In a forest, however, the change is so slow that most people don't even recognize it. Sometimes this leads to the erroneous belief that a forest is a static entity, one that needs only protection to make it last forever. The living, changing nature of forests makes them unique among our natural resourcesthey are renewable . They can be harvested, replenished, and harvested again forever. Understanding and applying how forests live, grow, and change are the keys to managing this resource.
Many people tend to use the words interchangeably.
Ask if all forests should be managed. The dynamics of change in a forest are a part of the natural order which may be modified but not arrested. All forests are inexorably moving toward a predetermined forest type. This is called the climax , and it is reached by a predictable series of steps called plant succession . In the Southeast, the climax forest type is one consisting primarily of oaks and hickories.