back to Introduction to Edwards Plateau Vegetation and Ecology

Field guide recommendations

Floras

An Edwards Plateau bibliography

Some links to sources of  'gray literature'

More links

Field guide recommendations

Enquist, M. 1987. Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country. Lone Star Botanical.  For herbaceous species other than graminoids.  It has the most useful photographs (both flowers and leaves perfectly in focus) that I have ever seen.  It comes and goes in and out of print, so grab it when you see it! 

Gould, F. W. 1978. Common Texas grasses: an illustrated guide. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.  Its excellent line drawings make it easy to identify grasses.

Lynch, D. 1981.  Native and naturalized woody plants of Austin and the Hill Country.  Saint Edwards University, Austin, Texas.  Excellent line drawings. 

Vines, R. A. 1984. Trees of central Texas. University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas.  Line drawings. Many more species than Lynch, but no keys.

Wrede, J. 2005. Trees, shrubs, and vines of the Texas Hill Country, a field guide. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.  In addition to photographs of woody species, it has good general information about plants and ecology of the eastern Edwards Plateau.

Not being a bird watcher myself, I hesitate to recommend anything, but there is a Peterson field guide for Texas birds.

Drees, B. M., and J. A. Jackman, J. A. 1998. A field guide to common Texas insects. Gulf Publishing, Houston, Texas.  No insect field guide can be anywhere close to complete, but this has lots of the commoner arthropod (not just insect) species.  Some of the contents of this book are posted online at http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/

 top of page

Floras

Correll, D. S., and M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas. Texas Research Foundation, Renner, Texas.  All the plants found in Texas, with keys, technical language, no illustrations.

 

Gould, F. W. 1975. The Grasses of Texas. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.  Same excellent illustrations as his field guide, but includes all grass species found in Texas.  Keys, technical language.

 

Diggs, G. M., B. L. Lipscomb, and R. O'Kennon. 1999. Shinner's and Mahler's Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Fort Worth, Texas.  Not for our area, but north central Texas is close enough to the Edwards Plateau to make this flora useful.

 

Turner, B. L., H. Nichols, G. Denny, and O. Doron. 2003. Atlas of the vascular plants of Texas. Volume 1: Introduction; dicots. Volume 2: Ferns; gynmosperms; monocots. Sida Botanical Miscellany, Number 24, vols. 1 and 2. Brit Press, Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Fort Worth, Texas.  These books have, for every Texas plant species, a map showing in which counties that species has been found.

top of page

An Edwards Plateau bibliography

This bibliography is undoubtedly biased towards my own field of plant ecology.  I would be happy to post additional references if you would like to send them to me.

Amos, B. B., and F. R. Gehlbach, eds. 1988. Edwards Plateau vegetation: plant ecological studies in central Texas. Baylor University Press, Waco, Texas.

Anderson, L. J., M. S. Brumbaugh, and R. B. Jackson. 2001. Water and tree-understory interactions: A natural experiment in a savanna with oak wilt. Ecology 82:33-49.

Anonymous. 1994. The use and management of browse in the Edwards Plateau of Texas. Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA, Temple, Texas.

Anonymous, undated. Native and adapted landscape plants; an earthwise guide for central Texas. City of Austin, Austin, TX, and Texas Cooperative Extension Service. Also available on line (http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/growgreen/pg_pdfs.htm)

Armstrong, W. E., D. E. Harmel, M. J. Anderegg, and M. S. Traweek. 1991. Vegetation of Kerr Wildlife Management Area and its preference by white-tailed deer.  PWD-BK-7100-002A-10/91. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin, TX.  (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/conserve/publications/media/kerr_veg.pdf)

Armstrong, W. E., and E. L. Young. 2002. White-tailed deer management in the Texas Hill Country.  PWD RP W7000-828 (05/02).  Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin, TX. (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/conserve/publications/media/wtd_mgmt_hillcountry.pdf)

Batchelor, M. 2004. The balance between positive and negative effects in a savanna system. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.

Buechner, H. K. The range vegetation of Kerr County, Texas, in relation to livestock and white-tailed deer. American Midland Naturalist 31:697-743.

Blair, B. K., J. C. Sparks, and J. Franklin. 2004. Effective application of prescribed burning. p. 187-199. In: W. T., Hamilton, A. Mcginty, D. N. Ueckert, C. W. Hanselka and M. R. Lee (eds.). Brush management; past, present, and future. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas.

Bryant, F. C., G. K. Lauchbaugh, and B. H. Koerth. 1983. Controlling mature Ashe juniper in Texas with crown fires. Journal of Range Management 36:165-168.

