These forest trivia questions start with what a forest is and how its layers stack up, then tour the forests of the world, the taiga of the far north and the deciduous forest that drops its leaves.
Read the full guide
What a forest is
The word and the layers asks where the word forest comes from, how the law can call treeless land a forest, and what lives on the floor, in the understory and in the canopy. Forests of the world runs from the first forests to thorn forest and jungle.
Two forests up close
The taiga has spruce and larch, muskeg, caribou and the wood bison. The temperate deciduous forest asks about autumn color, spring herbs, fertile soil and deer.
On a woodland walk, play The word and the layers first: its layer questions are things to point at.
Questions and answers
What are some fun trivia questions about the forest?
Which animal of Eurasia is the same species as the caribou? About how much oxygen does a full-grown tree produce in a year? Which layer works like an umbrella over the rest? The answers are the reindeer, 100 kilograms and the canopy.
What are the layers of a forest?
The forest floor, the understory and the canopy are the main layers of every kind of forest. Tropical rainforests add an emergent layer, a few scattered trees that tower over the canopy.
What is the taiga?
The taiga, also called boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome of coniferous forests, mostly pines, spruces and larches. Its largest areas are in Russia and Canada, and it has existed in its present form for only about 12,000 years.
How were the answers checked?
Each was read on October 3, 2026 in the English Wikipedia article Forest, Taiga or Temperate deciduous forest, linked under the question. Forest area totals that are revised every few years are left out.
About how many definitions of the word forest are in use around the world?Answer: More than 800. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
By the definition of the Food and Agriculture Organization, how much of the land must the canopy of a forest cover?Answer: More than 10 percent. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
By the definition of the Food and Agriculture Organization, how tall must the trees of a forest be?Answer: Higher than 5 meters. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Definitions of a forest fall into three broad kinds: administrative, land use and what?Answer: Land cover. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
The forest floor and the canopy are two of the three main layers of every kind of forest. What is the third?Answer: The understory. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Holt, weald and wold are old words for a place thick with trees. From which language do they come?Answer: Old English. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
In Germany and Poland a forest is often divided into four layers. Tree, shrub and herb are three. What is the fourth?Answer: Moss. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
In which forests is there an emergent layer above the canopy?Answer: Tropical rainforests. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Scribes first used the Medieval Latin word foresta for the royal hunting grounds of which ruler?Answer: Charlemagne. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Under an administrative definition, what can be true of land that is legally a forest?Answer: No trees grow on it. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
What are the living things called that break fallen leaves and rotting logs down into new soil?Answer: Detritivores. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
What carries nutrients from decaying material to trees through an underground network?Answer: Fungal mycelium. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
What does the layer of leaf litter do for the soil of a forest?Answer: It keeps the soil moist and stops erosion. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
When the word forest first came into English, it meant wild land set aside for what?Answer: Hunting. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Which Latin word for forest and woodland gave English the word sylvan?Answer: Silva. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Which layer forms a shady, protective umbrella over the rest of the forest?Answer: The canopy. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Which layer is made up of bushes, shrubs and young trees that live in the shade?Answer: The understory. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Which rulers of England brought in the word forest as a legal term?Answer: The Normans. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Forests of the world 18
About how much net oxygen does a full-grown tree produce in a year?Answer: 100 kilograms. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
About how much of the plant biomass of the Earth do forests contain?Answer: 80 percent. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Archaeopteris, an early tree-like plant, is the first species known to do what?Answer: Cast shade. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Between which latitudes north does boreal forest grow?Answer: 53 and 67 degrees. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
By an estimate of 2015, about how many trees are there in the world?Answer: 3 trillion. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Forest plantations are generally meant to produce timber and what else?Answer: Pulpwood. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Forests form where rainfall is high. Which kind of landscape takes over where conditions are drier?Answer: Savanna. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
In a tropical dry forest, what do most trees do for several months of the year?Answer: Stand leafless. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
In which geologic period did the first known forests on Earth arise, about 390 million years ago?Answer: The Devonian. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Measured by the ground they cover, which ecosystems lead all others on dry land?Answer: Forests. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
