Stop Planting Trees! Grasslands Need Our Help!!

[@mrsslibby6857]

THANK YOU! I majored in natural resources and people HATE when I tell them stuff like this. Biodiversity should be the goal not just more trees.

[@mrsslibby6857]

Or we could find ways to educate people about biodiversity like this man is doing in fun and entertaining ways. Honestly I think the whole concept of dumbing things down for the general public is the reason the general public is so dumb. Sure we don't need to go super in depth with explaining the intricacies of different ecosystems but it's not hard to explain to people that different types on environments can all be beneficial and we need all of them.

[@mrsslibby6857]

@@AllRightsss then I assume you probably wouldn't care about planting trees either. The people who care enough about our planet and natural resources to want trees to be planted would also want to help other ecosystems if they knew about how important they are.

[@mrsslibby6857]

@@AllRightsss it's not my intention to belittle you. It's just a simple fact that either you care or you don't. I care about many things that are not or do not have to be a part of my daily life. It's a choice. You choose to not concern yourself with things that don't directly affect you. That's understandable, many people make that choice. But I choose differently. If that fact makes you feel insulted in some way maybe you should figure out why that is.

[@mrsslibby6857]

@@AllRightsss I really and truly have no idea what you're talking about.

[@SleepToNeverWakeAgain]

@@mrsslibby6857 just plant more trees I need new tree stand spots hunt more Bambi's

[@GaiaCarney]

Teach the people, Native Habitat Project! The ultra dense mono-tree plantings in Oregon burn like an inferno! I wish the Forest Service would pander to the timber industry less and become more interested in healthy forest lands 😔

[@jameswall2445]

I'm part of the disaster teams for Oregon. The poor management of lands is a big part of the problem.

[@Pensnmusic]

The government pandering to corporations? No, they would never...

[@xXthechameleonXxog]

Bro shit in Cali in Oregon in WA burn down because they don't to proper woods management they let scrub take over and dry out and then liberal arsenist go lighting them up

[@DustyHoney]

I don’t know why more people don’t take natural habitat into consideration.

[@xXthechameleonXxog]

@@DustyHoney the irony of saying that with a MLP pic lol

[@crazy-le9eo]

No joke I remembered looking out the window on a long road trip and started tripping out because all the trees in the forest were lined up perfectly, like you could clearly see as far down as possible without hitting sunlight

[@BestKCL]

Might be stands of white pine planted in the 30's-60's if I had to guess. At least that's what we have here, and it's exactly what you're describing. Just offset grids with nothing but open deadness underneath the canopy. Animals hate it.

[@I_want_White_Cheddar_Popcorn]

Theres a small patch like that on my bus route home

[@Fluffernater]

In my property, a small part of my large woods has something like that. It's so weird

[@TheGeoffingeorgia]

Those are tree farm plantings for things like power poles, lumber and paper, often they’re not native species and are definitely a monoculture

[@stevenx399]

A meteor can cause an extinction event and destroy everything at a whim. Going psychotic because of climate change is irrational

[@timhendricks8913]

I work with a tribe in California and we are working on this now. We are doing our first burn next month on a property we preped earlier this year. Our goal is to help bring back native plants, insects, trees and wildlife. It's exciting and I feel blessed to be part of it. Healthy land and animals makes healthy humans.

[@ShellyCline]

Yeah, burning forest in California sounds real smart. As if there hasn't been enough of that already going on.

[@cromulom2223]

​@@ShellyCline wait til you hear that burning a area actually helps in growing as the ash becomes nutrients

[@ShellyCline]

@@cromulom2223 I aware of that already. I'm also aware of all the multiple wildfires in California??

[@cromulom2223]

@@ShellyCline you can control a fire

[@ShellyCline]

@@cromulom2223 don't pretend like controlled burns have never gotten out of hand. And if there's any place that might happen right now it's California.

[@siiera1177]

It’s the opposite in Ireland. We used to be 99 percent forested but now it’s not as much. It’s mostly grasslands and bogs now

[@Hakkeholt]

And I'm from Holland, "Holt Land" wich meant Wood-Land... And what is it now ?

[@user-rg7uz8of9r]

Similar in Iceland

[@hallodan23]

@@Hakkeholtweiland, aka green desert

[@brandonw2471]

I only worked forestry one summer but something I learned is that the quantity of trees is not as important as the health of the forest. Properly spaced trees are healthier, grow bigger, and are more resistant to wildfires.

[@matt59fire]

Man my property is so congested with trees i cant walk thru it. Ive cleared a little bit. But i have a long ass road infront of me.

[@Emppu_T.]

true there's this beautiful old oak in the field near a pmays where my pops is at. all wide and spaced out.

[@haden67832]

It's funny because healthier more fire resistant trees is worse for species of grass and the overall ecosystem.

[@petermorhead4160]

I plant Long Leaf Pine sparsely with grassland and wildflower meadow in-between on my North Florida acreage. That is what was on it 500 years ago. Also mixed hardwood hammock trees on some of it. In the wet areas there are mature Cypress trees.

