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Forestry and Tree Planting in Iowa

Trees provide multiple benefits for wildlife, shade, windbreaks, beauty, recreation, clean air, clean water, and wood products to everyone living in Iowa. After it was discovered that Iowa’s soils were extremely productive, the transformation of native vegetation resulted in one of the most altered landscapes in the world. Early maps (1832 to 1850) show about 6.7 million ac (2.7 million ha) or 19 percent of Iowa was covered with timber, out of the total of 35.5 million ac (14.4 million ha) in the State (figure 1). Over time, the forest habitat has been fragmented and dramatically reduced in size. Iowa has never returned to growing as many acres of forest as it had 380 years ago (figure 2). Historic forest maps provide a footprint to begin prioritizing areas to improve the quality, quantity, and connectivity of existing forests today.


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Author(s): Aron Flickinger

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Volume 56, Number 2 (2013)

Volume: 56

Number: 2