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Why would overgrazing by cattle and sheep make the great plains vulnerable to the dust bowl?
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Because overgrazing increases albedo
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
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What human activity contributed to the dust storms in the great plains in the 1930s?
Dry land farming and overgrazing contributed to the dust storms in the Great Plains in the 1930s.
Why did Americans think cattle ranches on the great plains were not practical in the 1800s?
Americans didn't think that cattle ranches were practical on the great plains because the cattle had a hard time surviving. The great plains were dry and there was not a lot of grazing land in the 1800s.
What were the 2 factors that helped the cattle business?
Railroads being built in the Great Plains and the public demand for beef helped the cattle business. Long cattle drives bought cattle to the Great Plains.
Why is wheat grown in the great plains?
for cattle to eat
Explain why the great plains was not suitable for homesteading?
The great plains was not always ideal for agriculture. The weather was a problem and the flat lands made it vulnerable to attacks by natives.
What animal was raised in large numbers on the Great Plains by the white man?
Cattle and sheep are still raised in large numbers on the Great Plains.
How did the civil war and the construction of railroads affect cattle ranching on the great plains?
The Civil War and construction of railroads affected cattle ranching on the Great Plains negatively. This halted ranching and broke up farms.
What technology helped cattle ranching on the great plains experience growth?
Railroads...
How did railroad expansion affect the cattle ranching industry?
One word: Overgrazing. The Great Plains could not support so many head of livestock in such a prolonged period of time, like what happened with ranches that established themselves on the Great Plains. As a result, grass that otherwise thrived and diversified under the movements and grazing pressure of the American Bison perished and died under the grazing pressures from cattle ranchers who have brought their grazing methods over from Europe, which apparently did more damage to the native prairie than they anticipated. These ranchers were very ignorant and uneducated about stocking rates, carrying capacity and the methods the massive herds of bison used to graze such sensitive grasslands. All these ranchers saw was a lot of grass, and automatically assumed that they could overpopulate that area with a lot of cattle (quite often much more than the land could handle over a year period). Cattle are not bison, they do not move around like bison do, and as a result they kept going back to the same spots they grazed just a few days before. This is the definition of overgrazing, and the key element that affected the Great Plains in such a devastating manner. Today, it is a different story. The cattle ranchers that live and ranch on the Great Plains today are far more educated and knowledgeable about the stuff beneath their feet and how it affects their ranch and cattle. They know how many cattle the native grassland areas that they own should hold, as well as when and when not to graze. As a result, overgrazing is pretty well eliminated, and native grasslands thrive and prosper under such great grazing management as they have when the bison roamed and ruled the plains.
What was one of the reasons for the end of the western cattle bonanza?
I'll give you three to choose from: railroads, the terrible winter of 1887 and the Great Depression in the 1930s which were a result from intense overgrazing of rangeland by cattle ranchers.
What three things ended the Cattle Kingdom?
The three things that ended the Cattle Kingdom were the following:Great Winter of 1885-86 that killed thousands of cattle because of lack of winter feed and overgrazed rangelandThe invention of and increased use of barbed wireExtensive overgrazing of native grasslands
What contributes to the end of open-range cattle ranching in the mid 1880's?
The Great Winter of 1885-86 that killed thousands upon thousands of cattle due to overgrazing of rangelands and lack of winter feed.
