The Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex has so few trees, why? (Austin: homes, landscaping)

[Refugee56]

During a recent trip to the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex I was shocked how barren it was. The climate is mild there is a far amount of rain year around but I saw few large trees or wooded areas. It seems like about every tree in the greater Dallas area is planted and the landscaping in public places is limited at best. It seemed kind of desolate to me.

Yes, there are some trees in the nicer residential areas that were planted but go out of the city and look from the freeways or through roads and the scene is mostly desolate.

Other nearby areas like Little Rock, Tulsa and Austin have far more trees. Dallas natives, will you admit the area is kind of desolate?

[lh_newbie]

What area of the DFW metro did you go to? I'm guessing not to Dallas proper - in particular, East Dallas. On my 9800 sq ft lot for our home - we have two 30-35' live oaks in the front and two 30-40' red oaks in the back. Most homes in my area have 2-5 trees on their lots as well. If you look from a high rise in downtown - in most any direction - you see mostly tree canopy.

[Lakewooder]

Refugee I am under a constant canopy of trees - and just about every neighborhood inside LBJ is that way. You must have been further out or at the airport. Most of those areas had the trees cleared for cotton crops before they were developed.

My alma mater:

[little elmer]

It's simple to me - the further west you go, the more arid and dry; the further east...more trees.

DFW is right at the dividing line.

[Nairobi]

I can understand how you would say that about the north side, but the rest of Dallas, no. Yet, while there are trees (even canopies), they are relatively short, but it doesn't matter because there are tall trees once you get into the east texas region of the DFW metro (far east).

[Refugee56]

Yes if you try hard enough you can find places in the Dallas area with lots of trees, but in general across the entire metro area there are few naturally wooded areas like the other nearby Cities I mentioned. Fly into Tulsa or Little Rock and you will see alot more trees. Why?

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

Refugee I am under a constant canopy of trees - and just about every neighborhood inside LBJ is that way. You must have been further out or at the airport. Most of those areas had the trees cleared for cotton crops before they were developed.

My alma mater:

[little elmer]

Originally Posted by Refugee56

Fly into Tulsa or Little Rock and you will see alot more trees. Why?

Little Rock is east of the Ouachita National Forest.

[lh_newbie]

Originally Posted by Refugee56

Yes if you try hard enough you can find places in the Dallas area with lots of trees, but in general across the entire metro area there are few naturally wooded areas like the other nearby Cities I mentioned. Fly into Tulsa or Little Rock and you will see alot more trees. Why?

You still didn't answer - what cities did you visit? Because if you are talking about areas that were farm land just 10 or even 15 years ago - of course they don't have a well grown canopy. It all depends which city.

Grapevine has done a wonderful job of preserviing it's trees, so it's not all just within Dallas.

South of downtown Dallas is the Great Trinity Forrest... something like 8-10,000 acres of forest. Is that enough trees for ya?

Brian

[bluescreen73]

Consider the ecosystem of Dallas-Fort Worth. We're technically a part of the Great Plains. There aren't many trees anywhere in the Great Plains (go look at pictures of Lincoln, Nebraska, for instance).

Little Rock is east of the Great Plains and Tulsa lies smack dab in the Cross Timbers, a narrow region of prairie, savanna, and woodland that runs northeast-to-southwest from Southeastern Kansas into Central Texas. The eastern edge of the Cross Timbers runs through western Tarrant and Denton Counties.

Cross Timbers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[WillysB]

Other nearby areas like Little Rock, Tulsa and Austin have far more trees. Dallas natives, will you admit the area is kind of desolate?

It's a matter of perspective and really quite amusing.

My mom grew up in east Texas, at about the western edge of that forest. The family wound up in Abilene, on the plains where even the shade of a Mesquite tree is appreciated. As an adult, I moved to Dallas and upon my mom's first visit she commented that she 'didn't know Dallas had so many trees.'

Perhaps more groomed than desolate. Dallas really does celebrate diversity.