overbrowse

English

Etymology

over- +‎ browse

Verb

overbrowse (third-person singular simple present overbrowses, present participle overbrowsing, simple past and past participle overbrowsed)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To browse (eat vegetation) too much, to the detriment of the environment.
   • 1995, David B Rockwell, Glacier National Park: a natural history guide:

     As their numbers peak, the hares begin to overbrowse aspen and other plants.

   • 1999, Allan Savory, Jody Butterfield, Holistic management: a new framework for decision making:

     The few elephants that remained continued to overbrowse the trees, now ripping the bark off them as well and speeding their demise.

See also

• overgraze