Janet Baraclough.. wrote:

The message
from contains these words:

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 11:08:09 +0100, The Reids
wrote:

Following up to

Removing all the vegetation causes climate change.
Libya was the main source of wheat for the Roman Empire
--

Sure, but that hasnt happened in Britain. The soil is there, the
rain is there.

The trees don't grow, because the ground is too acid.

If you're talking about Scotland and Wales, that is not the case.
Wherever hill-grazing animals are excluded, trees regenerate naturally.
This can be seen in steep gullies, and where they have been fenced out.
Try a google search on "Reforesting Scotland", or "The Millennium
Forest". Remember that peat IS acid; native Scottish trees are adapted
to wet acid soil.

FWIW, most of what we see as moorland, even in Scotland was once
reasonably productive woodland. A lot of it was cleared for for
agriculture in the Bronze/Iron Age, but the soil was too poor for
prolonged cropping. Impoverishment of the soil plus climatic change (it
got wetter and colder) encouraged the development of the boggy/heathery
stuff we now regard as characteristic of such places.

regards
sarah


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