Do you think Ohio will be reforested like New England by the end of the century?

[Phil P]

At one point in the 1800s, both New England and Ohio were similar, both pretty chopped up for agriculture. Today though, looking down from satellite view, they are quite different, where New England is pretty well recovered forest wise, while Ohio still has a bunch of squares for ag. In the Pre Columbian period, I would imagine they were pretty similar being pretty well forested in a similar fashion.

I know Ohio is better farmland than New England is, but do you think that as Ohio develops more tech and more industry and becomes more small and large city focused and less rural, that the value of the land would be more valuable forested than as ag? Or do you think that the state will always be pretty farmed due to the productivity of the land? Has land cover changed much in the past 50 years one way or another between forest and farmland?

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by Phil P

At one point in the 1800s, both New England and Ohio were similar, both pretty chopped up for agriculture. Today though, looking down from satellite view, they are quite different, where New England is pretty well recovered forest wise, while Ohio still has a bunch of squares for ag. In the Pre Columbian period, I would imagine they were pretty similar being pretty well forested in a similar fashion.

I know Ohio is better farmland than New England is, but do you think that as Ohio develops more tech and more industry and becomes more small and large city focused and less rural, that the value of the land would be more valuable forested than as ag? Or do you think that the state will always be pretty farmed due to the productivity of the land? Has land cover changed much in the past 50 years one way or another between forest and farmland?

No. the agricultural lands of Ohio are too productive. Anywhere that is flat land developed on soils derived from glacial till of loess (wind-blown silt accumulated beyond where glaciers stopped) under tall grass prairies or oak savannas are generally going to be prime farmland. Maybe some more marginal lands that were historically marshy/floodprone or hilly/steep/thin, but even that is already reverting back to nature.

New England soil is mostly very thin and rocky. They only farmed it because the Puritans had no other options, and even then, they focused on other economic activity like early mills (textiles, etc.) from streamflow derived water power, shipping/ship buildings (from forest resources) and fishing. If they were interested in farming, the started heading west practically as soon as the Erie canal was opened.