Bryant, F. C., C. A. Taylor, and L. B. Merrill. 1981. White-tailed deer diets from pastures in excellent and poor range condition. Journal of Range Management 34:193-200.

Chavez-Ramirez, F., and R. Slack. 1994. Effects of avian foraging and post-foraging behavior on seed dispersal patterns of Ashe juniper. Oikos 71:40-46.

Cooke, M. J., L. A. Stern, J. L. Banner, L. E. Mack, T. W. Stafford, and R. S. Toomey. 2003. Precise timing and rate of massive late Quaternary soil denudation. Geology 31:853-856.

Diamond, D. D., G. A. Rowell, and D. P. Keddy-Hector. 1995.  Conservation of Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei Buchholz) woodlands of the central Texas Hill Country. Natural Areas Journal 15:189-197.

Diamond, D. D., and F. E. Smeins. 1985. Composition, classification, and species response patterns of remnant tallgrass prairies in Texas. American Midland Naturalist 115:146-155.

Dugas, W. A., R. A. Hicks, and P. Wright. 1998. Effect of removal of Juniperus ashei on evapo-transpiration and runoff in the Seco Creek watershed. Water Resources Research 34:1499-1506.

Dye, K. L., D. N. Ueckert, and S. G. Whisenant. 1995. Redberry juniper-herbaceous understory interactions. Journal of Range Management 48:100-107.

Fonteyn, P. J., M. W. Stone, M. A. Yancy, J. T. Baccus and N. M. Nadkarni. 1988. Determination of community structure by fire. p. 79-90. In: B. B. Amos and F. R. Gehlbach, eds., Edwards Plateau vegetation: plant ecological studies in Central Texas. Baylor University Press, Waco, Texas.

Foster, J. H. 1917. The spread of timbered areas in central Texas. Journal of Forestry 15:442-445.

Fowler, N. L., and D. W. Dunlap. 1986. Grassland vegetation of the eastern Edwards Plateau. American Midland Naturalist 115:146-155.

Fowler, N.L. 1988. What is a safe site? Neighbor, litter, germination date, and patch effects. Ecology 69:947-961.

Fowler, N.L. 1988. Grasslands, nurse trees, and coexistence: three views of community structure. pp. 91-100 in B.B. Amos and F.R. Gehlbach, eds., Edwards Plateau vegetation: plant ecological studies in Central Texas. Baylor University Press, Waco, Texas.

Fowler, N.L. 1995. Density-dependent demography in two grasses: a five-year study. Ecology 76:2145-2164.

Fowler, N. L. 2002.  The joint effects of herbivory, competition, and topographic position upon six grasses. Ecology 83:2477-2488.

Fowler, N.L., and K. Clay. 1995. Environmental heterogeneity, fungal parasitism and the demography of the grass Stipa leucotricha. Oecologia 103:55-62.

Fuhlendorf, S. D., F.E. Smeins, and W. E. Grant. 1996. Simulation of a fire-sensitive ecological threshold: a case study of Ashe juniper on the Edwards Plateau of Texas, USA.  Ecological Modelling 90:245-255.

Fuhlendorf, S.D., and F. Smeins. 19797a. Long-term importance of grazing, fire and weather patterns on Edwards Plateau vegetation change. p. 7.19-7.29 In: 1997 juniper symposium proceedings. Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, College Station, Texas.

Fuhlendorf, S., D., and F. E. Smeins. 1997b. Long-term vegetation dynamics mediated by herbivores, weather and fire in a Juniperus-Quercus savanna. Journal of Vegetation Science 8:819-828.

Fuhlendorf, S. D., F. E. Smeins, and C. A. Taylor. 1997. Browsing and tree size influences on Ashe juniper understory. Journal of Range Management 50:507-512.

Gabbard, B. L. 2003. The population dynamics and distribution of the exotic grass, Bothriochloa ischaemum.  Ph.D. dissertation, University of Texas at Austin.

Gass, L., and P. W. Barnes. 1998. Microclimate and understory structure of live oak (Quercus fusiformis) clusters in central Texas.  Southwestern Naturalist 43:183-194.

Gould, F. W. 1962. Texas plants - a checklist and ecological summary. Texas Agricultural Experimental Station Bulletin MS-585.  Texas Agricultural Experimental Station, College Station, TX.

Hamilton, W. T., A. McGinty, D. N. Ueckert, C. W. Hanselka, and M. R. Lee (eds.). Brush management; past, present, and future. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas.

Hays, K. B., B. J. Leister, L. D. White, B. S. Rector, and R. W. Knight. 1998. Major rangeland issues affecting Texans. RLEM No. 3. Water for Texans Series.  Texas Agricultural Extension Service, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.

