The Forgotten Forests- IELTS Reading Answers

Prity Mallick

13 min read

Updated On Feb 03, 2025

Dive into the strategies to answer the different types of questions in IELTS Reading Passage, “The Forgotten Forests”. With practice, get familiar with the tricks as well as the types of questions to score a band 8+ in the IELTS exam.

The Forgotten Forests- IELTS Reading Answers

Types of Questions in the IELTS Reading Passage - The Forgotten Forests
Tips for Answering the Question Types in The Forgotten Forests Reading to Achieve Band Score 8+
Flowchart Completion [Q.6 - Q.9]
IELTS Reading Passage - The Forgotten Forests
Questions 1-13
Also Read :

Recent IELTS Reading Test with Answers PDF

The best way to master IELTS Reading is to practice passages like ‘The Forgotten Forest Reading Answers’. However, merely answering the questions will not help in acing the IELTS exam as there are different strategies which must be incorporated for each question type. The Forgotten Forests Reading Answers, an IELTS Academic reading passage with 13 questions, offers you that opportunity. The key to achieving the desired band score in this section is to learn how to scan the given text, use IELTS Reading keyword techniques, and locate the answer within the limited time provided.

Let’s get started with the preparation and get you a band score 8+.

Types of Questions in the IELTS Reading Passage - The Forgotten Forests

In theIELTS Academic Reading practice passage, “The Forgotten Forests”, there are various question types. Each of these question types is asked in the IELTS Reading exam. So, the passage given in this practice test will help you enhance your reading and understanding capabilities. If you want to familiarise yourself with all the question types, don’t hesitate to take an IELTS reading practice test.

Here are the types of questions asked in the passage :

Sentence Completion [Q.1 – Q.5]
Flowchart [Q.6 – Q.9]
True/False or Not Given [Q.10 – Q.13]

Tips for Answering the Question Types in The Forgotten Forests Reading to Achieve Band Score 8+

When you want to receive a band score 8+ on the IELTS exam, knowing the answers to "The Forgotten Forests" IELTS Reading Answers might not be enough. Let's quickly review some tips for solving The Forgotten Forests Reading Answers.

Sentence Completion [Q.1 - Q.5]

Understand Keywords: Focus on keywords in the question, as they guide you to the relevant part of the passage. Look for synonyms and related words in the text to locate answers.
Check Word Limits: Pay close attention to any word limit mentioned (e.g., “no more than two words”). Stick strictly to the limit to avoid errors.
Find Context Clues: Identify surrounding words in the question that provide context, such as verbs and adjectives, to better predict the type of word needed (e.g., noun, adjective).
Match Grammar Structure: Ensure your answer fits grammatically with the incomplete sentence. This helps confirm you’ve chosen the correct word(s).
Scan for Synonyms: The passage often uses synonyms or rephrased sentences. Practice scanning for words with similar meanings to match with keywords in the question.

Flowchart Completion [Q.6 - Q.9]

Follow the Sequence: Flowcharts are typically organized in logical or chronological order, so start from the beginning and follow each step in sequence.
Skim for Key Terms: Quickly locate key terms in the flowchart by skimming the passage. This helps you pinpoint where each step is described.
Use Headings/Subheadings: Look at section headings in the passage for clues about where information related to each step might be located.
Look for Transitional Phrases: Words like “next,” “then,” or “after” in the passage can help you identify the flow of events or processes.
Match with Word Limits: As with other completion questions, adhere to any word limit specified to avoid mistakes.

True/False/Not Given (Q.10 – Q.13)

Understand Each Statement: Read the statement carefully to understand exactly what it’s saying. Even small differences in wording can affect the answer.
Find Proof in the Text: Search for explicit information in the passage to confirm or contradict the statement. If you can’t find clear evidence, it’s likely “Not Given.”
Distinguish ‘False’ from ‘Not Given’: “False” means the statement directly contradicts information in the text, while “Not Given” means there’s no information provided on the topic.
Watch for Qualifiers: Words like “always,” “never,” “only,” and “some” can alter the meaning of a statement. Be careful with these details to determine accuracy.
Stay Objective: Rely strictly on the passage information, not your own knowledge or assumptions, to decide if the statement is true, false, or not given.