[@Whatsayoutuber]

Love it! 😍 I learned about long leaf pines at the nokuse plantation/EO Wilson biophilia center in northwest Florida

[@rumplestillskin6157]

Long leaf pine makes great lumber too.

[@dxdraiba7604]

I live in escambia county and there are large portions of the county that are nothing but long leaf pine....these areas are the new development areas.....you can see the difference between the old city where they have planted oak and whatnot and the reclaimed swampland where the pine is

[@texanwokey8366]

Question, what do you use for your source to figure out what was originally there.

[@Lotek117]

God I love those old giant cypress trees! It's such a shame most of them were cut down, do you have any of the thousand year old+ cypress trees?

[@000Idiote]

Wetlands are also an often over looked but incredibly important ecosystem which also acts as a better carbon sink than forests.

[@far_above]

And then someone decided to build New Orleans on one of them 💀

[@whoswho1233]

@@far_above nah fr 😂😂😂😂

[@clamfishing3795]

As a forestry student I just wanna say thank you! Please keep making videos and enlightening the public

[@micah_lee]

Me aswell

[@awake8794]

There was a guy that restored the habitat on the land he purchased by planting native grass. He said the grass held on to the rain longer and directed it down into the aquifers and replenishing them. And brought back the entire food chain from the smallest bugs that break down the dead grass (also the things in the soil), all the way up to predators. Pretty amazing, what planting native grass can do.

[@basicmobile6270]

Yaaas! And don't forget keystone species for keeping grasslands and prairies healthy. Bisons definitely need a comeback.

[@garywebb5927]

🐂America's original brush hog.

[@SerangelROM]

fungus is what makes grasslands.

[@austin_bennett]

In my conservation classes we talked about the various types of logging cuts & the teacher himself said he was a big tree hugger who realized that while trees are fantastic there's ways to improve the health of them by simply cutting some can promote the healthy growth of new trees & reduce disease transmission

[@willieclark2256]

Sometimes the best thing for wildlife is the dreaded clear cut!

[@something_else7308]

My hometown used to be a logging town but they banned logging to conserve a species that doesn't even live here!? and now the forests are so unhealthy... overcrowded with tiny brittle half dead trees.

[@TengertLanes]

This is how I feel about bees, people freak out about bees like they are the only pollinators, American has had other pollinators before the European Honey Bee was introduced

[@dickbutt7854]

And the honey bees are killing our native bees by taking resources from our already lacking GRASSLANDS

[@charliesandersfishing]

There are native honey bees to the USA and bumblebees. There are some species that are thrown Europe

[@TheJoshman2011]

The problem is there are many different bee species in North America that are in danger right now and everyone assumes its just the humble bumblebee when there are many more species at risk.

[@Grunk369]

Honey Bees aren’t even in danger in the US, they actually threaten a lot of our natural pollinators.

[@kalvinlabuik3366]

Yes I absolutely try to save bees not harm them if I can

[@ethanstockleyyoung5958]

This is incredibly interesting and was presented in a very cool unpatronising way. Kudos grass man

[@Jake_Sherrell]

Grass man! 🤣

[@rmt6495]

Agree same problem exist in Australia they turned land covered with grass to farm fields but when the grass is gone nothing is holding soil and moisture in the ground that's why there are so many wild fires and everything is drying out also sand storms are worst than ever , something similar happened in us in 1920

[@opalined]

I live in a forest/wetlands biome rural area. We used to have good laws protecting our lovely boggy wetlands but the state government has stripped everything down for business. We're seeing a lot of development because we are near the great lakes and these wetlands are going to be toast.

[@kitgodsey]

Its so painful to see! We know now more than ever how important wetlands are and how hard they are to recreate, I can't understand how people will continue to steamroll them

[@nmg6248]

@@kitgodsey really! So true! And they provide invaluable flood control

[@christophertaylor2464]

that sucks we need the wetlands.

[@zacrintoul]

Sounds like you're a Wisconsinite

[@MostlyZach]

I’d learned that peat bogs were great at it, but had NO idea grasslands were more reliable at carbon sequestration than forests.

[@DeathGodArgon]

Grass produces about 70 odd percent of all this planets oxygen. I do not remember the exact statistic but I remember it to be around this

[@vegahimsa]

@@DeathGodArgon no way. Zooplankton in the ocean are responsible for the largest amount of oxygen on Earth. Over half- if not more of all oxygen comes from microorganisms in the oceans. That’s why our fishing habits will LITERALLY suffocate us. The more algae and less fish in the oceans- it will destroy zooplankton eventually. Suffocating the majority of life on Earth 😊

[@TachibanaTengoku]

@@DeathGodArgon you heard wrong lmao. Most of it is from the ocean and things in it, not grass.

[@randybobandy9828]

In what way? Grass doesn't live for decades or centuries.

