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Depletion of a Great Plains Resource: The Case of Shelter-belts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Glen A. Marotz  and
Curtis J. Sorenson
Glen A. Marotz
Affiliation:
Associate Professor & Chairman, Department of Geography–Meteorology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045.
Curtis J. Sorenson
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, Department of Geography–Meteorology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA.
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Extract

The Great Plains Forest Shelter-belt Project began in 1935 and was the largest tree-planting programme ever attempted in the Great Plains. Its goals included soil-moisture conservation, enhancement of a seemingly featureless environment, improvement of crop yields, preservation of the soil resource, and climatic amelioration. The first four proved realistic, and quickly became the prime rationale for the programme. Millions of trees were planted, from the Dakotas to Texas, and some planting still continues under two federal cost-sharing arrangements. In many instances, the total number of hectares that have been planted exceeds the natural forest vegetation.

Type
Main Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , Autumn 1979 , pp. 215 - 224
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1979

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References

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