After Mastodons and Mammoths, a Transformed Landscape

[Staff]

After Mastodons and Mammoths, a Transformed Landscape
ScienceDaily
Nov. 20, 2009

After mastodons and mammoths, a transformed landscape
excerpt from above:

And when their populations crashed, emptying a land whose diversity of large animals equaled or surpassed Africa's wildlife-rich Serengeti plains then or now, an entirely novel ecosystem emerged as broadleaved trees once kept in check by huge numbers of big herbivores claimed the landscape. Soon after, the accumulation of woody debris sparked a dramatic increase in the prevalence of wildfire, another key shaper of landscapes...