Home – Nebraska
Rangeland Production Lost to Tree Encroachment
Rangeland Production Losses Map
Click any county on the map below to access its report.The map above depicts percent production loss in 2019 relative to what would have been achievable had tree cover not changed since 1990. Counties that appear red have had the most production losses in the state as a result of tree cover increases.
Rangeland Production Losses Plots
The plots below show herbaceous production lost to tree cover expansion on an annual (left) and cumulative (right) basis for years 1990 - 2019. The annual plot displays the same information as the map above. Rangeland production may increase when tree cover has declined due to disturbance or management. 
Rangeland Production and Tree Cover Summary
| Rangeland production in 2019 | 23,908,316 tons |
| Rangeland production losses in 2019 | 419,328 tons (1.72%) |
| Cumulative rangeland production losses since 1990 | 3,881,756 tons |
| Tree cover in 2019 | 758,181 acres |
| Tree cover change since 1990 | +402,521 acres |
| Tree cover percent in 2019 | 3.11% |
Download the data table used to produce this report.
Supporting Information
Tree encroachment is the most commonly used scientific term internationally to describe the increase of tree plants at the expense of herbaceous plants in grass-dominated ecosystems. We therefore use this term in this report, but we acknowledge the importance of local and regional terminology that may better contextualize this process in rangelands. Around the world, expansion, invasion, infill, encroachment, colonization, state transitions or regime shifts are used to characterize this biological process. Ultimately, this model characterizes production losses in rangelands due to increases in trees - irrespective of the regional distinctions used to describe the process.
Vegetation productivity is the most fundamental and important metric in rangelands and measuring losses in rangeland production to tree encroachment at multiple scales has been one of the major knowledge gaps in the rangeland discipline. Wildlife, livestock, and many ecosystem services rely on herbaceous production (i.e., the combined production of grasses and forbs) that is being displaced by tree encroachment.
The production loss statistics and figures presented in these reports are derived from the analysis in Tree encroachment threatens the conservation potential and sustainability of U.S. rangelands. In this report, estimates of production losses are directly related to tree cover change based on a 1990 baseline, and changes are not the result of climatic or land use factors (which the analysis accounts for). In short, the values presented in these reports represent the difference between the production that would have been achievable given stable tree cover since 1990 vs. observed production estimated using a satellite-derived dataset. This is referred to as a yield gap, as depicted in the plot below.
Areas analyzed in these reports
These reports estimate rangeland production losses on lands that historically functioned as rangelands. Within historical rangelands, areas heavily modified by row-crop agriculture and the built environment are excluded. We provide additional information regarding rangeland classification below. Report statistics include:
- Total area: The total area of the state or county covered by the report.
- Analysis area: The land area used to generate the data found in this report. All land cover classes were included in this analysis except lands labeled as 1) "cultivated" in the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Cropland Data Layers, 2) "developed" in the 2016 National Land Cover Database (NLCD), and 3) "historically forested" in the LANDFIRE Biophysical Settings (BpS).
- Area excluded from analysis: The land area removed from this analysis. Specifically, this is the total area labeled as 1) cultivated (NASS), 2) developed (NLCD), and 3) historically forested (BpS).
Analysis area summary for Nebraska
Analysis area map for Nebraska
Supplemental data resources:
- View tree cover data in the Rangeland Analysis Platform web application.
- Download this report as a PDF.
- Download the data table used to produce this report.
Supplemental information about tree encroachment on rangelands:
- Read the manuscript that describes the modeling process for these reports.
- Learn new guidance on how to better manage tree encroachment and reduce the risk and vulnerability to rangeland production.
- Learn more about the NRCS Working Lands for Wildlife strategy on Woodland Expansion in the Great Plains and Sagebrush biomes.
Report generated on 2022-01-20.