Possibilities of Increasing and Main- 
taining Production from Grass and 
Forest Lands without Accelerating 
Erosion 
RAYMOND PRICE 
Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment 
Station, United States Department of Agricul- 
ture, Fort Collins, Colorado 
Use of grass and forest in arid lands for sustained production 
without accelerating erosion requires great managerial skill. A 
delicate adjustment of vegetation to environment exists. In this 
adjustment the balance between constructive and destructive 
forces is sensitive and easily shifted toward destruction. 
The climate consists of extremes with great fluctuations from 
season to season and year to year. The adverse climatic factors 
are: the wide range of temperature and precipitation in a given 
place; the great variance in seasonal and annual precipitation; 
and the occurrence of extremely intense storms after long dry 
periods. Climatic variation produces much more extreme differ- 
ences in plant growth and erosion hazards in arid than in humid 
regions. Because of the delicate adjustment of vegetation to en- 
vironment, a succession of dry years can weaken vegetation so 
that heavy, or even moderate, rains can cause severe erosion. 
Many mistakes have been made because of wishful, optimistic 
estimates of climatic changes. The actual shifts of an erratic cli- 
mate in arid lands must be accepted as they come. We must learn 
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