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Alternative_Donut_62 t1_j4ep7gy wrote

Reply to comment by vortical42 in Pennsylvania was heavily deforested in the 1800s; mostly due to unchecked logging companies. by Libsoccer20

Soil erosion, nutrients getting stripped. Sheep and deer eating all the saplings. (Although I can imagine the deer in PA doing something similar today)

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vortical42 t1_j4epqrq wrote

Yeah, I imagine the sheep could make a big difference. The soil here was pretty far gone as well (hence why it was considered waste land and cheap to buy up).

Not sure what the time scale was like there, but here reclamation efforts were generally within 50-70 years of the end of logging.

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OhioJeeper t1_j4qfaib wrote

>The soil here was pretty far gone as well (hence why it was considered waste land and cheap to buy up).

Also likely why you see a lot of pine in our state forests, from what I remember working in ohio it grows well in reclaimed mine land.

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Pink_Slyvie t1_j4f5mpf wrote

I wonder if they had a dedicated workforce if they could still make it happen. Should they though? Would it benefit the wildlife at this point? I have no idea.

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Beef5030 t1_j4gk0fw wrote

There's organizations working towards reforestation in Scotland. An interesting take is Norway has similar problems with farmland taking away old growth, while also being at such a northern latitude.

But in the last century much progress was made there (norway) in reforestation, so there is a frame work for Scotland to do the same.

The deer problem there is also exasperated by their Hunting regulations. It boils down to not having public hunting grounds (hunting isn't included in their right to roam law as far as I'm aware). So private estates that hold huge swaths of land basically hord all the Stags and charge $$$$$$ to anyone who wants to shoot them. So unless your extremely wealthy, you ain't culling the herd.

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