overgraze
Strip fields bare
To overgraze is to allow livestock to graze land so intensively that vegetation cannot recover.
The practice depletes grass and forage plants, leading to soil erosion and degraded pastures: Years of overgrazing turned the rangeland to dust.
The noun is overgrazing: Overgrazing has damaged much of the American West.
Land becoming barren, infertile
- degradationDecline in condition
- depletionReduction of supply
- overexploitationExcessive resource depletion
- overuseExcessive employment of something
denudation · impoverishment · overcultivation · habitat loss · biodiversity loss · carrying capacity · trampling · compaction
Severe food shortage
- starvationExtreme nutritional deprivation
- hungerNeed for nourishment
- droughtProlonged water scarcity
- water scarcityInsufficient freshwater for demand
die-off · desertification · dust bowl · barren · dearth
Domesticated bovines kept commercially
- sheepWoolly farm animal
- goatsHorned farm ruminants
- herdsGroups of grazing animals
- flockAnimals gathered together
browsing · ranching · pastoralism · herdsmen · stockman · paddock · rangeland · feedlot
Planned recovery intervals
- reseedingPlanting again over ground
- revegetationRestoring lost plant cover
- fencingCombat with blunted blades
- destockingDepleting stored goods
conservation · carrying capacity · soil health · cover crops · native grasses
Loss of topsoil
- runoffExcess water drainage
- gullyChannel carved by flowing water
- siltationAccumulation of fine waterborne particles
- sedimentParticles settling in liquid
leaching · soil compaction · wind erosion · bank erosion · rainsplash
desertification
Land becoming barren, infertile
- degradationDecline in condition
- depletionReduction of supply
- overexploitationExcessive resource depletion
overuse · denudation · impoverishment · overcultivation · habitat loss · biodiversity loss · carrying capacity · trampling · compaction · dust bowl
famine
Severe food shortage
- starvationExtreme nutritional deprivation
- hungerNeed for nourishment
- droughtProlonged water scarcity
water scarcity · die-off · desertification · dust bowl · barren · dearth
cattle
Domesticated bovines kept commercially
flock · browsing · ranching · pastoralism · herdsmen · stockman · paddock · rangeland · feedlot · commons
rest periods
Planned recovery intervals
- reseedingPlanting again over ground
- revegetationRestoring lost plant cover
- fencingCombat with blunted blades
destocking · conservation · carrying capacity · soil health · cover crops · native grasses
soil erosion
Loss of topsoil
- runoffExcess water drainage
- gullyChannel carved by flowing water
- siltationAccumulation of fine waterborne particles
sediment · leaching · soil compaction · wind erosion · bank erosion · rainsplash
- overexploitationoverfishing, overfish, overhunting, overharvest, overhunt