Spanning Forests
A spanning forest is a type of subgraph that generalises the concept of a spanning tree. However, there are two definitions in common use. One is that a spanning forest is a subgraph that consists of a spanning tree in each connected component of a graph. (Equivalently, it is a maximal cycle-free subgraph.) This definition is common in computer science and optimization. It is also the definition used when discussing minimum spanning forests, the generalization to disconnected graphs of minimum spanning trees. Another definition, common in graph theory, is that a spanning forest is any subgraph that is both a forest (contains no cycles) and spanning (includes every vertex).
Read more about this topic: Spanning Tree
Famous quotes containing the word forests:
“Our village life would stagnate if it were not for the unexplored forests and meadows which surround it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)