The value of Ohio's forests is not in pastures but in the production of quality wood products. Valuable Topsoil Lost Based on a recent National Resources Inventory, livestock grazing is the major cause of erosion in woodlands. Soil losses are as high as 44 tons per acre annually on steep, wooded slopes. At this rate of erosion, one inch of valuable topsoil is removed every 20 years. Livestock cause rapid erosion of woodlots by clearing, cultivating and compacting the soil.
Compaction prevents the soil from absorbing rainwater.
This forces rainfall to run off, carrying soil particles with it. Woodland soils, waterways and timber production suffer when a woodland is grazed. Also, wildlife cover and food supply are reduced or eliminated and the quantity of wildlife is diminished. Other forest products such as firewood, mushrooms and ginseng are eliminated or reduced in a grazed woodland. The simple solution to the woodland erosion problem is to fence livestock out of the woods.