[@court2379]

The statement makes no sense. Obviously the larger the mass of the substance made from carbon, cellulose, the more carbon is consumed. Further the longer it takes that cellulose to decompose the better. A forest is pretty well guaranteed to have more mass than grass over the same area and it takes years to decompose. Further if we harvest lumber an out it into long lived things like houses that carbon stays there for a very long time and allows new carbon to be taken out on the same land. Generally grasslands rot all the material produced annually, so there is only what mass there is now. I suppose if we started doing straw bale houses we could produce a similar effect to lumber, but that is a monoculture and probably not the idea he is going for.

[@topsecreturl]

You have christened a new curiosity for me, never thought about that but will be doing some independent research.

[@maddiesmenagerie8853]

Can confirm as a studying ecologist in a forest ecology class, we’re talking about the same stuff and he’s absolutely right. Even in my Fundamentals of Ecology class we talk about how wildfires and grazing are important to maintain our natural prairies, wildlife in general, and grasslands.

[@jonpitts1978]

I'll save you five minutes on Google we can never have too many trees

[@maddiesmenagerie8853]

@@jonpitts1978 putting things in places they shouldn’t be, isn’t good for nature. I’ll save you tens of thousands of dollars on a degree for this stuff and lend you the knowledge from mine :)

[@topsecreturl]

Ya I think I'd rather just answer it for myself. I can read thanks

[@drumhailer547]

CNN says you should never do independent research its dangerous

[@Ai-yahUdingus]

Exactly! I grew up in Midwest Canada and was taught about the importance of grasslands for our native animals and its carbon sink properties. Some estimates say that only 10% of natural temperate grasslands in the world are still intact! That's insane.

[@boostaddict_]

My parents bought the property we live on like 30 years ago, It's now the only natural prairie remnant left, it's a culmination of everything that used to be there. We had at least 6 kinds of orchids show up this year, 2 of which haven't been seen in the area in decades. Trees are important but other things are important too.

[@christurner7697]

I listened to a great podcast talking about how most of the tree planting organizations focus only on the numbers of trees planted and almost nothing about sustainability, effectiveness of the trees, local ecological impacts, etc. It blew my mind!

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

Which podcast?

[@mobanstudio3695]

Very important points to consider as the corporate world buys into carbon offsets, many of which depend on extremely cheap and dubious tree planting efforts.

[@jkalash762]

Not just stop planting so many trees but also start planting native species when we do. Where I'm from in Indiana we had a species that was thought to be wiped out show up in the nature park next to my childhood home. Someone donated a large plot of land that was mostly field but the small amount of wooded area happened to have a few of the species in question growing on it. Since they discovered it they have started a process of trying to bring it back. Last time I went they had dozens of saplings growing in an area fenced in to help prevent animals grazing on them. I can't remember the species off the top of my head but reading the info boards really got me thinking about how much we've lost forever due to planting non native species that take over and clearing land for farming or building.

[@matt59fire]

I have 5 acres of Cedar, and some oak. Cedar isnt native. And boy o boy, that is one aggressive ass tree.

[@chainsawFirewood89]

I HAVE SOME RELATIVES FROM VALPARAISO, INDIANDA!!

[@jkalash762]

@@matt59fire yes it is. Fortunately it makes great firewood and chips for smokers if you can keep up with cutting it.

[@jkalash762]

@@chainsawFirewood89 that's awesome!! I'm only about 1.5hrs from valpo.

[@chainsawFirewood89]

@@jkalash762 Awesome I'm from Arkansas but I go to Valpo often to help my aunt she lives in a subdivision down the road from the Roger Lakewood park my Cousins went to Ben Franklin High school but, I love INDIANA NOW GARY,, IS GETTING TO BE A GANGSTER TOWN THEASE DAYS BUT,, ITS BEEN 6 MONTHS SINCE I BEEN UP THERE BUT, IF I EVER MOVE OUT OF ARKANSAS I FIGURE IT WOULD BE VALPARAISO INDIANDA ITS SO MUCH GOING ON COMPARED TO ARKANSAS OZARKS ALSO I bought my 1st 4wheeler across from McDonald's Kawasaki dealer I was 11 then I bought 1 KTM 125 motocross bike from Champaign, Illinois an 2 other motocross bikes from Bucks Yamaha an Suzuki dealership in Valpo as well the Taxes on me buying a bike up north was cheaper than buying down south but, I use to love Fetlas surplus store it closed down In 2004 I think but the grass is way greener in Indiana than Arkansas for sure 🤘 your Lucky to live in such a awesome state!!

[@negautrunks]

When I was little I remember the meadowlarks would sing all summer long. And even in at the fringes of the seasons you could still hear them whistling. I went back to Eastern Colorado where I grew up and I didn't hear any. It's because of this probably

[@TraciSoloGrayWitch]

This is 1000% true. Even in my day and age. I may be only 43. But in my lifetime it seems we are lossing our grass lands which are just as important if not more important than forests. Many animals and insects thrive around a food chain start with grassy areas. Not just forested areas.

