Wiktionary
n. Excessive grazing to an extent that the land is damaged. vb. (present participle of overgraze English)
Wikipedia
Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature reserves. It can also be caused by immobile, travel restricted populations of native or non-native wild animals.
It reduces the usefulness, productivity, and biodiversity of the land and is one cause of desertification and erosion. Overgrazing is also seen as a cause of the spread of invasive species of non-native plants and of weeds. It is not caused by nomadic grazers in huge populations of travel herds, such as the American bison of the Great Plains, or migratory Wildebeests of the African savannas, nor by holistic planned grazing.
Usage examples of "overgrazing".
Deforestation, overgrazing, plowing, or other stripping of the vegetative cover lessens the possibility that rain will be slowed down and stopped so that it may seep into the soil, subsoil and the underground waterways.
These figures are for arable land and do not include the general erosion and degradation of lands all over the earth from human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing, fire, and other injudicious human occupancy.
With free-roaming animals in a natural setting there is no danger of overgrazing because when the vegetation is sparse in one area they simply move to another.
Meanwhile, as the land available for grazing shrinks, the number of grazing animals swells-a sure-fire formula for overgrazing, wind erosion, and desertification.
The overgrazing of the earth has nothing to do with range management, but has everything to do with money, political power and the values of empire culture.
Several million acres of natural grassland are, as a result of cultivation or overgrazing, eroding at unnaturally high rates.
Erosion and overgrazing had produced that desert, not war, though there were mildly radioactive patches all across it.
Hence, although they were badly overgrazing this land and losing most of their calves to colic or coyotes, their herd presently sported some real fat beef on the hoof, and Onofre, knowing exactly how to play on their white middle-class guilt, always managed to drive the price down until the hippies were practically selling Joe Mondragon his Moto-Cross hamburgers for nothing.
The inevitable result of this rational pursuit of individual advantage had been the overgrazing and ultimate destruction of the commons.
Actually, he knew that overgrazing had changed the grass and shrubs over all this country, and that with man gone there would now be more changes.
Hence, although they were badly overgrazing this land and losing most of their calves to colic or coyotes, their herd presently sported some real fat beef on the hoof, and Onofre, knowing exactly how to play on their white middle-class guilt, always managed to drive the price down until the hippies were practically selling Joe Mondragon his Moto-Cross hamburgers for nothing.
Hence, although they were badly overgrazing this land and losing most of their calves to colic or coyotes, their herd presently sported some real fat beef on the hoof, and Onofre, knowing exactly how to play on their white middle-class guilt, always managed to drive the price down until the hippies were practically selling Joe Mondragon his  .