Firstly, not all woods are, or need to be, mentioned in the maps. Only large forests are labeled. The other areas could have patches of woods that are too small / too thin to really put on a map.
Looking at Beleriand, the forests mentioned are Taur-im-Duinath, Region, Neldoreth, Brethil, Nimbrethil, Nan-tathren, and Dorthonion. But among Treebeard's list of the forests he's been in there are the "elm-woods of Ossiriand", although none such are abeled on the map. Also, it says in The Ruin of Doriath:
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Then Beren arose and left Tol Galen, and summoning to him Dior his son they went north to the River Ascar...
...When the Dwarves of Nogrod, returning from Menegroth with diminished host came again to Sarn Athrad, they were assailed by unseen enemies; for as they climber up Gelion's banks burdened with the spoils of Doriath, suddenly all the woods were filled with the sound of elven-horns...
[...]
And as they climbed the long slopes beneath Mount Dolmed there came forth the Shepherds or the Trees, and they drove the Dwarves into the shadowy woods of Ered Lindon...
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We aren't shown woods anywhere near Ascar or Mount Dolmed, or in that entire region, though it is clear that there were trees - lots of 'em. From the TA the easiest example that comes to mind is Ithilien: it obviously has a wide variety of vegetation from moss to tall trees, but you see none of that on the map.
My explanation would be that the books have very rough maps of the lands. I bet if you looked in Minas Tirith's library or asked Elrond for some resources, you'd find all those woods on their maps.
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Originally Posted by Lal
Were the woods kept cut back as they were a threat - as it seems the Old Forest was?
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From what I remember from the UT, the Numenorians cut down many ME trees for timber. This factor, as well as lack of such details, could contribute to the bare spots on the map.