Jackson, J. T., and O. W. Van Auken. 1997. Seedling survival, growth, and mortality of Juniperus ashei in the Edwards Plateau region of central Texas. Texas Journal of Science 49: 267-278.

Jessup, K. E., P. W. Barnes, and T. W. Boutton. 2003. Vegetation dynamics in a Quercus-Juniperus savanna: an isotopic assessment. Journal of Vegetation Science 14:841-852.

Kroll, J. C. 1980. Habitat requirements of the golden-cheeked warbler: management implications. Journal of Range Management 33:60-65.

Lyons, R. K., M. K. Owens, and R. V. Machen. 1998. Juniper biology and management in Texas. B-6074. Texas Agricultural Extension Service, College Station, Texas. http://wildlife.tamu.edu/publications/B6074.pdf

Maas, M. M. 2004. The distribution of the epiphytic fungus Atkinsonella texensis and its effects on the performance of its plant host, Nassella leucotricha. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Texas at Austin.

McGinty, A., and D. Ueckert. 1996. How to master cedar.  Brush Busters Brush Control Program.  Texas Cooperative Extension and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.  http://texnat.tamu.edu/brshbst/cedar/index.htm

McKinley, D., and O. W. Van Auken. Growth and survival of Juniperus ashei  seedlings in the presence of Juniperus ashei litter. Texas Journal of Science 56:3-14.

McPherson, G. R., and H. A. Wright. 1990. Establishment of Juniperus pinchottii in western Texas: environmental effects. Journal of Arid Environments 19:283-287.

Noel, J, and N. Fowler.  2001. Can fire maintain central Texas savannas?  Abstracts, Ecological Society of America 86th Annual Meeting.  www.esa.org

Noel, J., and N. Fowler. 2003. Factors affecting juniper invasion of central Texas savannas.  Abstracts, 15th Annual Conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration International.

Owens, M. K., and T. G. Schliesing. 1995. Invasive potential of Ashe juniper after mechanical disturbance. Journal of Range Management 48:503-507.

Owens, M. K. 1996. The role of leaf and canopy-level gas exchange in the replacement of Quercus virginiana (Fagaceae) by Juniperus ashei (Cupressaceae) in semiarid savannas. American Journal of Botany 83:617-623.

Owens, M. K., C.-D. Lin, C. A. Taylor, Jr., and S. G. Whisenant. 1998. Seasonal patterns of plant flammability and monoterpenoid content in Juniperus ashei. Journal of Chemical Ecology 24:2115-2129.

Phillips, P. L., and P. W. Barnes. 2003. Spatial asymmetry in tree-shrub clusters in a subtropical savanna. American Midland Naturalist 149:59-70.

Polley, H. W. 1997. Viewpoint: atmospheric CO2, soil water, and shrub/grass ratios on rangelands. Journal of Range Management 50:278-284.

Reinecke, R. K. 1996. Ashe juniper seed production and germination, seedling dynamics, and response of live oak/juniper mottes to summer fire. M.S. thesis, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.

Riskind, D. H., and D. D. Diamond. 1988. An introduction to environments and vegetation. pp. 1-16 in Amos, B. B., and F. R. Gehlbach, eds. Edwards Plateau vegetation: plant ecological studies in central Texas. Baylor University Press, Waco, TX.

Rollins, D. 2001. Brush, water and wildlife: a compendium of our knowledge.  SP-106.  Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.

Russell, F. L., and N. L. Fowler. 1999. Rarity of oak saplings in savannas and woodlands of the eastern Edwards Plateau.  Southwestern Naturalist 44:31-41

Russell, F. L., and N. L. Fowler. 2002. Failure of adult recruitment in Quercus buckleyi populations on the eastern Edwards Plateau, Texas. American Midland Naturalist 148:201-217.

Russell, F. L., and N. L. Fowler. 2003. Effects of white-tailed deer on the population dynamics of acorns, seedlings and small saplings of Quercus buckleyi. Plant Ecology 173:59-72.

Russell, F. L., D.B. Zippin, and N.L. Fowler. 2001. Effects of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on plants, plant populations, and communities: a review.  American Midland Naturalist 146:1-26.

Smeins, F. E. 1980. Natural role of fire on the Edwards Plateau. p. 4-16. In: L. D. White (ed.). Proceedings:  Prescribed burning of the Edwards Plateau. Texas Agriculture Extension Service, College Station, Texas.

Smeins, F. E., and S. D. Fuhlendorf. 1997. Biology and ecology of Ashe (blueberry) juniper. ch. 3 in C. A. Taylor, ed. Juniper symposium 1997. Technical Report 97-1. Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, College Station, TX.

