Description: Woodlands are complex ecosystems comprised of communities of trees, shrubs, ground vegetation and immediate environmental conditions on which they depend. Woodlands provide a range of ecosystem functions including: attenuating flood flows; trapping air and water borne sediment; preventing erosion and stabilizing steep slopes; providing shade for cold water fisheries; enhancing groundwater recharge areas; providing habitat; and promoting species diversity. Woodlands may also contain remnants of old growth forests. Woodlands are important because of their scarcity in Peel and the rest of the Greater Toronto Area. Forest management using good forestry practices is an acceptable activity within woodlands.