Forest and environment are related concepts. The forest is an environment (it is the main expression of the terrestrial natural environment) and its destruction has environmental consequences. There is natural and structured environment.

In this book "Forests and environment in ancient Greece" it is commented as follows: The ancient Greeks believed that gods and goddesses protected the forests (trees, animals, birds), but this only applied to sacred groves. In other areas, forests were destroyed by logging, grazing, and fires. Wood was a unique material for many uses (including ships), animal husbandry was a means of survival, and fires were uncontrollable. In densely populated areas, the destruction of forests and the consequent degradation of the environment were intense. Plato's formulation that in the mountains of Attica the rocks protrude "like the bones of a sick body" is characteristic. Homer mentions forests, deforestation (even in Ithaca), grazing, extensive use of wood, and fires (in the Iliad). Degradation of the environment existed in the countryside as well as in workplaces and settlements. The destruction of forests was a price for survival and the development of civilizations in the Mediterranean region. Theophrastus is the first researcher of wood as a product of forests and material. The flora and fauna of Western Macedonia, in prehistoric times (up to 120,000,000 years), were very different (trees up to 120 meters high, elephants, hippopotamuses) and a stone axe with a handle dating back 100,000 years was found. Consequences of long-term deforestation exist today (bare mountains, erosion, torrents, floods) and reforestation is practically not taking place.