Smeins, F. E., S. Fuhlendorf, and C. Taylor. 1997. Environmental and land use changes: a long-term perspective.  p. 1.3-1.21 in 1997 juniper symposium proceedings. Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Report 97-1, Sonora, Texas.

Smeins, F. E., and L. B. Merrill. 1988. Longterm change in a semi-arid grassland. p.  101-114 in B. B. Amos and F. R. Gehlbach (eds.). Edwards Plateau vegetation; plant ecological studies in Central Texas. Baylor University Press, Waco, Texas.

Smeins, F. E., T. W. Taylor, and L. B. Merrill. 1976. Vegetation of a 25-year exclosure on the Edwards Plateau, Texas. Journal of Range Management 29:24-29.

Taylor, C. A., ed. 1997. Juniper symposium 1997. Technical Report 97-1. Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, College Station, TX.

Terletzky, P. A., and O. W. Van Auken. 1996. Comparison of cedar glades and associated woodlands of the southern Edwards Plateau. Texas Journal of Science 48:55-67.

Thurow, T. L. 1998. Assessment of brush management as a strategy for enhancing water yield. pp. 191-198 in: Proceedings of the 25th water for Texas conference. Texas Water Resources Institute, Texas A&M, System, College Station, TX.

Thurow, T. L., W. H. Blackburn and C.A. Taylor, Jr. 1986. Hydrologic characteristics of vegetation types as affected by livestock grazing systems, Edwards Plateau, Texas. Journal of Range Management 39:505-509.

Thurow, T. L., W. H. Blackburn, S. D. Warren, and C. A. Taylor, Jr. 1987. Rainfall interception by midgrass, shortgrass and live oak mottes. Journal of Range Management 40:455-460.

Thurow, T. L. and J. W. Hester. 1997. How an increase or reduction in juniper cover alter rangeland hydrology.  pp 4.9-4.22 in 1997 Juniper symposium proceedings. Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Report 97-1, Sonora, Texas.

Ueckert, D. N. 1980. Manipulating range vegetation with prescribed fire. p. 27-44. In: L. D. White (ed.). Prescribed range burning in the Edwards Plateau of Texas. Texas Agriculture Experiment Station, College Station, Texas.

Ueckert, D. N. 1997. Juniper control and management. p. 5.23-5.34 in 1997 juniper symposium proceedings. Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Report, Sonora, Texas.

Van Auken, O. W. 1988. Woody vegetation of the southeastern escarpment and plateau. p. 43-55. In: B. B. Amos and F. R. Gelhlbach (eds.). Edwards Plateau vegetation: plant ecological studies in central Texas. Baylor University Press, Waco, Texas.

Van Auken, O. W. 1993. Size distribution patterns and potential population change of some dominant woody species of the Edwards Plateau region of Texas. Texas Journal of Science 45:199-210.

Van Auken, O. W. 1997. Germination requirements of aerial chasmogamous florets and seeds of Nassella leucotricha (Poaceae). Southwestern Naturalist 42:194-200.

Van Auken, O. W. 2000. Characteristics of intercanopy bare patches in Juniperus woodlands of the southern Edwards Plateau, Texas. Southwestern Naturalist 45:95-110.

Van Auken, O. W., and J. K. Bush.1992. Diospyros texana Scheele seed germination and seedling light requirements. Texas Journal of Science 44:167-174.

Van Auken, O. W., A. L. Ford, and J. L. Allen. 1981. An ecological comparison of upland deciduous and evergreen forests of central Texas. American Journal of Botany 68:1249-1256.

Van Auken, O. W., J. T. Jackson, and P. N. Jurena. 2004. Survival and growth of Juniperus seedlings in Juniperus woodlands. Plant Ecology 175:245-257.

Wayne, R., and O. W. Van Auken. 2002. Spatial and temporal patterns of xylem water potential in Juniperus ashei seedlings. Southwestern Naturalist 47:153-161.

Wayne, R., and O. W. Van Auken. 2004. Spatial and temporal abiotic changes along a canopy to intercanopy gradient in central Texas Juniperus ashei woodlands. Texas Journal of Science 56:35-54.

Weniger, D. 1984.  The explorer’s Texas. The land and waters. Eakin Press, Austin, Texas.

Weniger, D. 1988. Vegetation before 1860. pp. 17-23 in B. B. Amos and F. R. Gehlbach, eds. Edwards Plateau vegetation: plant ecological studies in central Texas. Baylor University Press, Waco, Texas.

