---
title: "Introduction To Urban Forested Natural Areas"
slug: "introduction-to-urban-forested-natural-areas"
updated: 2026-07-09T17:57:00Z
published: 2026-07-09T17:57:38Z
canonical: "fic.naturalareasnyc.org/introduction-to-urban-forested-natural-areas"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://fic.naturalareasnyc.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction To Urban Natural Areas

Introduction to Urban Forested Natural Areas

Across the United States, there are more than one million acres of forests embedded in urban landscapes. Forested natural areas are distinct from other parts of the urban forest, like street and park trees in terms of size, biodiversity, species composition, and how they’re managed. These forests are more than a collection of trees–they support plant and animal communities from the soil underfoot to the leaves in the top of the forest canopy.

The following resources provide an overview of forested natural areas:
* [The Care of Forested Natural Areas in American Cities](/v1/docs/care-of-forested-nautral-areas)
* [Realizing the Potential of Urban Forests](/v1/docs/realizing-potential-urban-forests)
* [Forests in Cities: The Importance of Forested Natural Areas Across the U.S.](/v1/docs/importance-forested-natural-areas-across-us)

The Natural Areas Conservancy’s FiC network was launched in 2019 to promote and advance healthy forested natural areas in cities across America through science, management, partnerships, and communications. Learn more about the Forests in Cities Network with the resources below or our [webpage](https://naturalareasnyc.org/forests-in-cities-network/).
* [Forests in Cities Network: Fact Sheet](/v1/docs/forests-in-cities-fact-sheet)
* [Urban Nature Stats: Metrics and Data on Forested Natural Areas from the 17-City Forests in Cities Network](/v1/docs/urban-nature-stats-metrics)

Other introductory urban forestry resources:
* [Vibrant Cities Lab](/v1/docs/vibrant-cities-lab)