ABSTRACT
Any discussion of forest health can be a complicated exercise, regardless of the particular context: natural forest, tree farm, plantation or commercial production forest, urban “forest,” or the wildland-urban interface. Engaging in such an endeavor presumes at least a rudimentary understanding of the subject entities and concepts, or some level of consensus as to the meaning of the various terms. What is a forest? What is forest health? What is the wildland-urban interface, where does it start, and where does it end? These are not, or at least they have not been, short-answer questions. Simple, static, and generally accepted definitions remain elusive due to the very nature of biological systems and the constantly evolving and sometimes conflicting understandings we apply to them.
