We found that 56% (15 620 km2) of grasslands in this region are burned less than every 3 yr and are therefore susceptible to conversion to shrub or tree dominance.
We found that while the region's gross tree cover grew by 32%, this increase was entirely due to the conversion of croplands to tree plantations, particularly monocultures.
Two contrasting trajectories for vegetation restoration in agricultural landscapes are secondary succession following cropland abandonment that can regenerate woodlands (passive restoration) and conversion of cropland to tree plantations (active restoration), which have mostly focused on pine species in the Mediterranean Basin.
Human settlement, clearing for agriculture, and conversion of forests to tree plantations account for most of these declines [1].
One tree of Class 1, two each of Classes 2 (2andnd 2b) and 3 (3andnd 3b), and one of Class 4, were randomly selected from each plot for conversion to veneer, resulting in six trees per plot, and a total of 30 trees at Site 803 and 24 at Site 808.
The ground based inventory described here, like most traditional forest monitoring, relies on tree measurement and conversion to volume, biomass, and carbon equivalents using established species-specific regressions developed through destructive sampling of trees [10 13].
The ground based inventory described here, like most traditional forest monitoring, relies on tree measurement and conversion to volume, biomass, and carbon equivalents using established species-specific regressions developed through destructive sampling of trees [ 10- 13].
Conservation efforts for prairie grouse should be focused on landscape processes that contribute to landscape fragmentation, such as increased dominance of trees or conversion to other land uses.
In 2007, prior to the onset of our long-term work at the site, the forest was isolated from a larger expanse of forest by the clearing of trees and conversion to pastures of land to the north and south of the fragment.
The large-scale conversion of old forests to tree plantations has made it increasingly important to understand how understory vegetation responds to such landscape changes.
