Dwarf Fortress Bug Tracker - Dwarf Fortress
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IDProjectCategoryView StatusDate SubmittedLast Update
0001477Dwarf FortressDwarf Mode -- Environmentpublic2010-04-23 20:082021-08-09 23:52
ReporterKefka 
Assigned To 
PrioritylowSeveritytrivialReproducibilityalways
StatusnewResolutionopen 
PlatformDesktopOSWindows XPOS VersionSP 2
Product Version0.31.03 
Target VersionFixed in Version 
Summary0001477: Lack of a density cap for (underground?) flora?
DescriptionI don't know, but it seems flora gets "denser" over time if not harvested, differently from the older versions. Specifically talking, bushes and trees in underground seem to continually spawn with no regard to an hypothetical "maximum density" cap for the enviroment. A fort that has run some years has some very dense tower cap forests in its caves, for instance. Far denser than when it initially started. I'm not sure if the same applies to above surface biomes.
Steps To Reproduce1: Start a fort
2: Breach a cavern
3: Wait a few years
Additional Information
TagsNo tags attached.
Relationships
related to 0003807new  Underground plants can spawn on top of existing plants 
Attached Files
Issue History
Date ModifiedUsernameFieldChange
2010-04-23 20:08KefkaNew Issue
2010-04-24 00:13Khym ChanurIssue Monitored: Khym Chanur
2010-12-11 12:54FootkerchiefRelationship addedrelated to 0003807
2012-03-29 11:54KogutNote Added: 0021866
2012-03-29 20:50NW_KohakuNote Added: 0021881
2021-08-09 11:19QuietustNote Added: 0041127
2021-08-09 23:52PatrikLundellNote Added: 0041129

Notes
(0021866)
Kogut   
2012-03-29 11:54   
Why it is supposed to be a bug?
(0021881)
NW_Kohaku   
2012-03-29 20:50   
I've seen threads on this topic - the problem is that if you do not ever discover the caverns for the first 10 years or so of the game, there will still be mushroom trees and "shrubs" growing until you hit a point where it's literally wall-to-wall mushroom trees and shrubs.

It often blocks much of the narrow passages in caverns with the trees.

0003807 is also a part or even cause of the problem - the game just keeps populating the caverns with more and more junk, even overwriting itself.

It's a bug because, hypothetically, the caverns should have been in a stable state before you found them (the same way that a desert or shrubland or forest should be at its stable natural state when you first embark). They shouldn't continuously overgrow themselves until you have a solid mass of mushrooms filling the whole cavern.
(0041127)
Quietust   
2021-08-09 11:19   
At least in version 0.28.181.40d, normal plant growth was limited according to the "Vegetation Density" statistic shown during embark (multiplied by the number of soil walls beneath the tile in a 5x5 region minus the corners), but subterranean growth was effectively at the highest possible density (assuming the same region was Muddy on the same Z-level).

Presumably, subterranean Grass serves as alternative to Mud in the current version.
(0041129)
PatrikLundell   
2021-08-09 23:52   
As far as I've seen, there's still no limit to tree growth beyond physical limits to maturation. The rate of junglification on the surface differs, but the end state is the same. Surface saplings wither rather than mature if they don't have access to the sky straight above (blocked by e.g. tree foliage, but not e.g. bridges), while all saplings require a headroom of at least two Z levels to mature.

The factor providing foothold for vegetation in caverns is soil, which is then converted into moss rather quickly. You can, however, remove the moss (e.g. through trampling) to reveal the soil. Once a cavern tree has been cut down the tile beneath the former trunk becomes rock, so unless you muddy the caverns they eventually (probably a number of hundreds of years, although you can see some effect after only 50 or so) run out of tiles to grow trees on if you keep logging the cavern.