Now that you are well aware of the strategies to be involved in answering the questions given in the passage, “The Forgotten Forests”, let’s dive into the passage now. Ideally, you should not spend more than 20 minutes for the passage “The Forgotten Forests”.

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IELTS Reading Passage - The Forgotten Forests

Found only in the Deep South of America, longleaf pine woodlands have dwindled to about 3 percent of their former range, but new efforts are underway to restore them.

THE BEAUTY AND THE BIODIVERSITY of the longleaf pine forest are well-kept secrets, even in its native South. Yet, it is among the richest ecosystems in North America, rivaling tallgrass prairies and the ancient forests of the Pacific Northwest in the number of species it shelters. And like those two other disappearing wildlife habitats, longleaf is also critically endangered.

In longleaf pine forests, trees grow widely scattered, creating an open, park-like environment, more like a savanna than a forest. The trees are not so dense as to block the sun. This openness creates a forest floor among the most diverse in the world, where plants such as many-flowered grass pinks, trumpet pitcher plants, Venus flytraps, lavender ladies, and pineland big buttons grow. As many as 50 different species of wildflowers, shrubs, grasses, and ferns have been cataloged in just a single square meter.

Once, nearly 92 million acres of longleaf forest flourished from Virginia to Texas, the only place in the world where it is found. By the turn of the 21st century, however, virtually all of it had been logged, paved, or farmed into oblivion. Only about 3 percent of the original range still supports longleaf forest, and only about 10,000 acres of that is uncut old-growth—the rest is a forest that has regrown after cutting.

Figuring out how to bring back the piney woods also will allow biologists to help the plants and animals that depend on this habitat. Nearly two-thirds of the declining, threatened, or endangered species in the southeastern United States are associated with longleaf. The outright destruction of longleaf is only part of their story, says Mark Danaher, the biologist for South Carolina's Francis Marion National Forest. He says the demise of these animals and plants also is tied to a lack of fire, which once swept through the southern forests regularly. "Fire is absolutely critical for this ecosystem and for the species that depend on it," says Danaher.

Name just about any species that occurs in longleaf, and you can find a connection to fire. Bachman's sparrow is a secretive bird with a beautiful song that echoes across the longleaf Flatwoods. It tucks its nest on the ground beneath dumps of wiregrass and little bluestem in the open under-story. But once the fire has been absent for several years and a tangle of shrubs starts to grow, the sparrows disappear. Gopher tortoises, the only native land tortoises east of the Mississippi, are also abundant in longleaf. A keystone species for these forests, its burrows provide homes and safety to more than 300 species of vertebrates and invertebrates ranging from eastern diamond-back rattlesnakes to gopher frogs. If the fire is suppressed, however, the tortoises are choked out. "If we lose the fire," says Bob Mitchell, an ecologist at the Jones Center, "we lose wildlife.'

Without fire, we also lose longleaf. Fire knocks back the oaks and other hardwoods that can grow to overwhelm longleaf forests. "They are fire forests," Mitchell says. "They evolved in the lightning capital of the eastern United States." And it wasn't only lightning strikes that set the forest aflame. "Native Americans also lit fires to keep the forest open," Mitchell says. "So did the early pioneers. They helped create the longleaf pine forests that we know today."

Fire also changes how nutrients flow throughout longleaf ecosystems, in ways we are just beginning to understand. For example, researchers have discovered that frequent fires provide extra calcium, which is critical for egg production, to endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers. Frances James, a retired avian ecologist from Florida State University, has studied these small black-and-white birds for more than two decades in Florida's sprawling Apalachicola National Forest. When she realized female woodpeckers laid larger clutches in the first breeding season after their territories were burned, she and her colleagues went searching for answers. "We learned calcium is stashed away in woody shrubs when the forest is not burned," James says. "But when there is a fire, a pulse of calcium moves down into the soil and up into the longleaf." Eventually, this calcium makes its way up the food chain to a tree-dwelling species of ant, which is the red-cockaded's favorite food. The result: is more calcium for the birds, which leads to more eggs, younger, and more woodpeckers.

