Ecological Research Evaluation

Hays County 3

 

                                 

                                 

 

 

Acreage:  Approximately 345 acres

County:    Hays

Nearest Town:  Dripping Springs          

General Property Location:  3 miles west of Dripping Springs, roughly one and a half miles north of McGregor Lane / Hwy 290 West intersection. 

 

Photo 1:  Juniper/live oak parkland.  Little bluestem is dominant herbaceous plant. 

 

Photo 2:   Juniper/oak parkland, with row of Spanish oak on a ridgeline in background.  Tall grama, seep muhly, and little bluestem are dominant herbaceous plants. 

 

Photo 3:   View on Steep Adobe ecological site overlooking riparian area.  Seep muhly and juniper in foreground; Spanish oak, live oak, and juniper in far background. 

 

Photo 4:  Oak savanna.  Area cleared in past two years.  Scattered shin oaks, live oaks, and Texas madrone.  Shrub layer absent.  Little bluestem, sideoats grama, purple threeawn, and plains lovegrass comprise herbaceous layer. 

 

Photo 5:   Another view of oak savanna.  Woody plants in this site are white shin oaks.  Herbaceous plants similar to those in photo 4.    

 

Photo 6:  View overlooking riparian area.  Spanish oaks are a lighter shade of green and are present with live oak and mature juniper. 

 

Photo 7:  Bottom of dry drainage.  Mature juniper and scattered Spanish oak comprise tree layer.  Drainage not characterized by wetland vegetation. 

 

Photo 8:  View of closed canopy woodland.  Mature juniper, Spanish oak, possumhaw, and shin oak comprise tree layer.  Shrub layer consists of Lindheimer silktassel, agarita, Texas barberry, and persimmon.  Sparse herbaceous layer had some cedar sedge.  Golden-cheeked Warbler (GCW) habitat. 

Photo 9:  Shallow, Brackett soil site.  Shrubby juniper present with seep muhly and queen’s delight.  This portion grazed as recently as two years ago and is current recovering. 

 

Photo 10:  Intermittent pond in area with recent grazing history. 

 

Photo 11:  Drainage area near dam with willow baccharis and black willow. 

 

Photo 12:  Sycamore Creek with juniper, possumhaw, buttonbush, bushy bluestem, and Lindheimer muhly. 

 

Photo 13:  Oak/juniper woodland.  Tree layer dominated by mature juniper with some Spanish oak and live oak.  GCW habitat. 

 

 

Site Description

 

The roughly 345 acre property is located in northwestern Hays County, three miles west of Dripping Springs.  The irregularly-shaped property consists of six tracts with unique landowners.  The north-south length of the property is approximately 6,000 feet while the east-west width is roughly 8,000 feet.  Roads adjacent to the property include Martin Road along a short section near the southeast corner and CR 187 along the eastern boundary.  The property’s general slope is from south to north.  Sycamore Creek and several of its tributaries run from south to north through the property.  Several springs are present along these water features.  All of these water sources are intermittent, as are a small pond (~ 1/2 acre) pond and dammed drainage also present on the subject property.  The parcel’s low points of 1100 ft MSL are present where each of two of Sycamore Creek’s tributaries exit the property along the northern boundary.  The high point of approximately 1400 ft MSL can be found at the top of steep hill in the southeastern part of the property.  One karst feature is present near the center of the property and others may be present.  The property has internal and perimeter fencing for livestock grazing, though livestock are not current on any of the seven tracts. 

 

 

Habitat Description

 

The habitats present on the property are very healthy, functional habitats typical of those found in the eastern Edwards Plateau.  Moderate to steep rocky slopes and riparian areas are forested with juniper/oak woodlands.  Dominant trees include primary growth juniper, live oak, Spanish oak, shin oak, Texas madrone, escarpment black cherry, sycamore, and black walnut (the latter three present in riparian areas).  The shrub layer on the entire tract was fairly limited, possible due to heavy goating pressure in the past.  Shrubs observed in upland woodlands included Lindheimer silktassel, agarita, Texas barberry, greenbriar, and persimmon; woodland shrubs in riparian areas included rough-leaf dogwood, buttonbush, possumhaw, and Lindheimer silktassel.  Herbaceous plants present in upland woodland habitats were sparse due to the heavy litter layer and lack of sunlight and water, but cedar sedge, Scribner’s rosette grass, and meadow dropseed were observed in small amounts.  Xeric upland woodland sites had herbaceous layers comprised of scattered little bluestem, silver bluestem, and tall grama.

 

The upland stair step benches (characteristic of Steep Adobe ecological sites) are primarily juniper/oak parklands with good dispersions of mixed short and mid-grass prairie grasses including little bluestem, tall grama, and seep muhly.  Many of the live oaks and junipers were stunted in appearance, a result of the poor soils and lack of available moisture.  Spanish oaks were present along some ridges.  Texas madrone and sugar hackberry are interspersed in the parklands.  Dominant mid-story woody vegetation includes Texas madrone, persimmon, and agarita, though some redbud and flameleaf sumac were observed.  Perennial forbs in these habitats include orange zexmania, queen’s delight, western ragweed, and broomweed. 

 

An approximately 60-acre area in the northern part of the property has been cleared of most woody plants, resulting in an oak savanna.  Woody plant canopy cover was less than 5% and trees present included live oak, juniper, shin oak, and Texas madrone.  The herbaceous layer was very abundant due to the increased water and light and was comprised of little bluestem, plains lovegrass, indiangrass, purple threeawn, sideoats grama, and croton. 

 

A 13-acre tract on the western side of the property in a juniper/oak parkland displayed evidence of heavy overgrazing.  Other physical disturbance included grading by heavy machinery.  Bare ground was much more common here, as were early successional plants including western ragweed, broomweed, and willow baccharis.  An intermittent pond and a dammed drainage are present on this 13 acres. 

The vast majority of the property (342+ acres) has not been grazed by any form of livestock in over 40 years, and the good to excellent herbaceous composition reflects the lack of recent grazing pressure. 

 

Soil Descriptions

 

The property is dominated by Brackett soils.  BtD soils are present on flat areas in the center of the property while BtG soils can be found along the slopes and drainages in the western and eastern parts of the property.  Small pockets of RcD soils are present near the eastern and western boundaries of the property. 

 

 

 

Brackett-Rock outcrop-Comfort complex, undulating (BtD)

Brackett -Rock outcrop- Real complex, steep (BtG)

Both of the Brackett soil complexes (BtD and BtG) are shallow, loamy and occasionally clayey soils interspersed with limestone bedrock outcroppings. Both are moderately alkaline (pH 7.9 – 8.4) but only BtG contains a high percentage of calcium. These soils range from 11 – 17 inches in total depth. BtG soils are more steeply sloped than BtD soils. They are well drained, have a modernly slow permeability with very low available water capacity and a shallow rooting zone. Runoff is rapid and water erosion is a severe hazard.  A distinguishing feature of these soils is a benched or stair-stepped appearance due to the bands of rock outcrop. BtD is in the Adobe range site, while BtG is in the Steep Adobe ecological site.  Climax plants include little bluestem, indiangrass, sideoats grama, tall grama, muhlys, green sprangletop, dropseeds, hairy grama, perennial threawn, tridens and sedges.  Woody plants include live oak and Spanish oak.  Forbs include orange zexmenia, prairie-clover, daleas, and vetch. 

 

Comfort-Rock outcrop complex, undulating (CrD)

 

The CrD soil complex is mostly composed of Comfort very stony clay and consists of shallow clayey soils on hilltops and ridges.  Cobbles and stones frequently cover nearly 45% of the surface of these areas.  Overall soil depth is typically 13 inches.  CrD soils are mildly alkaline (pH 7.4 – 7.8), well drained and slowly permeable with a very low available water capacity and shallow rooting depth.  Runoff is slow to moderate and the hazard of water erosion is slight.  The CrD complex is classified in the Low Stony Hills ecological site.  Climax plants include little bluestem, indiangrass, big bluestem, wildrye, sideoats grama, Texas cupgrass, plains lovegrass, green sprangletop, dropseed, silver bluestem; woody plants, such as live oak, elm, and hackberry; and forbs such as orange zexmenia, bush sunflower, bundleflower, prairie-clover, milk pea, snapbean, and Engelmann-daisy. 

 

 

Research Possibilities

 

Due to the property’s size and different habitat types, a wide variety of research projects could be conducted.  Flora/Fauna baseline data gathered from this site might prove useful due to lack of grazing pressure over the last four decades.  The diverse habitat types each support unique vegetation composition and structure. 

 

The presence of existing varieties of diverse and healthy plant communities provide excellent habitat for wildlife.  The dense oak/juniper upland woodland communities are home to a wide variety of wildlife including the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler.  Other birds observed during a Spring 2002 bird survey on one of the seven tracts on the subject property included Bewick’s Wren, Black-throated Green Warbler, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Great-tailed Grackle, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal, Painted Bunting, Purple Martin, Tufted Titmouse, Western Scrub-Jay, and Yellow-billed Cuckoo.  One species observed during the fall 2005 site visit by Plateau not included in the 2002 Spring survey was a Carolina Wren. 

 

At least one karst feature is present on the property, and others may also be.  It is possible that endangered karst invertebrates exists in these areas. 

 

 

Keith Olenick

Senior Wildlife Biologist

Plateau Land & Wildlife Management