Post #1720551
2026-03-25 10:21 UTC
@siderea The part of Vermont I live in was very clear of trees while small farming was profitable. 50 years ago or so, farming was less profitable, and land was not mowed and grazed as much. Trees grew up like crazy. My bit of land was mostly clear 50 years ago, now just the part I mow. The trees grow fast. If there were no nutrients without the trees, how did the trees all do that, appear in the pastured soil?
Replies (2)
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@siderea@universeodon.com 2026-03-25 10:47
@johnlehet Two obvious possibilities are that the native trees have some adaptation to the area and that with all that cultivation, the soil was remediated at least enough to get the trees going again.
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@johnlehet@mas.to 2026-03-25 16:03
@siderea In contrast to your biology teacher, I remember a bit from one of those endlessly long geology articles they used to run in The New Yorker. I think the one I’m thinking of was by Wallace Stegner. He said that humans can clear cut trees and such, but the only place in the US that bounces back from that easily is New England. New Hampshire at high altitudes not so much, but otherwise it’s pretty fertile soil in many places. My garden is great. No trees have been there for along time.