Today, fire is used as a vital management tool for preserving both longleaf and its wildlife. Most of these fires are prescribed burns, deliberately set with a drip torch. Although the public often opposes any type of fire—and the smoke that goes with it—these frequent, low-intensity burns reduce the risk of catastrophic conflagrations. "Forests are going to burn," says Amadou Diop, NWF's southern forests restoration manager. "It's just a question of when. With prescribed burns, we can pick the time and the place."

Restoring longleaf is not an easy task. The herbaceous layer—the understory of wiregrasses and other plants, also needs to be re-created. In areas where the land has not been chewed up by farming but converted to loblolly or slash pine plantations, the seed bank of the longleaf forest usually remains viable beneath the soil. In time, this original vegetation can be coaxed back. Where agriculture has destroyed the seeds, however, wiregrass must be replanted. Right now, the expense is prohibitive, but researchers are searching for low-cost solutions.

Bringing back longleaf is not for the short-sighted, however. Few of us will be alive when the pines being planted today become mature forests in 70 to 80 years. But that is not stopping longleaf enthusiasts. "Today, it's getting hard to find longleaf seedlings to buy," one of the private landowners says. "Everyone wants them. Longleaf is in a resurgence."

Questions 1-13

Questions 1-5

Complete the notes below.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.

Forest fire ensures that:-

Birds can locate their 1…………………… in the ground.
The burrows of a species of 2……………………. provide homes to many other animals.
Hardwoods such as 3……………………. can grow and outnumber long-leaf trees.

Apart from fires lit by lightning:-

Fires are created by 4………………………. and settlers.
Fires deliberately lit are called 5……………………….

Questions 6-9

Complete the flowchart below.

Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

How to increase the number of cockaded woodpeckers

Calcium stored in 6___________

⇓

Shrubs are burned. Calcium released into 7______________ and travels up to the leaves.

⇓

a kind of 8______________eats the leaves

⇓

Red-cockaded woodpeckers eat those a

⇓

The number of 9_____________ increases

⇓

More cockaded woodpeckers

Questions 10-13

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 10-13 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE If the statement agrees with the information

FALSE If the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN If the information is not given in the passage

10 The sparse distribution of longleaf pine trees leads to the most diversity of species.

11 It is easier to restore forests converted to farms than forests converted to plantations.

12 The cost to restore forests is increasing recently.

13 Few can live to see the replanted forest reach its maturity.

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Well done! Let’s check out the answers to the IELTS Reading Passage “The Forgotten Forests”! With the explanation on the right answers, you will be able to understand the strategies which can be incorporated while answering these types of questions to achieve a band score of 8+ in the IELTS Reading Section.