[@stevenslantrellious8322]

​@@Jwem recent trainy

[@prinzuh]

43 is like 70 on the internet lol

[@graftongodofmemes]

in Australia there was a lot of plains and grassy areas when it was settled because the aboriginal people's had used fire to hunt food. They did this for 40 thousand years. the plains were from human habitation.

[@BVonBuescher]

I think it’s a lot to do with how dogmatic environmentalism has gotten. I’m the same age as you, and lived 1/2 my life in Colorado. People not from here will see an entire hillside that’s been logged, and lose their mind. As if every tree is sacred. What they fail to understand is that lumber has been harvested 2, maybe 3 times. It’s one of the most sustainable industries we have. The same locical fallacy belies forest management and controlled burns

[@graftongodofmemes]

Have you ever seen what the fuck happens when a radiata pine plantation is pulled up. It absolutely fucks the ground for 2 centuries. The acidity kills everything. Sustainable? Yeah...you stupid humans are gonna learn the hard way

[@twms1971]

I tried explaining this and the fact that new trees aren’t a big help to the environment for at least another few hundred years we should just leave what we have and stop the mono lawns too ewww. 😖

[@cortesmusician5743]

Keep posting. Subdivisions are desert death. You are so important! Keep posting!!

[@JayWil29]

Preach it! I’m in the process of getting my HOA to allow a “natural yard” I want pretty, tall grass in my yard! Forget the lie we were sold on having “neat and clean (useless) grass”

[@RAH0409]

The issue there is that in a subdivision, they don't want you to create natural habitat. They want cultivated gardens that look beautiful and enhance property values. The HOA has approval rights over what you do with your yard, because when homes are close together, what you do affects your neighbors' property values, too. The HOA is there to protect that.

[@JayWil29]

@@RAH0409 I’ve served on one…. I understand what they do and their purpose. Doesn’t change that I’m working on allowing natural prairie grass to be grown. The horrible bs they force us to put in is damaging to the environment. Serves no purpose. You stay structured in the system like a good little lamb though buddy!

[@Angelcynn_]

​@@JayWil29 you live in a neighborhood with an HOA and you're calling someone else a lamb? 🤣🤣🤣 Oh the irony.

[@JayWil29]

@@Angelcynn_ Living in an HOA makes me a lamb….. the stupidity in that statement is baffling. I need to live where it logistically works to run my business. And there is no land in that area. I’m sorry I was born a hundred or two years too late. You a lib?

[@judahmoar2533]

Thank you. I'm a forestry student and I've been noticing mass planting of trees in areas that don't make sense largely so corporations can claim "carbon offsets". It sometimes even destroys native ecosystems through planting non-native monocultures

[@GumballMachinery]

Amazing video!! I've always considered myself a conservationist but I've never even thought about grasslands being such efficient carbon sinks. It makes a lot of sense though. Genuinely feel like I learned a lot and from such a short video! Thank you!

[@ameliasprague1991]

what sucks about these topics is that you're right. the entire corner of the state i live in used to be wetland. wetlands are so important to biodiversity and as carbon sinks, but wetlands are not compatible with human inhabitants the way grassland is.

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

I live in Minnetonka Minnesota, one of the more well to do western suburbs of Minneapolis and I would guess that at least 30% of Minnetonka is wetlands grasslands and forest, they're not doing massive developments and it seems to be a good balance, but the apartment buildings are coming in sporadically, it's not a black or white issue

[@paxundpeace9970]

He is right about it looking at the US but he is not right looking at europe or (sub)tropical asia and Africa

[@Ave_Satana666]

Crazy how y'all just wanna cut the trees down we planted with some bs about grass lands mking oxygen get real

[@Ave_Satana666]

YOU DIDN'T WANT TO PLANT THEM LEAVE MR BEAST TREES ALONE

[@CharlesHuse]

What many people don’t know about west Texas, the area southwest of Midland-Odessa area where all the oil drilling is going on no was wetlands 100-120 years ago. They started draining them for ranch land and to get at the oil. Now it’s desert.

[@Phantomworks666]

My hometown just had a building development go up and they made an effort to actually save a large portion of grasslands. It’s like a modern neighborhood with a massive prairie in the center 😊

[@reaganjanaerichard5009]

I love it when towns do that. ❤️

[@deeplyclosetedindividual]

No no, that's juat where the Starbucks goes in two years...

[@reaganjanaerichard5009]

@@deeplyclosetedindividual That's a good point. They'll find something to put there, probably.

[@dianeluikart9204]

That's awesome!

[@catherinegarmon3027]

Do they spray it with roundup? Or keep it wild?

[@absolutelyunlucky]

so grateful my local wildlife refuge is saving a ton of grassland, just wish the rest of this country would catch up

[@Jo-tw8kr]

Glad to hear you say, look at what was here 500 years ago. You are spot on, great advice. I've restored some of my property to crp land and some to forest with native trees.

