What is Woody plant encroachment?
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}} [[File:JLP 2323-2.jpg|thumb|right|500px|upright=2|alt=bush encroachment at Waterberg Namibia|View of bush encroached land at the [[Waterberg Plateau Park]] in [[Otjozondjupa Region]], Namibia]] '''Woody plant encroachment''' is when bushes, [[Shrub|shrubs]] and woody plants grow more and take over an area where there used to be grass and other plants. It happens mostly in grasslands, [[Savanna|savannas]] and [[Woodland|woodlands]] and can change the area from being open to being closed. The causes of this include things like people using the land too much, not having fires, and [[climate change]]. It can be bad for nature and for people who use the land. Some countries try to stop this by doing things like cutting down some of the bushes, using fire and managing the land. Sometimes, this type of land is good for the climate because it can take in [[carbon]]. But, it is not always good and more research is needed to understand the effects on the climate. It is different from invasive species which are plants that are brought from other places. == Reasons == Woody encroachment probably started thousands of years ago, when Earth started warming, but it has happened much faster during the last 50 years.<ref>{{Citation|last1=Archer|first1=Steve|title=Trees in Grasslands|date=2001|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B978012631260750011X|work=Global Biogeochemical Cycles in the Climate System|pages=115–137|publisher=Elsevier|language=en|doi=10.1016/b978-012631260-7/50011-x|isbn=978-0-12-631260-7|access-date=2021-12-10|last2=Boutton|first2=Thomas W.|last3=Hibbard|first3=Kathy A.}}</ref> There are different possible reasons for woody encroachment, some directly linked to the action of people, others linked to climate change. The reasons for woody encroachment are very different between dry grasslands and wet grasslands.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Devine|first1=Aisling P.|last2=McDonald|first2=Robbie A.|last3=Quaife|first3=Tristan|last4=Maclean|first4=Ilya M. D.|date=2017|title=