How land is damaged by clear cutting the trees

This land used to be green forest, like the trees you see in the distance.

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What happens to the land, when you "clear cut" the trees away:

A lot of damage is in this one picture, from Sequoia National Forest, near Alta Sierra, CA.
It is a public forest.
It belongs to all of us.

A "seedwood cut" done in the 1960's was replanted to a single
species, ponderosa pine, which failed to prosper.

The natural succession species, incense cedar, tried to
re-establish itself, but couldn't, because the land was
severely overgrazed, and cattle suppressed the seedlings
everywhere except in the road cut, where the cattle couldn't
reach.

Overgrazing has suppressed the native grasses, and
the cattle trails (note under the road cut) are leading to
erosion of the hillside.

Lack of ground cover is drying up the soils.

This kills the few remaining mature trees.

Managers hide this kind of abuse from the public by keeping nearly
all forest service roads gated and locked year round, except
during hunting season.

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