Edwards Plateau
(Area - 7,822,006 ha)
Description - The Edwards Plateau is entirely contained within Texas. This
hilly area is clearly demarcated by the Balcones Fault escarpment to the east and south,
but grades into the Chihuahuan Desert to the west and the Great Plains to the north. The
plateau can be divided into four subregions. The central and western portions of the
plateau are characterized by broad, relatively level uplands moderately dissected by
gently sloping stream divides. The deeply dissected portion adjacent to the escarpment,
the Balcones Canyonlands, is popularly known as the Texas Hill Country. This region is
highly dissected by fast-moving streams through steep-sided canyons. The northeast
plateau, the Lampasas Cut Plains, is characterized by broad valleys. The final subregion
is the Central Mineral Valley or Llano Uplift. This area has a granitic substrate that
clearly differentiates this area from surrounding areas. The Edwards Plateau was originally a grassy savannah with the most common trees being mesquite, juniper, and live oaks. Some of this community type still remains, but agricultural practices have heavily modified most of the area. The eastern and wetter end of the Plateau is characterized by diverse woodlands including hardwoods (primarily oaks) and Ashe Juniper. Periodic, naturally-occurring fire was a major ecological force in the western plateau that maintained live oak savannahs and produced a mosaic of habitats across broad landscapes.
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Conservation recommendations and needs - Threats to bird habitats in the Edwards Plateau include fragmentation of forested habitats, construction of reservoirs, increasingly intensive agriculture (ranching), and increasing urbanization. One result of these changes has been an increase in rates of cowbird brood parasitism. These major impacts aggravate the reduced quality of existing habitats, which can be caused by overgrazing, alteration of natural hydrologic regimes, impacts from nearby urban areas, including feral dogs and cats, as well as direct human disturbance (dumping, firewood cutting, etc).
Bird conservation on the Edwards Plateau will require increased private, non-industrial lands conservation incentive programs, integration of natural resource issues into community growth planning, and restoration of larger blocks of habitat.
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