[2] High forests can occur naturally or they can be created and maintained by human management.
[3][4] Even-aged forests contain trees of one, or two successional age classes (generations).
Uneven-aged forests have three or more age classes represented.
[citation needed] High forests have relatively high genetic diversity compared with coppice forests, which develop from vegetative reproduction.
The understory of a high forest can be open (parklike, easy to see and walk through), or it can be dense.