Meadows

[terry f]

    This might be a stupid question, but what makes a meadow a meadow. If you go to my profile map aerial, which is defined by the clearcut on the north and west sides, in the upper northwest corner there is a small meadow. This meadow is an old landing (30 plus years), all grass and wild strawberries. If I dig, it has the best looking dirt (soil) an no rocks. The trees around it have the best growth on my land. I've planted a few cedars and pines, but there is no natural regeneration. The only thing I can think of is soil compaction from being a old landing, but how would nothing grow in 30 years, or was this an old meadow, and thats the way it is. You can walk through the woods and come across a meadow anywhere in the country, so back to my question, what makes a meadow a meadow.

[WDH]

Sometimes it is the soil type.  There are pockets of high pH soil that are better suited to wild native grasses rather than trees.  This is common in the blackland prairies of central-west Alabama and southeast Mississippi with a few remnants in central Georgia and East Texas over where The Texas Ranger and tcsmpsi live. 

You are right in that sometimes it is the disturbance pattern that makes them, and in the old days, fire would keep them tree free.

[thecfarm]

My Father always called the wet place between the field and the brook The Meadow. This has all wide bladed grass. Maybe 2 acres of grass,wet land.I would not really call it floating land,but the only thing that is holding you up on it is the grass. The brook does not have much for banks,maybe 4 feet,if it rains alot in the summer it will flood over into The Meadow. My step son calls the back field The Meadow. It maybe an acre in size. June grass grows on it. It is surrounded by woods.

[lumberjack48]

We have thousands of acres of meadows in Minnesota, low, swampy, sometimes floating bog.
The Third River Flow-age on Big Winnie is one big meadow. 

[Draco]

WIKI says:

A perpetual meadow is one in which environmental factors restrict the growth of woody plants indefinitely. Examples include:
Alpine meadows occur at high elevations above the tree line and are maintained by harsh climatic   conditions
Coastal meadows are maintained by salt sprays
Desert meadows are restricted by low precipitation
Prairies are maintained by periods of severe drought and are subject to wildfires
Wet meadows are semi-wetland areas saturated with water throughout much of the year.

[thecfarm]

Mine is like the last one.