[@DylpiqkleSTier]

“We should stop playing trees” lol was ready to be mad. But really, here in Oregon we have a similar problem. Almost all the trees here were forested at some point or another, and when they replant them they plant them WAY too close to together. The result? It’s makes forest fires waaay worse. If the trees were a normal width apart and grew in natural places, it would be much more difficult for fires to decimate hundreds of thousands of acres of land, because if slower spreading, but right now fires can easily sweep across forest wherever the wind takes them.

[@FloridaKatLady]

Holy shit! I have never heard this before. Thank-you for putting this very important info into a short so that it can reach more people. That's absolutely incredible to learn. And the history of the plains that the wagons had to cross during the gold rush, I mean, once you said it, it totally made sense. Wow. It's mind blowing to me.

[@shelldie8523]

He's talking out his ass grasslands aren't carbon sinks. Trees are. And the amount of people was a fraction We generate a fuck ton of carbon. Grasslands can't offset that much carbon emission. So either plant and MAINTAIN trees. Or grab a shotgun and reduce the carbon emitters

[@Abshir1it1is]

Username checks out.

[@Hungryalligator]

​@@Abshir1it1is 💀

[@JmKrokY]

True

[@RewindOGTeeHee]

His entire source: bro trust me I totally have a degree You: well he said it’s true so it must be true..

[@coreymonday1375]

That's why flooding keeps getting worse in Houston concrete can't soak up water...I live near Houston but I know it's not just here

[@HandsomeLad69]

Me too. Southeast Texas getting hammered with floods. No grassland. Just fields and forest.

[@thoughtlesskills]

Not just there but Houstons super lax building codes make the situation worse than most.

[@DeannaAKADeanna]

Interesting. I live in CA tucked just inside a big redwood forest (some of hit hit hard by fire a couple of years ago) that is mostly contained inside state parks (there's a clump of several) and at one end, one of them surrounds our little community (a neighbor wrote a book about how the community came to be). We have wild irises, violets, roses, leopard lilies, strawberries, oxalis, morel & oyster mushrooms, and more. We try to be as hands-off as we can and don't plant anything more than a few native flowering currants. We're bordered by 2 creeks that run together from 2 sides of our plot and we're protective of them as much as the wildlife sustained by the creeks. We think of ourselves more as custodians than owners. The house is nearly 100 years old and we like to think of how things were before any man ever harmed one of the old growth beauties. Up the mountain, there's plenty of chaparral with largely different flora and somewhat different fauna. It's not for everyone, but it's our little Shangri La.

[@nlamorte90]

Sounds amazing!

[@nmg6248]

Don’t forget it wasn’t man causing the destruction, it was colonizers. The diversity and beauty of the forests surrounding you were cultivated for millenia by responsible and knowledgeable indigenous stewards

[@DeannaAKADeanna]

@@nmg6248 Yes and when I imagine this forest before any of these ancient giants were harmed by man, I imagine indigenous people here among them. There are artifacts found along these creeks after big rain storms. They were here and they made it their home. How could I possibly ever forget it wasn't them? I know much of the history here (one of my friends here actually published a book on it). I have photos of giants cut down in this area and the men who did the job. It's horrible. I love this place.

[@turkeynooblet]

Big kudos to you for addressing this. I had somewhat of an idea that just straight tree planting wasn’t the answer but I could never understand why. This help me not only understand that idea now, but also gave me something to take with me and inform others about. Thanks brother

[@ataylor386]

Water. As much as we need trees and grasslands. We need water to feed these areas. States and counties are taking water from the mountains and wetlands. Piping it to areas that have been hit by drought. In the process, they create drought in the area they robbed. Making agriculture lands have to move. It's not just one problem. It is many. Independent property owners hold on to your water and be aware of the water developments happening in your local areas.

[@misshulabuloothe1st953]

Commenting in case this is what the algorithm uses at this particular point in time❤️🌾

[@lisaenglert3202]

Interesting. Never really thought about that but you’re right. Hope this gets lots of attention.

[@paxundpeace9970]

He isn't only that is the problem he is only right for about 5 or 10% of the land world wide. His case is not accurate for most of southeast asia or europe.

[@Grunk369]

@@paxundpeace9970 yeah, but I think this vid is mostly about americas situation since we’re one of the countries that has gained more trees and forests than it’s lost.

[@paxundpeace9970]

@@Grunk369 that's quite the exception to be honest because for every other continent the otherway is true for the last 2500 years. South america and Africa lost a lot of it trees so did Europe and Asia

[@secretzombie3976]

@@Grunk369 do you have any sources?

[@Grunk369]

@@secretzombie3976 it came to me in a dream.

[@matthewmclean1429]

Amen. Our obsession with trees as if they aren’t a renewable resource is astonishing. The modern dense forests came with the white man. We need the 12 ft tall perennial grasses of days past.

[@falquicao8331]

The 12 ft tall perennial grasses came with the native American man, they are arguably less "natural" than forests, which came about because no one was actively trying to stop them from growing.

[@TheJoshman2011]

@@falquicao8331 grasslands give way to new forests and brush, and slowly over time the forest matures.

