Transcript Ecoregions of Texas - ESC-2

Which of these natural features
can be found in Texas?
1. deserts
2. canyons
3. mountains
4. beaches
5. meadows
6. swamps
7. pine forests
ALL OF THEM!
1. deserts – Chihuahuan Desert
2. canyons – Palo Duro Canyon
2
3. mountains – Guadalupe
Mountains
4. beaches – Galveston Beach
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3
1
5. meadows – Brenham
6. swamps – Daisetta Swamp,
Liberty County
7. pine forests – Big Thicket
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5
6
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Ecoregions of Texas
vocabulary
word!
ecoregion – a large area of land or
water that contains a characteristic and
distinct group of natural communities
and species.
Ecoregions of Texas
1. Piney woods
2. Oak woods and prairies
3. Blackland prairie
4. Gulf coast prairies and marshes
5. Coastal sand plain
6. South Texas brush country
7. Edwards plateau
8. Llano uplift
9. Rolling plains
10. High plains
11. Trans pecos
Piney Woods
Piney Woods
• Climate: Average annual rainfall of 36 to 50 inches is fairly
uniformly distributed throughout the year, and humidity and
temperatures are typically high.
• Soil: Generally acidic and mostly pale to dark gray sands or sandy
loams
• Elevation: Ranges from 200 to 500 feet above sea level
• Geography: Rolling terrain, swampy areas in the south
• Vegetation: Pine and oak, tall hardwood forests with scattered
areas of cropland, planted pastures, native pastures, and rich
bottomlands
Piney Woods
flora
sweetgum
palmetto
blackjack oak
southern
yellow pine
bald cypress
loblolly pine
Piney Woods
fauna
water moccasin
black bear
grey squirrel
wood pecker
opossum
raccoon
cottontail
whitetail deer
Piney Woods
Oak Woods and Prairies
Oak Woods and Prairies
• Climate: Average annual rainfall averages 28 to 40 inches per
year.
•Soil: Upland soils are light colored, acidic sandy loam or
sands. Bottomland soils may be light brown to dark gray and
acidic with textures ranging from sandy loams to clays.
•Elevation: Ranges from 300 to 800 feet above sea level
•Geography: Gently rolling to hilly terrain
•Vegetation: Oak savannah, where patches of oak woodland
alternate with grassland.
year.
Oak Woods and Prairies
flora
scarlet oak
mockernut hickory
pignut hickory
pecan
post oak
walnut
little bluestem
elm
Oak Woods and Prairies
fauna
ringtail cat
eastern spadefoot toad
coyote
collared peccary
Cooper’s Hawk
eastern bluebird
least shrew
mourning dove
pocket gopher
yellow mud turtle
Texas blind snake
Oak Woods and Prairies
Blackland Prairies
Blackland Prairies
• Climate: Average annual rainfall ranges from 28 to 40 inches.
May is the peak rainfall month for the northern end of the
region; however, the south-central part has a fairly uniform
rainfall throughout the year.
• Soil: Soils are uniformly dark-colored alkaline clays
interspersed with some gray acidic sandy loams.
•Elevation: Ranges from 300 to 800 feet above sea level
•Geography: Gently rolling to nearly level terrain
•Vegetation: Food and forage crops
Blackland Prairies
flora
Indian grass
big bluestem
Eastern gamagrass
cottonwood
juniper
hackberry
Blackland Prairies
fauna
coyote
ocelot
Texas spiny
lizard
collared peccary
turkey vulture
eastern spadefoot
toad
pocket gopher
yellow mud turtle
cardinal
Blackland Prairies
Gulf Coast Prairies
Marshes
Gulf Coast Prairies & Marshes
• Climate: Annual rainfall varies from 30 to 50 inches per year,
high humidity and warm temperatures
•Soil: Acidic sands and sandy loams, with clays occurring in the
river bottoms
•Elevation: Nearly level, less than 150 feet above sea level, cut
by streams and rivers flowing into the Gulf of Mexico
•Geography: barrier islands along the coast, marshes near
bays and estuaries, and prairies
• Vegetation: Salt grass, tallgrass prairies, live oak woodlands,
mesquite and acacias, oaks scattered along the coast, and
tall woodlands in the river bottomlands
Gulf Coast Prairies & Marshes
flora
Indian grass
big bluestem
little bluestem
live oak
saltgrass
cordgrass
Gulf Coast Prairies & Marshes
fauna
Hog-nosed skunk
coyote
lightning whelk
bottlenose dolphin
pelicans
river otter
gulls
roseate spoonbill
blue crab
Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes
Coastal Sand Plains
Coastal Sand Plains
• Climate: Average annual rainfall is 24 to 28 inches per
year.
