Re: Lack Of Trees In Irish And British Countrysides

"Way Back Jack" <retired@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message

> TV documentaries and travelogues reveal a lot of lush "green" in those
> countrysides but a relative scarcity of trees.  Is it climate?  Too
> windy in Ireland?  Sheep and/or other livestock?

I've not noticed a lack of trees in most of Britain when I've been there. 
The north western parts of Scotland certainly lack trees and the
vegetation 
of the Burren in Ireland is well known internationally (but not for it's 
trees).  Scotland used to be covered by the Calidonian Forest and had
wolves 
and beaver but I can't recall why it went belly up.  Ireland suffered from

ice coverage during the Ice Ages so any trees there had to come back as 
pioneer species.

Large numbers of people, 'modern farming' and trees don't go together.  As

the population grew the trees would have had to go, or in some instances, 
'modern farming' methods were the cause of clearance too.  Ireland's 
population exploded after the introduction of the potato and you can't
grow 
spuds in forests so even if there had been a desire to grow more trees, 
there would have been a strong disincentive to do so.