In a new study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, researchers have shown how woodland expansion also takes an economic toll. American ranchers often depend on tree-free rangelands to raise their livestock. Between 1990 and 2019, landowners in the Western US lost out on nearly $5 billion worth of forage—the plants that cattle or sheep eat—because of the growth of new trees. The amount of forage lost over those three decades equates to 332 million tons, or enough hay bales to circle the globe 22 times.
Fast-growing, drought-tolerant trees are slowly spreading across grasslands
I saw this at least a month ago and never followed up. I wasn’t going to include it because I thought interest may be limited but it is an important topic. The paper seems info dense but I haven’t looked at it much.
The Intimate Relationship Between Pinyon Jays and Piñon Pines Is Unraveling
This article meshes well with the above. It is another indication that ecosystems are devilishly complex and contradicting things can be happening at the same time.
Great graphics in the article.
I was also skimming through this a few weeks ago and they made the point, with pix 100 years apart, of how forests expanded in the west. All that is in flux now.
That is a premise that Flannery popularized. It is a good read on the idea that North America has a history of eco instability. North south mountain ranges are a big factor.