Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere but I've searched a fair bit and can't find the exact info I need - could someone give a plain english explanation of what precisely LOD does and how it works? I'm keeping up with some of the discussion but feel I am missing a fundamental point of understanding it's mechanics. I understand it's some form of distant view generation that is automatically generated, and that it's a complete PITA to get working in the CK, but that's about it.
I ask because as an experiment recently managed to import the Vvardenfel landmass into Skyrim as it's own worldspace, and followed some LOD instructions to generate it (which weirdly it did almost instantly, after which the .esp became playable in-game), however the view distance within this worldspace is a bit pathetic to say the least, and I'm assuming it's an LOD issue. I could just do with a better idea of what I'm dealing with so I can keep up with the other discussions regarding it and better understand the methods they're using.

LOD = Level of Detail.

LOD meshes and Textures are the meshes/texture that you see far away in the game, it is all really low poly and resoltion as to not use up the memory as much. If you dont have LOD, you cant see very far at all.

WIthout them, you'd be back to the Morrowind standard of seeing distance.

_{yes that's rather the distance I see in this .esp file right now. So am I right in assuming this is a process seperate from automated generation of trees, rocks, foliage etc? Is it required every time you make major changes to your world spaces' landscape?}

Yes otherwise you would not be able to change what you see in the distance. Imaging making a large town but from a distance it looks like an empty field, then when you get close to it, it pops into view, or a hill suddenly leaping out of flat ground etc.