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mwb213 t1_j97ojff wrote

People don't realize how much of a driver of desertification overgrazing is. It wasn't historically an issue when bison and other large herbivores were more prevalent, but humans wiped them out, along with their predators. With feral cows, there's nothing really forcing seasonal herd migrations, so the vegetation never has a chance to recuperate. This is particularly notable in areas with sparse water access to drink from - they will stay near the water, overgrazing the vegetation until it no longer grows back.

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junkyard_robot t1_j9848t5 wrote

Let's not pretend that overgrazing is the issue. The issue is that these cows don't belong to the ranchers that graze their cattle on BLM land.

BLM has a long history of claiming over grazing and killing off animals, only for ranchers to release thousands of animals to graze without competition.

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eltigrechino94 t1_j97qzdb wrote

So it's a self correcting problem then? If they over graze then they starve and it isn't an issue.

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PM_ME_KITTYNIPPLES OP t1_j97snc1 wrote

It doesn't just cause the grazers to starve, it makes a bunch of other animals starve too.

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eltigrechino94 t1_j9809ip wrote

And starvation is nature's way of solving problems. Let's not pretend they care about the environment, they'll have that land full of domesticated grazers before the feral cows bodies are cold.

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mwb213 t1_j97wefd wrote

The weak die off, but the strong may adapt and move on, repeating the cycle in other areas.

See, the thing is, particularly in areas prone to high summer heat and direct exposure to the sun, when the cows overgraze, this not only kills off the plants, but when the plants die back, there is nothing to shade the soil. The soil then bakes in the sun, often times reaching temps above surface air temperatures. The high heat bakes other plant roots as well as increases evaporation of nearby surface water as well as further drying out the soil. So the water hole eventually dries, along with much of the remaining vegetation.

But the those who adapted move on to another watering hole, restarting the process.

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substituted_pinions t1_j9803xg wrote

No, sometimes disproportionate environmental stresses like this make everything die off. No virtuous cycle. Endgame.

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mwb213 t1_j9855l8 wrote

I mean, you're not wrong. A meteor striking the Earth, making the conditions in an ecosystem inhospitable to life without necessarily introducing a cycle of degradation is consistent with your commebt. But that's not mutually exclusive with humans introducing a species that later becomes invasive, ultimately resulting in fundamental alterations to the ecosystem.

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