Remnant Forest or Forest Remnant?

Relict forest, remnant forest and forest remnant terms are often mentioned in the literature to refer certain forest ecosystems that used to cover larger areas in the past and presently sustain its existence in a restricted area at certain locations. In botany field, “relict” and “remnant” terms are sometimes used interchangeably. However, typically, relict forest term refers to the forests that diminish from its past large coverage due to different ice ages through the geological times and presently occurs only at certain shelter areas. While, “remnant forest” or “forest remnant” terms refers to the forests that are reduced from its past larger areas usually due to the anthropogenic effects and presently exist as islands among the step areas. Although the distinction of the remnant forest and forest remnant areas from the relict forests is relatively clear, the difference of the ecosystems indicated by remnant forest and forest remnant terms is uncertain and arguable. In this article, different forest categories of Inner Anatolia, where remnant forests and forest remnants are most often encountered, will be elaborated; afterwards a framework will be presented to identify remnant forest or forest remnant areas; and finally some recommendations will be presented for the differentiation between remnant forest and forest remnant terms. In this manner, it is suggested that if a remnant area presently satisfy the “forest” criteria then it is named as remnant forest, while if a remnant area contains traces of the past forest but presently not satisfy the “forest” criteria then it is named as forest remnant. Keywords; Remnant forest, forest remnant, Relict, Central Anatoli