Rangeland Production Lost to Tree Encroachment
Tree Encroachment
About these Reports
Herbaceous production is central to the function and structure of rangelands and the ecosystem services they provide. Tree encroachment of rangelands significantly reduces herbaceous production as trees out-compete grasses and forbs for limited resources. This lost production has cascading impacts on food and fiber provisioning, habitat quality, water storage, and biodiversity for endemic rangeland species.
These reports build upon recent advances in remote sensing and vegetation modeling to provide state- and county-level estimates for rangeland production lost to tree encroachment. Use the interactive map below to navigate to any of the 17 states and 1,062 counties for which we have data. Learn more about the science and analysis behind these reports in the Supporting Information section, below.
Reports updated November 10, 2023. See the changelog for details.