• Soil: Primarily sands
• Elevation: Fairly level with elevations less than 150 feet
above sea level
• Geography: Windblown sands and unstable dunes with
grasslands, stands of oak, and salt marshes
• Vegetation: Tallgrass prairie with live oak woodlands,
mesquite savannah, and salt marshes
Coastal Sand Plains
flora
seacoast bluestem
toothache tree
crinkleawn
gulfdune paspalum
live oak
big bluestem
Coastal Sand Plains
fauna
collared peccary
coyote
jackrabbit
Texas tortoise
whitetail deer
Texas spiny
lizard
Coastal Sand Plains
South Texas Brush Country
South Texas Brush Country
• Climate: Average annual rainfall of 16 to 35 inches increases
from the West to East. Summer temperatures are high, with
very high evaporation rates.
• Soil: Alkaline to slightly acidic clays and clay loams and
shallow caliche soils
• Elevation: Ranges from sea level to 1000 feet
• Geography: Flat plains to gently rolling terrain
• Vegetation: Thorny shrubs, trees, and cactus scattered with
patches of palms and subtropical woodlands
South Texas Brush Country
flora
huisache
prickly pear
retama
honey mesquite
Texas mountain
laurel
live oak
spanish dagger
South Texas Brush Country
fauna
javelina
ocelot
jackrabbit
cougar
whitetail deer
green jay
Texas tortoise
indigo snake
Texas spiny lizard
South Texas Brush Country
Edwards Plateau
Edwards Plateau
• Climate: Average annual rainfall ranges from 15 to 34 inches.
• Soil: Usually shallow with a variety of surface textures,
underlain by limestone
• Elevation: Ranges from slightly less than 100 feet to over
3,000 feet above sea level
• Geography: Many springs, stony hills, and steep canyons and
caves; several river systems dissect the surface, creating a
rough and well-drained landscape
• Vegetation: Grasslands, juniper/oak woodlands, and plateau
live oak or mesquite savannah
Edwards Plateau
flora
honey mesquite
Texas madrone
ashe juniper
bigtooth maple
Mexican plum
Texas mountain
laurel
sycamore
Edwards Plateau
fauna
golden-cheeked
warbler
Texas blind
salamander
fox squirrel
whitetail deer
Mexican freetailed bat
Brazilian freetailed bat
Edwards Plateau
Llano Uplift
Enchanted Rock
Llano Uplift
 Climate: Averages about 24 to 32 inches per year
 Soil: Coarse textured sands, produced from weathered
granite over thousands of years
 Elevation: Ranges from 825 to 2,250 feet above sea
level
 Geography: Hilly to rolling landscape. With some of the
oldest rocks in Texas, the region contains unique
minerals, rock formations, and large granite domes.
 Vegetation: Oak-hickory or oak-juniper woodlands,
mesquite-mixed brush savannah, and grasslands
Llano Uplift
flora
wild rye
water pennywort
Texas snowbell
Texas wild rice
boxelder
switchgrass
Llano Uplift
fauna
muskrat
black-capped vireo
Guadalupe bass
blue heron
tarantula
Rio Grande turkey
Llano Uplift
Rolling Plains
Rolling Plains
• Climate: Average annual rainfall is 20 to 28 inches; dry
summers with high temperatures and high evaporation rates
• Soil: Varies from coarse sands along outwash terraces by
streams to clays and shales
• Elevation: Ranges from 800 to 3,000 feet above sea level
• Geography: Gently rolling hills and broad flats are cut by
several rivers and their tributaries.
• Vegetation: Mesquite and shortgrass savannah; various
hardwood species along streams, juniper on steep slopes along
rivers
Rolling Plains
flora
salt cedar
buffalograss
black willow
shin oak
Texas bluegrass
plains cottonwood
gamagrass
Rolling Plains
fauna
prairie chicken
mule deer
swift fox
prairie dog
scissortail
flycatcher
mountain plover
quail
Rolling Plains
High Plains
High Plains
• Climate: Extended droughts have occurred several times
this century.
• Soil: Surface texture of soils ranges from clays in the
North to sands in the South; caliche underlies these
surface soils at depths of two to five feet.
• Elevation: ranges from 3,000 to 4,500 feet above sea
level
• Geography: Relatively level high plateau
• Vegetation: Mostly irrigated cropland; native vegetation
includes mesquite and juniper
High Plains
flora
plains cottonwood
Colorado pinion pine
lance-leaf sumac
western wheatgrass
teddy bear cholla
buffalograss
High Plains
fauna
burrowing owl
sandhill crane
prairie dog
geese
ducks
armadillo
High Plains
Trans Pecos
Trans Pecos
 Climate: 9–15 inches of rain; semi-arid, warm, dry winters
 Soil: Generally shallow, saline, and unproductive
 Elevation: 2,000 feet to mountain ranges. Highest peak is
8,751 feet above sea level.
 Geography: Salt basins, sand hills, rugged plateaus,
mountain slopes
 Vegetation: Desert grassland, desert scrub, coniferous and
mixed hardwood forests at mountain peaks
Trans Pecos
flora
honey mesquite
cacti
desert willow
red berry juniper
creosotebush
ocotillo
Trans Pecos
fauna
pronghorn
bighorn sheep
prairie dog
mule deer
scorpion
rattlesnake
roadrunner
jackrabbit
Trans Pecos