White, J. J., and O. W. Van Auken. 1996. Germination, light requirements, and competitive interactions of Stipa leucotricha (Gramineae). Southwestern Naturalist 41:27-34.

Wink, R. L., and H. A. Wright. 1973. Effects of fire on an Ashe juniper community. Journal of Range Management 26:326-329.

Wu, X. B., E. J. Redeker and T. L. Thurow. 2001. Vegetation and water yield dynamics in an Edwards Plateau watershed. Journal of Range Management 54:98-105.

Zippin, D. Z. 1997. Herbivory and the population biology of a rare annual plant, the bracted twistflower (Streptanthus bracteatus).  Ph.D. dissertation, University of Texas at Austin.

top of page

Some links to sources of  'gray literature'

TEXNAT (Texas Natural Resource Server) is a web site of the Texas Cooperative Extension Service and Texas A&M University.  Check out 'Plant Identification', a link to a dozen different documents.   'Library' will take you to many more documents, including the proceedings of dozens of symposia.  Of particular relevance to the role of juniper species in Edwards Plateau vegetation is here is the 1997 Juniper Symposium ( http://texnat.tamu.edu/symposia/juniper/index.htm, Technical Report 97-1,Texas Agricultural Experiment Station).

Useful documents from Texas Parks and Wildlife about deer include 'White-tailed Deer Management in the Texas Hill Country' by W. E. Armstrong and E. L. Young (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_rp_w7000_828.pdf) and 'Vegetation of the Kerr Wildlife Management  Area and its Preference by White-tailed Deer' by Armstrong et al. (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_002a.pdf).  See also 'The Use and Management of Browse in the Edwards Plateau of Texas, a 1994 NRCS document (http://texnat.tamu.edu/cmplants/UseMgmtBrowseEPTX.pdf)

See http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_196.pdf for an introduction to prescribed fire in rangelands.  The web site of the Edwards Plateau Prescribed Burning Association is http://www.ranchmanagement.org/eppba/.  

http://www.texasinvasives.org/Publications/texas1.pdf is an introduction to invasive species in Texas.

TPWD provides information about each endangered species in Texas via links from http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/?c=endangered.  The list of species is somewhat longer from http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/.  There is a copy of a 127-page book they published, Endangered and Threatened Animals of Texas, at http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_013.pdf

An introduction to ranching in Texas, entitled Reference Guide for Texas Ranchers, by Allan McGinty, is available on line at http://texnat.tamu.edu/ranchref/guide/index.htm.

top of page

More links

Some Austin area places

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (http://www.wildflower.org/).  Not only a great place to visit to see native plants growing, they also have public talks, programs for undergraduate interns, ongoing research projects, and a web site with many pictures of plants. In southwest Austin.

City of Austin parks and preserves (http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/).  The direct link for the Balcones Canyonlands Preserves operated by the City of Austin is http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/preserves/bcp.htm.

Travis County parks (http://www.co.travis.tx.us/tnr/parks/default.asp)

Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve (http://www.wildbasin.org/) A bit of the Hill Country in the city - in Austin, on Loop 360.

Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge (http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/balcones/index.htm)

Texas State Parks and State Natural Areas on the Edwards Plateau  (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/parkguide/irgn_hc.phtml).

 

Pictures of plants found in this region

http://www.wildflower2.org/NPIN/Gallery/gallery.html  The LBJ Wildflower's extensive picture collection.

http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/bio406d/PlantPics_archive.htm  Dr. Bierner's extensive set of pictures for the Native Plants course.

http://www.lnstar.com/wildflowers/flowers.htm courtesy of Texas Department of Transportation

http://www.noble.org/imagegallery/  The Noble Foundation's extensive image collection.

Pictures of grasses, together with some information about them, can also be found at http://texnat.tamu.edu/cmplants/B-182/main.htm http://www.dkseeds.com/grasses.html,  and http://www.pogueagri.com/.

 

Pictures of animals found in this region

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/  is a set of fact sheets, with pictures, of many Texas animals, including invertebrates, posted by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

http://wfsc.tamu.edu/TCWC/herps/herps.htm  or http://wfscnet.tamu.edu/tcwc/herps/herps.htm Texas herps, from Texas A&M University

http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/ Texas arthropods, from Texas A&M University

 

Gardening....

Anyone who is suspected of knowing anything about plants will sooner or later be asked questions about garden plants, gardening, landscaping,and so on, especially in Austin, where standard garden books are not very useful.  Here are two local web sites that provide starting points.
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/growgreen/
http://travis-tx.tamu.edu/hort/hortindex.htm

 

top of page

back to Introduction to Edwards Plateau Vegetation and Ecology