Oaks and Prairies
(Area - 10,587,600 ha)
Description - The Oaks and Prairies extend from approximately the Red River
of Oklahoma south to San Antonio, Texas, east to the acidic sandy soils of the East Texas
Pineywoods and west to the Eastern Cross Timbers. Within this area, the Texas Blackland
Prairie represents the southernmost extension of the North American tallgrass prairie. In
this subregion, the principal habitat is tallgrass that typically occurs on higher areas
with good drainage. Eleven plant associations have been described in the Blackland
Prairie, and dominant vegetation includes big bluestem, little bluestem, Indiangrass,
switchgrass, brownseed paspalum, and gramagrass. Also present in the Oaks and Prairies
physiographic area are bottomland hardwood forests, where burr oak, Shumard oak, black
walnut, American elm, cedar elm, and white ash are common components. Riparian forests
include cottonwood, sycamore, black willow, and green ash. Common trees of upland hardwood
forests occurring on the upper slopes and summits of Austin chalk escarpments include
Texas oak, San Saba oak, Mexican plum, and cedar elm. There is often an associated dense
scrub layer within these forests, including species such as aromatic sumac, poison oak,
Carolina buckthorn, and coralberry. There are occasional wetlands and freshwater marshes
in the Oaks and Prairies area, primarily associated with the peripheral areas of streams,
rivers, and reservoirs.
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Conservation recommendations and needs - The most heavily altered habitat in the Oaks and Prairies physiographic area is tallgrass prairie. Over 99% of the Blackland Prairie has been plowed for crop production, mostly cotton, and only one tenth of one percent of original prairie exists. However, small fragments of tallgrass species are kept in small “hay meadows” to insure that livestock will have adequate forage even during drought years. The continued loss of tallgrass habitat (at the rate of 20% per year) depletes the inventory of potential local models for restoration projects, and reduces the genetic materials needed to sustain the prairie system. All areas remaining should be incorporated into some type of preserve system to preserve this vital habitat. Community based restoration projects would serve to both educate the public and preserve the resource. Declines in grasslands are also due, in part, to lack of management. In the absence of fire management or appropriate rotational grazing, grasslands were replaced with heavy woody growth and/or exotic species. Appropriate fire management and grazing through private lands incentive programs are needed. Finally, there is some evidence in grasslands that the introduction of imported fire ants is limiting reproductive success of some birds. More research is needed to quantify this impact.
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