[@closetgrower]

We need more people like you/us!!! Love what you do. Keep it up

[@lindazuba]

Wish you could teach the entire country how to do the right thing in terms of planting. You know so much more than anyone else seems to, you explain it well and you show the benefits. Would the Bureau of Interior care? Deb Haaland is Native and she definitely cares. Could you contact her and have a video meeting with her? You're wiser than most. 😊❤ Thanks for your work.

[@Kristalya]

He is so huggable and seems super trustworthy! 💕🐻

[@umrasangus]

He is talking about something so important and you're thirsting I agree, tho

[@jaquanaking3005]

About 2 years ago, After selling hour our cows we donated the pasture to nature. Its fulfilling To watch it become.

[@xxpowwowbluexx]

If you just let it grow wild, it’s most likely not growing a diverse mix of native plants but is probably filled with invasives-unless it was already a well-established, native grassland. To really restore grassland ecosystems, it takes proper management, and that includes getting rid of invasive species.

[@josiahshane3339]

Thanks man had no idea! But now I know and in the words of the old GI Joe cartoon “ Knowing is half the battle” !!!

[@Green.Country.Agroforestry]

If you are not going to promote the expansion of forests (which _include_ trees, but are not solely composed of them!) into former grasslands, you need to demolish the highway systems, remove the railroads, and re introduce the Bison to maintain it - I know, that is an extreme take, but attempting to foster grasslands without mass migrating ruminants will only result in expanding the deserts. With cattle, a 70 percent canopy Savannah could be maintained without the need to remove the transportation infrastructure - so long as there are humans to do the remainder of the work. Alternatively, we might _bury_ the rail lines, so that the ruminants can migrate across them without destroying them - but for something that the individual can do, Riparian systems, silvanopasture and alley cropping are all ways to keep some of that native grassland healthy, productive, and profitable.

[@derrickbonsell]

I never bought into the #TeamTrees thing because I knew that the US had massive forest cover especially when compared to the colonial era.

[@ultraangerybirb332]

Could we get a source on this? Would love to do some further reading.

[@ShellyCline]

Thank you. You're the only person so far in the comments that I've seen that has so much as even questioned this. What he's saying doesn't really make sense. He's saying that we're losing grasslands because people are planting too many trees. He actually said planting too many trees resulted in grasslands being destroyed because of being turned into ag fields, pastures and neighborhoods. It's like he did a little bait and switch. What on Earth do AG fields, pastures and neighborhoods have to do with planting more trees? It's not the trees that are destroying grasslands. It's the agriculture and the constant development. The forestry industry is harvesting trees at an alarming rate, yet we're supposed to believe there are too many trees?

[@scotthustus8337]

[star shots across the screen trailing a rainbow] "THE MORE YOU KNOW"

[@tordenvaer480]

I live in Michigan and it's the opposite here we've lost quite a bit of our forests due to logging and forest fires so we need to be planting more to get them to be as dense and vast as they used to be

[@bcan5512]

Well if you live in Michigan then you've lost 99% of our historical grasslands and prairies. We used to have grasslands stretching all the way up to the top of the lower peninsula

[@tordenvaer480]

@@bcan5512 when? from what I remember the UP was covered in dense forest the biggest business in the UP is logging because of the forests and the lower peninsula used to be covered but nowadays we've lost a lot of it

[@bcan5512]

@@tordenvaer480 When the initial european settlers started moving west, when they reached michigan they would have seen sprawling oak savannas. Wide tall grass landscapes dotted with just a few oak trees around. This went up around the lower third of the lower peninsula. Above them towards northern michigan were wetter prairies. One thing to note is im saying we have lost 99% of our historical grasslands in michigan, not that michigan was once 99% grassland if that was confusing. mnfi.anr.msu.edu/reports/MNFI-Report-2006-18.pdf here is a good resource if you want to read more about it

[@tordenvaer480]

@@bcan5512 ah I see I was confused thought you ment michigan was 99% grasslands but that makes more sense

[@lpsjewel]

YES! THIS! I live in Arizona & I've thought for years that we don't need tree's. We need native plants to the biome we live in. I would like people to STOP USEING OLEANDER IN LANDSCAPING!!! It's toxic to pets & young children.

[@ryhowe662]

Excellent idea! Hemp is also something worth investing in and producing much more of as well!

[@HolzMichel]

guess you missed the part in class where native tribes set fire to the forests and grasslands to chase out game and kill it... which is why lewis and clark almost starved to death when they made their way out west.

