LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Edwards Plateau: Texas Agri
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Curly mesquite is one of the major shortgrass species of the Southern Great Plains (of which physiographic province the Edwards Plateau is a section). Hitchcock and Chase (1950, p. 485) stated matter-of-factly: "Curly mesquite is the dominant 'short grass' of the Texas plains". These revered agrostologists were not specific as to the ecological status of curly mesquite as "the dominant". The consensus of scientific authority and the traditional interpretation of this species on most range sites has been that it becomes a major or dominant species under natural disturbances like drought or mismanagement of ranges, especially overgrazing. The Soil Conservation Service range site descriptions have almost invariably classified curly mesquite as an increaser or invader, again depending on range site. This conclusion was aptly stated in the Phillips Petroleum Company (1963, p. 43) booklet: "Curlymesquite has increased and invaded ranges where better grasses were killed out by abusive grazing".
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A typical operating ranch unit in the Edwards Plateau is 1,489 hectares. The ranch would be stocked with 103 cows, 460 sheep, and 210 goats. On an animal unit basis, this would be 230 animal units, with 45 percent cows, 40 percent sheep, and 15 percent goats. There would be expectation of a 90 percent calf crop, 100 percent lamb crop, and 50 percent kid crop (angora goats) (Texas Agri. Ext. Ser. 1991).
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The mix of grasses and woody species on landscapes in the Edwards Plateau makes a difference in surface water flows and in groundwater recharge. Juniper trees consume large amounts of water, thereby competing with desireable forage species. Junipers ... reduce the amount of precipitation reaching the ground through canopy interception (Thurow and Carlson 1994). Removal of juniper has been shown to increase water yield from rangelands in the Edwards Plateau by decreasing interception and evapo-transpiration losses (Hester 1996). Juniper cover, therefore, influences the quantity of renewable clean water supplied to the Edwards Aquifer and to surface water sources. The Edwards Aquifer is an important source of water for irrigated agriculture and for rural communities in the Edwards Plateau, as well as for growing urban populations in central Texas.
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The Edwards Plateau area includes 10.3 million hectares of Central Texas known as the Hill Country and fits into the temperate ecozone for this study. Annual precipitation ranges from 30.5 to 81.3 cm, west to east, with the peak in May. Frost-free days vary from 220 to 260 south to north. The Edwards Plateau is characterized as a deeply dissected hilly, stony plain. Elevations range from 366 to 915 meters above sea level (Hatch et al. 1990). Land in the area is highly desirable because of its natural beauty and proximity to urban areas such as San Antonio.
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The range expansion of coyotes within the Edwards Plateau is directly related to the presence, viability, and geographical distribution of the sheep and goat industry as previously indicated. Gee, et al. (1977) ... surveyed former sheep producers in Colorado, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming who had terminated sheep production. Factors which they rated of greatest importance in their decisions to discontinue sheep production were (1) high predation losses, (2) low lamb and wool prices, (3) shortage of good hired labor, (4) the sale of their land, and (5) their own age. Predation losses due to the limitations and cost of the application of current predator-control techniques has also contributed to the decline in the number of sheep and goats in Texas (Nunley, 1995b). The loss of toxicants in 1972 greatly reduced the efficiency and effectiveness of coyote control over large areas. However, in more recent years, the loss of the wool- and mohair-incentive program greatly influenced and accelerated the inventory decline of sheep and Angora goats.
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Endemic to Texas and apparently restricted to the Edwards Plateau, where it has been documented from Bandera, Blanco, Comal, Hays, Kerr, Real and Travis counties; oddly, it has ... been reported from Bailey County in the Texas Panhandle (Rowell, 1949). Locally common in Blanco and Hays counties, but relatively rare elsewhere in the state.
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