A humanmade forest In this image from the Advanced Land Imager on NASA’s EO-1 satellite, you s
A humanmade forestIn this image from the Advanced Land Imager on NASA’s EO-1 satellite, you see the communities of Thetford and Brandon in England. Surrounding those cities is Thetford forest, the largest lowland pine forest in England. The forest is surrounded by farmland but has become a haven for a variety of life, including rabbits, deer, and a variety of rare birds.The existence of this forest is something of a story as well. 100 years ago there was no forest here. The area had been impacted by flint-mining and rabbit-hunting, and any original forest had been cleared. The area was a series of fairly inhospitable lowlands dominated by sandy soils and thorny shrubs, to the point that sandstorms could occasionally be whipped up across the area.During the First World War, the demands for wood products led to much of England being stripped of trees, including many old growth forests that would take decades and centuries to recover. In order to build a strategic reserve of timber, the government arranged to convert this land into forest and arranged for planting of rows of pine forests throughout the area. You can sort of recognize the consequences of this planting as the forest weaves in and out between various farmlands and roads in the region.Since the planting, the forest has grown into a vibrant community, with animal life moving back in, along with many recreational activities for humans including noteworthy bike trails. The area on the eastern side of the forest (along the main road visible in this image) suffered a small fire in April, but this image was taken prior to that fire and so its results cannot be seen here. Finally, the cleared area at the northeastern edge of this image is operated by the British army and is known as the Stanford Training area; a live fire exercise and training area.The existence of this forest is a story of trees, vegetation, animal life, and how they can interact with man and even recover if humans can find a reason to keep the territory forested.-JBBImage source/NASA:http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=81008&src=twitter-iotdFire updates:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-22208622http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/update_firefighters_leave_scene_of_10_000_sq_metre_fire_at_thetford_forest_1_2023907Stanford Training Area:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Battle_AreaThetford Forest on Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thetford_Forest -- source link
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