultivated species. The American robin, for example, once a bird of the forest, has become so well adapted to the man – made forest edge that it has not only increased in numbers but has also extended its geographical range. Most forest birds in Europe have ditches from the forest to gardens, cities, and hedgerows or else they have become extinct, since there are no longer many large tracts of unbroken forest. Most native species that persist in regions heavily settled by man become useful members of the forest – edge ecosystem of man, but a few become pests. The worst pests, however, are more likely to be species introduced from afar, as was discussed in that’s post.

        If wee consider croplands and pastures as modified grassland of early succession types, then man depends on grasslands for food, but likes to live and play in the shelter of the forest, from which he also farmers useful wood products. At the risk of oversimplifying the situation we might say that man in common with other tropospheres seeks two basic things from the landscape; ‘’production’’ and ‘’protection’’ but unlike lower organisms, he also finds aesthetic enjoyment in the beauty of natural landscapes. For mankind, forests provide all three needs, but especially the latte two. In many cases the monetary value of the wood, if harvested all at once, is far less than the value of the intact forest that provides recreation, watershed protection, home sites, and so on, plus a modest harvest of wood as well.