More than half of the forests of the world are in five countries. Which one has the largest area?Answer: Russia. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Seasonal tropical forests are perhaps the best match for which everyday word?Answer: Jungle. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Temperate needleleaf forests are made up entirely, or nearly so, of which kind of tree?Answer: Conifers. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Trees in the Amazon release water from their leaves ahead of the rains. How much earlier does the wet season begin because of it?Answer: Two to three months. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Two thousand years ago forest covered 80 percent of Europe. To what share has it been reduced?Answer: 34 percent. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Which country began a ban on logging in 1998 because of the erosion and flooding that logging caused?Answer: China. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Which low, dense forest is found in the tropics where the drought is long?Answer: Thorn forest. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
Wood, beef and soy are three of the four commodities behind most deforestation today. What is the fourth?Answer: Palm oil. Source: Wikipedia: Forest
The taiga 18
The acid soil that forms under evergreen needles is called spodosol. What is its other name?Answer: Podzol. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
The caribou of North America is the same species as which animal of Eurasia?Answer: The reindeer. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
For about how long has the taiga existed in its present form?Answer: 12,000 years. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
How do most of the reptiles and amphibians of the boreal forest get through the winter?Answer: They hibernate underground. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
In the drier taiga of western Canada and Alaska, about how often does fire come around to the same ground?Answer: Every 50 to 100 years. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
In the long days of a taiga summer, for about how many hours a day does the sun stay above the horizon?Answer: Nearly 20. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
In the taiga of which country were the lowest reliably recorded temperatures of the Northern Hemisphere measured?Answer: Russia. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
In which two countries are the largest areas of taiga?Answer: Russia and Canada. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
Many animals and plants live in the taiga of both North America and Eurasia. What once connected the two?Answer: The Bering land bridge. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
More than how many species of birds have their nesting grounds in the taiga?Answer: 300. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
The taiga has two major types. One is closed canopy forest. What is the other?Answer: Lichen woodland. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
Taiga is a borrowing into English. Which tongue supplied it?Answer: Russian. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
The taiga is also called boreal forest. What is its third name?Answer: Snow forest. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
The taiga of Eastern Siberia is a vast forest of which tree?Answer: Larch. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
What is the largest animal in the taiga?Answer: The wood bison. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
When the glaciers pulled back from the taiga, what filled the hollows they left?Answer: Lakes and bogs. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
Which tree makes up most of the taiga of North America?Answer: Spruce. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
Which two wildflowers are named as common in the clearings of the taiga?Answer: Fireweed and lupin. Source: Wikipedia: Taiga
The temperate deciduous forest 15
About how much precipitation does a temperate deciduous forest get in a year?Answer: 750 to 1,500 millimeters. Source: Wikipedia: Temperate deciduous forest
Autumn leaves turn red, yellow and orange as which green pigment breaks down?Answer: Chlorophyll. Source: Wikipedia: Temperate deciduous forest
By what other name are temperate deciduous forests known?Answer: Temperate broadleaf forests. Source: Wikipedia: Temperate deciduous forest
Deer are plentiful in deciduous forests. How are they described?Answer: As animals of clearings, not true forest animals. Source: Wikipedia: Temperate deciduous forest
How is the soil of the temperate deciduous forest described overall?Answer: Highly fertile. Source: Wikipedia: Temperate deciduous forest
How long does the growing season of a temperate deciduous forest tend to last?Answer: 120 to 250 days. Source: Wikipedia: Temperate deciduous forest
How many kinds of tree does a typical square kilometer of temperate deciduous forest hold?Answer: Only 3 to 4. Source: Wikipedia: Temperate deciduous forest
How much of a snowfall can the branches of the trees catch before it reaches the forest floor?Answer: Up to 80 percent. Source: Wikipedia: Temperate deciduous forest
In summer, how much cooler than its surroundings does the shade of the canopy tend to keep a deciduous forest?Answer: About 2 degrees Celsius. Source: Wikipedia: Temperate deciduous forest
In which two countries of South America are small areas of temperate deciduous forest found?Answer: Chile and Argentina. Source: Wikipedia: Temperate deciduous forest
North American deciduous forests have maples and basswoods. Which nut trees are named with them?Answer: Hickories and American chestnuts. Source: Wikipedia: Temperate deciduous forest
Oak, maple, basswood and elm are typical trees of the northern deciduous forest. Which of these is named with them?Answer: Beech. Source: Wikipedia: Temperate deciduous forest
Trees of which genus dominate the temperate deciduous forests of the Southern Hemisphere?Answer: Nothofagus. Source: Wikipedia: Temperate deciduous forest
What do many animals of the deciduous forest do in winter, while the trees rest?Answer: Hibernate or migrate. Source: Wikipedia: Temperate deciduous forest
Why do herbs on the floor of a deciduous forest grow early in spring?Answer: The trees have not yet regrown their leaves. Source: Wikipedia: Temperate deciduous forest