Reading Answers

ANSWERS	ANSWER LOCATION	EXPLANATION
1. nests	Paragraph 6, line 3	The 3rd line of paragraph 6 states that It tucks its nest on the ground beneath dumps of wiregrass and little bluestem in the open under-story. These lines deduce that birds tuck their nest on the ground below the dumps of wiregrass and little bluestem in the open understory, that is the birds can locate their nest in the ground. So, the answer is Nest.
2. tortoises	Paragraph 6, line 6	We find a reference for tortoises in the 6th line, where it is mentioned that Gopher tortoises, the only native land tortoises east of the Mississippi, are also abundant in longleaf. A keystone species for these forests, its burrows provide homes and safety to more than 300 species of vertebrates and invertebrates ranging from eastern diamond-back rattlesnakes to gopher frogs. These lines indicate that Tortoises are in large numbers in the longleaf and that their burrows provide a home to many animals. Thus, the answer is Tortoises.
3. Oaks	Paragraph 7	The introductory lines of the 7th paragraph illustrates Mitchell saying that without fire, we also lose longleaf. Fire knocks back the oaks and other hardwoods that can grow to overwhelm longleaf forests. We can understand that longleaf will be lost without fire because fire refuses the oaks and hardwoods that grow to bury the longleaf forests. Thus, hardwood such as oaks doesn’t take over. So, the answer is Oaks.
4. Native Americans	Paragraph 7, line 5	Mitchel says in the 5th line of paragraph 7 that native Americans also lit fires to keep the forest open, which means that apart from the fires lit by lightning, native Americans lit fires to keep the forests open. Thus, the answer is native Americans.
5. prescribed burns	Paragraph 9, line 2	The 2nd line of the 9th paragraph states that most of these fires are prescribed burns, deliberately set with a drip torch. These lines indicate that fires deliberately lit were called prescribed burns. So, the answer is prescribed burns.
6. shrubs	Paragraph 8, line 10	In the 10th line of paragraph 8, James says that they learned calcium is stashed away in woody shrubs when the forest is not burned. These lines indicate that calcium is stored (stashed) safely in woody shrubs when the forests are not burnt. So, the answer is shrubs.
7. soil	Paragraph 8, line 12	The twelfth line of paragraph 8 states, “But when there is a fire, a pulse of calcium moves down into the soil and up into the longleaf.” These lines suggest that when the forests start burning, a pulse of calcium is released into the soil, traveling upto the leaves. So, the answer is soil.
8. Ant	Paragraph 8, line 13	The 13th line of paragraph 8 reveals that eventually, this calcium makes its way up the food chain to a tree-dwelling species of ant, which is the red-cockaded’s favorite food. We can deduce from these lines that after the calcium is released into the soil, it travels up into the longleaf, making its way up the food chain to a tree-dwelling species of ant, the red-cockaded’s favorite food. Thus, the answer is Ant.
9. eggs	Paragraph 8, last line	The last line of paragraph 8 reveals the result, more calcium for the birds, which leads to more eggs, younger, and more woodpeckers. These lines indicate that if there is more calcium for the birds, there’ll be an increase in the eggs, leading to more woodpeckers. Thus, the answer is ‘Eggs’.
10. True	Paragraph 3	When we read paragraph 3, we understand that trees grow widely scattered in longleaf pine forests, creating an open, park-like environment, more like a savanna than a forest. The trees are not so dense as to block the sun. This openness creates a forest floor among the most diverse in the world, where plants such as many-flowered grass pinks, trumpet pitcher plants, Venus flytraps, lavender ladies, and pineland big buttons grow. As many as 50 different species of wildflowers, shrubs, grasses, and ferns have been cataloged in just a single square meter. These lines indicate that the scanty distribution of longleaf pine trees in the longleaf pine forests results in the growth of most diversity of species. Thus, the statement agrees with the information, so, the answer is True.
11. False	Paragraph 10	The initial line of paragraph 10 reveals that restoring longleaf is not an easy task. The herbaceous layer—the understory of wiregrasses and other plants, also needs to be re-created. In areas where the land has not been chewed up by farming but converted to loblolly or slash pine plantations, the seed bank of the longleaf forest usually remains viable beneath the soil. We can deduce from these lines that restoring longleaf pine forests is a complicated task. Because the herbaceous layer and other plants require to be recreated and in areas where land has been chewed up by farming but has been converted to pine plantations, the seed bank remains viable under the soil. Therefore, it is difficult to restore forests. Thus, the statement contradicts the information, so, the answer is False.
12. Not Given	Paragraph 10	We find a reference for the herbaceous layer in the initial lines of paragraph 10, where the author says that restoring longleaf is not an easy task. The herbaceous layer—the understory of wiregrasses and other plants, also needs to be re-created. These lines suggest that restoring is a challenging process and that the herbaceous layer of wiregrass and other plants requires to be recreated. Thus, there’s no reference to the fact that the technology in recreating the herbaceous layer will phase out in the near future due to the high cost. So, the answer is Not Given.
13. True	Paragraph 11	In paragraph 11, the author concludes by saying that bringing back longleaf is not for the short-sighted, however, few of us will be alive when the pines being planted today become mature forests in 70 to 80 years. We understand that reviving longleaf pine is not for the short-sighted. However, there’ll be some people who will be alive when the pines that are planted today become mature forests in the future. Therefore, only a few people in the restoration program will see the replanted forest reach its maturity. Thus, the statement agrees with the facts, so, the answer is True.

Awesome work! How much did you score? Remember to note the areas of improvement to do more targeted practice. Don’t stop here! Continue with the practice to achieve a band score of 8+ in the IELTS exam. As you prepare for the IELTS Reading Section, check out and attempt IELTS Reading Practice Tests for becoming familiar with the types of the questions and its specific strategies.

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