[@helljumper912]

This is singlehandedly the dumbest comment I've read in at least 2 years

[@HolzMichel]

@@helljumper912 ok, let me try to explain this to you without being too condescending. there's this thing called 'succession' that occurs naturally. what you are describing in your video is in part natural succession in which case: leave it alone, it's part of the natural process. and the other is a change in land uses where people are actively planting trees on ground that in the last century or so hasn't been forested. if someone is going to plant trees, they should (one) consult their regional state forestry office so they can then (two) plant natives best suited to the area and mimic the natural process. you come off in your video as some crazy broad with her hair on fire, running around screaming and waving her hands above her head... yes, grasslands sequester carbon... however most of the native grasslands in the plains states of the US have been plowed under by large scale agriculture. also the large bison herds have been wiped out and so large scale grazing no longer benefits what remains in addition to the interruption in nutrient cycling which includes natural as well as artificial (man made) fires. the remaining acreage of virgin grasslands aren't enough to even begin to make any kind of notable difference in the grand scheme of carbon management. and most of that acreage is in private hands whose owners are acutely aware of how rare it has become. so carbon sequestration of grasslands is largely a moot point. give it a rest. unfortunately there is too much emphasis in the land management agencies to keep things static. got a little newsflash for all those reading along: nature isn't static. greenies are always trying to preserve things in the state it was when they first became aware of its existence. but nature is dynamic, it's constantly changing, evolving. stopping or pausing the evolutionary process is sort of like trying to hold a beach ball under the water.. sooner or later when your arms tire out it's gonna pop back up and do what it wants. the first thing a person needs to focus on when considering managing a chunk of dirt is (one) ask themselves what does 'it' want to be? yeah sort of rhetorical but it has some merit. then (two) what grows in the larger area. and then (three) go dig a hole about 6 feet deep to get an idea what the soil profile is so you know if you have a hardpan soil layer or something else. knowing your soil is key. over a hundred years of fire suppression has led to a new dynamic on the american continent. we are now seeing how things would be when low intensity fires are eliminated from the ecosystems in which they were historically present due to natural events such as lightning strikes or artificial due to deliberate arson by native tribes for hunting purposes. i'm not knocking the natives motives here, just stating a historical fact, they did what they had to for the sake of survival. the downside to fire suppression has been the buildup of detritus that fuels the huge fires we have been seeing in the decades since the clinton administration. the forest service and BLM have largely eliminated harvesting as a viable forest management tool and have switched to fire instead. they allow the fires they would have otherwise squelched in the past to go 'project' in order to secure district funding for the coming fiscal years in my opinion your statements in your video miss the mark completely

[@jdcarter7659]

Us loggers are working hard taking the trees down to make more grassland and such I totally promote your idea and hope we can succeed in getting more grasslands

[@tammyprovost936]

God bless you you are telling the truth you must be permaculture rather than Agriculture and I can only say God bless you for saying it most people don't realize this and if they did the world would be a better place and a lot of places like India they're losing their trees in such a fast right they're freaking out because they're having mud slides and everything else they can't keep up with how much they're burning and how much they're using please help the planet because I'll tell you right now if they don't stop they're going to just destroy it

[@chandlerbraaten847]

One of my favorite things about living in North Dakota is all the wide open space. Most of it is Ag fields as he mentioned but there is still quite a bit of wild grassland. Sunset on a mid June evening is amazing. (You just have to wait till almost 11pm for the sun to set in June in ND😄)

[@no-pl6jc]

Well said man, my father has been a Forester for 45 years been saying this as long as I remember. Thank for making this knowledge more mainstream.

[@Jdogrey1]

Wow, someone who actually thinks instead of just posting what is popular on the internet for clout.

[@matteoherron5014]

Learned this on my trek at Philmont Scout Ranch! The reason we have such destructive fires in the US is because we keep planting trees and preventing fires which means everything is super crowded and there are so many different ages of trees existing at once that the fire can climb right up to the crown and that’s where it becomes a devastating fire.

[@GumballMachinery]

Philmont is such an amazing place!

[@blu2697]

Great comment, many people think the USA has always been millions of little skinny trees that are only 7 years old. It’s interesting to know how much was actually grass lands and the completely different ecosystems

[@julietteoscaralphanovember2223]

When I lived at my old house, down the road they cleared out woods and grasses to build condos. We were getting deer, fox, etc in our neighborhood in our yards. There was no where for them to go. 😢

[@ShellyCline]

That's heartbreaking. But it's also interesting that all the comments talk about building development destroying grasslands in their area. Nobody is saying their grasslands were ruined by too many trees.

[@infentex3801]

Looks like MrBeast needs to launch a #TeamGrassland now

[@ephraimsilawule1092]

You had me at "carbon sinks "

[@Thejokestir8]

"We've lost at least 99% of our grasslands" Source:

[@ZachK55]

Are you from the middle of the country? That area used to be largely one huge grassland. It is now all row crops and towns. His 99% figure sounds reasonable.

[@kitgodsey]

Look at a map and see how divided up tbe plains are. That used to be rolling fields of grassland, no fencing or property rights or anything. Theres a reason why cowherding was such a lifestyle, they literally moved cattle from north to south with the seasons. Its now chopped up into ag fields

[@jerredworks8]

Learning so much from you content please keep sharing.

[@TheCommonwealth796]

Your an inspiration, I want to go Into conservation/wildlife biology, and what your saying is facts.

