[MUD-Dev] Java, applets, forests and ecologies.

[Chris Gray]

[Michael H:]

:Actually, plains arise because of periodic droughts.  In the Plains,
:great big droughts occur every X number of years, and trees cannot
:tolerate this.  Grasses, on the other hand, do quite nicely, hence the
:Plains are covered in grass. :)

By coincidence, one of our local TV stations had a special on last night
that was produced locally. It was all about the great plains. They said
that the main reason for the plains is the rain-shadow of the Rocky
Mountains. Near the mountains, there is very little mositure, so only
very short grasses grow. Further east (1500 miles or so!), the shadow
effect is much less, so longer grasses grow, and then you get back into
forests. Fire is also a big factor, although man has messed that up
quite a bit. Trees typically die after a fire, but grass has a large,
deep root system, and will spring right up after being burnt away. The
burning is apparently good for the grass, since it burns off a lot of
the detritus, and after a fire the grasses grow higher and greener.

The dustbowls of the '30's were caused mostly by poor farming practices -
that kind of drought isn't normally hard on the grasses, as Michael says.

It would be interesting to know what would happen to the prairies if man
died out. We've planted a lot of trees that wouldn't normally be there -
I wonder if they would survive and spread in the shadow of the decaying
buildings? My city of Edmonton looks a lot like a forest with buildings,
from an angle.

--
Chris Gray   cg at ami-cg.GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA