New-growth forests have different look.

• Position: Topography - Brief article

The great forests that once covered the eastern U.S. almost completely were cut down by settlers who needed open land for farming and timber for construction. When some areas proved unsuitable for agriculture, such as flood plains and steep slopes, they were abandoned by the farmers who had cleared them, and the forests had a chance to grow back. However, what grew back was different from what had been destroyed, partly because there was a lot less of it.

"In general, once a landscape becomes degraded from high-intensity use, like agriculture or heavy cattle grazing, it takes a very long time for it to become valuable for other less-intense uses," explains Kelly Caylor, assistant professor of geography at Indiana University...