[@sanchezzz69420]

native people: "yeah, what was here 500 years ago?"

[@articusramos808]

Animals: would you like to consider the following?

[@virid4074]

That's true but I live on the east coast which was mostly dense Forests when the Spaniards came here

[@margaretinsydney3856]

New subscriber here. I love what you do. This is so interesting and people should know this stuff. Thank you! 😍

[@AustinK95]

Thank you for all your knowledge!!!!

[@stripes8812]

grasslands are so biodiverse and resilient. W/o them the forests won't stay healthy. Great vid. You should look into the effects of fungal growth on grasslands and forests as well, glad someone else is big on seeing the ecosystems timescales instead of our owns.

[@charlieguy6872]

Thank you! Not to mention, most tree planting initiatives only create monocultural wastelands, nobody goes and checks on the trees after the initial planting

[@profoundish314]

I live in Missouri, a state hard-hit by these forestry practices! I love trees in cities for shade, but the few native MO grasslands I've been to are beautiful and full of life. It's a shame we've decided to prioritize lumber and deer-hunting license fees over the ecosystem.

[@TimeSpaceCondominium]

Thank God for this man. A conservationist with some actual sense ❤

[@oliviarucker5013]

Wow your videos are so informative. Thank you!

[@uggoseaslug5475]

Interesting point!! Very helpful.🙂

[@drakemiller2617]

I'm an environmental biologist who was educated in Kansas at Baker Univ. and Emporia State Univ. in the 1980's and I 100% agree. Great video.

[@haden67832]

Do you know what secondary succession is then, because the only problem here is the humans stopong things like forest fires.

[@Elhinal3023]

You arę so correct The only way to fix everything is that way by thinking before doing

[@vviimmi]

Grass lands look easier to make and manage, this is totally interesting and I want to learn more from this channel!

[@Danny.0788]

Thank you for these videos! 🙇‍♂️

[@bristolrovers27]

we should slow down and think without doubt I'm from UK where we have deforested huge amounts of land and we urgently need reforestation but conservation isn't a one trick pony

[@gammaprysem]

It also depends on the areas too. Eastern side there's a lot of forests we need to replinish, additionally switch out paper and cloth production to hemp based as hemp can be safely farmed in grasslands without damaging local eco systems

[@EdurtreG]

Replanting native hedges and shrubs need our attention too.

[@Mac_n_Cheese4]

Never heard this so thanks for telling me! Helpful information I’ll probably share this info

[@briansmith7223]

Forest and Wildlife Management, and work with endangered species program that envolves longleaf pine savannah management. I appreciate this video and many of your others. Thank you for taking the time to educate the importance of savannahs.

[@mattrichards1492]

Jesus, we have so many damn trees! Diversity is in the grasslands and open savannahs!! I'm 100% with you!! And why is wood so expensive?!

[@LS1056]

Exactly! Conservation means original environment, where I'm from its a former swampland, now there's a huge push for wetland development, original ecosystem.

[@gujwdhufjijjpo9740]

Yep. I live in Alaska and the forest here are less dense than many in the lower 48. The forest floor is often just as thick as the canopy.

[@LydiaAwesomeLady]

I love your videos. They make us all think about this. Wherever you live, you should always go native!! Neighbors were complaining about water in their basement and thinking about what to plant. I reminded them that their development is on top of a wetland system, so they are fighting an unwinnable battle. Mother nature has already found the solution and it lies with native plants. Also, don't develop on wetlands, people! We need them to manage our changing climate. They have more value to us in their natural state than they do as a strip mall parking lot!!

[@gravesite5693]

Some native grassland plants have root systems that can extend 15 ft or more into the ground, stabilizing the watertable access for plants around them while keeping the soil aerated and reducing landslides by locking the topsoil down on hillsides.

[@denisvyrobik4692]

Good video. I 100% agree with you, here in europe, when you ask someone, where they think is most animals species, they automatically say "in the forest". But in reality, big portion of our forests, here in Czechia, is spruce trees, which benefits only few bird species (im mainly intrested in ornitologi). This weekend, me and my friend, went for a hike in dense woodland area, and we were able to get around 30 bird species, but when i go alone in mostly field landscape with some smaller pounds, i can get about 45 species. So, i thing wet meadows and fields have far more potential for biodiversity, than woods. But agricultural landscape is very different than woodland, mainly becase every specie have different needs.

[@stevemueller261]

This is what this platform is great at Disseminating information we all need to know And won't find out any other way Thank you sir

[@brianmccarthy5557]

More beavers eating saplings and buildings dams to control water flow and create meadows. Especially here in the West where flash flooding is the result of the absence of beavers.

[@waynecribb4922]

You're doing great work. Thanks

[@InYourDreams-Andia]

Wow! That's really new and on point. Regenerative farming too

[@longrodvanhugendong9742]

I removed my turf and planted huge grasses in my front yard slap in the middle of the city the birds love it, its an urban oasis

[@nepmobile3583]

Thanks for being informative!