Eastern redcedar can reduce forage, alter wildlife habitat and change wildfire behavior, but Oklahoma State University researchers are studying another consequence happening beneath the trees: more ticks. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales, Dave Deken talks with Oklahoma State University’s Scott Loss Ph.D. about research inspired in part by what western Oklahoma farmers and ranchers had already observed. Even a few scattered cedars can create cooler, more humid conditions than the surrounding grassland. Those changes may help lone star ticks survive in country that otherwise becomes hot and dry. One Oklahoma study collected thousands of ticks and found a striking concentration beneath eastern redcedars. The larger lesson is that woody encroachment does not change just one part of a grassland. Forage, wildlife, birds, microclimate and ticks can all respond together.