West Texas Rangelands
West Texas RangelandsWe hope to provide a variety of science-based rangeland information and current research on prescribed fire, wildfires, brush management, and grazing management!

Fire Up Plant Diversity!

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A recent study from Texas A&M researchers, published in Landscape Ecology, dives into how prescribed fires impact plant diversity in mesquite-oak savannas like those on the Edwards Plateau. By analyzing data from over 288 plots before and after a prescribed fire, the team found that these fires boost local plant diversity, encouraging more species richness and evenness in burned areas. This is especially true in soils with better water-holding capacity, where post-fire regrowth thrives amid the mosaic of burned and unburned patches. But there’s a flip side: fires can reduce beta-diversity, meaning less variation in plant communities across your land, as similar species start dominating post-burn.

The study highlights how soil types and rainfall play starring roles in these outcomes. In areas with deeper, moisture-retaining soils like Kavett silty clay, fires sparked significant gains in forb and grass diversity, helping control woody encroachment from mesquite and juniper while creating prime grazing spots. However, in shallower, drier soils like Tarrant, the effects were muted, underscoring the need to time burns with wetter periods to avoid stressing your vegetation. Precipitation patterns around the 2019 burns, drier than average, further mediated results, showing that fire heterogeneity (those patchy burns) shapes spatial diversity patterns, ultimately supporting a more resilient ecosystem for livestock and wildlife alike.

For ranchers looking to implement pyric-herbivory, combining fire with grazing, this research is a game-changer!! It suggests strategic burns can sustain biodiversity, improve forage quality, and maintain ecosystem services without homogenizing your landscape. Start by mapping your soil types and monitoring rainfall forecasts to maximize benefits. While the study focused on semi-arid savannas, its insights encourage adaptive management: test small-scale burns, observe plant responses, and adjust for your ranch’s unique conditions. In the end, embracing fire thoughtfully could ignite long-term health for your rangeland, turning potential threats into thriving, diverse, opportunities!

For more information on the study led by Jaime Xavier as part of The Prairie Project, please click here!

New Publication! Photosensitization

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Happy Thanksgiving Eve 2025! Tomorrow we eat too much, watch football, and thank the good Lord for another year on rangelands. But before we all disappear into food comas and family chaos, I want to hit you with one quick heads-up that can save you a pile of money and heartache this winter and next spring. A new publication was recently released by Dr. Thomas Hairgrove, Dr. Barron Rector, Dr. Jake Thorne, and Dale Rankin. Click here for the publication!

Photosensitization is sneaking up on herds right now.

Those pretty cool mornings and bright sunny afternoons we’re having? Perfect recipe for trouble if you’ve got lechuguilla, sacahuista, lantana, kochia, kleingrass, goathead, or rain lilies hanging around. Even alfalfa hay or heavy green wheat pasture can set it off when the liver gets damaged and can’t clear the green-pigment toxin (phylloerythrin).

You’ll see it first on the white-faced or light-skinned cattle, sheep, and goats: ears drooping, eyelids swollen, noses and udders red and peeling, animals crowding into any shade they can find or standing belly-deep in the tank. It hits FAST – sometimes in just hours after sun-up on a clear day.

Notice the early signs or you’ll be doctoring animals when you’d rather be deer hunting.

Quick checklist – do this TODAY (yes, even the day before Thanksgiving):

  • Ride or fly the drone over pastures and look for those culprit plants, especially in draws and south slopes where they stay green.
  • Make sure every pasture with light-skinned stock has real shade or a barn they’ll actually use.
  • If you see even one animal with puffy eyes or crusty ears, get them in the barn NOW and call your vet. Every hour in the sun makes it ten times worse.
  • Check liver fluke control – they’re a major player in Type III (the most common kind).

This ain’t regular sunburn. This is skin literally cooking from the inside out because of a toxin + sunlight combo. It’s painful, expensive, and 100% preventable if you stay ahead of it.

So enjoy tomorrow. Eat the extra piece of pecan pie. Hug your people. Tell your wife or husband you love ’em. But before you carve that turkey, take 20 minutes to look at your cattle.

Your future self (and your bank account) will thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving, folks. Stay safe, stay grateful, and give those critters some shade options!

Dry, Warm, Windy, and Fuel.

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  • Drought conditions (D1–D4) increased to 33% of the state, up from 24% four weeks ago; statewide reservoir storage decreased to 73.9% full, down from 75.6% four weeks ago, about 6 percentage points below normal for this time of year.
  • We are now a La Niña Advisory with a 55% chance of La Niña conditions continuing into the January-March season.
  • Most of the state is projected to be in drought over the next three months.

Isn’t it ironic that this last summer presented us with more than above average rainfall, yet not only is 33% of Texas in D1-D4 status, but our statewide reservoir storage is currently at 73.9%.  This becomes increasingly concerning as we watch La Niña take a firm hold with a 55% chance of La Niña conditions continuing into the January-March season.  Not only does this present challenging dormant season grazing management conditions, but wildfire will be at the top of rangeland manager’s concerns.

Bottom line, this winter will suck.  Get your game face on, dust off your drought plan, budget your numbers to see how late into winter/early spring your forage base can survive.  We will always remain optimistic, but we will also plan and prepare.  And with any rangeland management, we will remain adaptive holding strong to the grazing management and soil health principles guiding our practices and decisions.  For a comprehensive Wildfire Ready checklist, please click here and for our Preparing the Ranch publication click here.

Much appreciation to Robert Mace for his insight and wisdom in his outlook + water November 3, 2025 article found at: https://texaspluswater.wp.txstate.edu/.

 

Lessons Learned – Pyro-Vortex Tornado on the Deer Creek Fire

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On July 12, 2025, firefighters on the Deer Creek Fire near Moab, Utah, experienced one of the most extreme and rare weather events in wildfire history, a pyro-vortex powerful enough to be classified as an EF2 tornado. With wind speeds reaching 111–135 mph, this fire-generated vortex caused significant structural damage and created life-threatening conditions for crews on the ground.

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Mapping Fire Before It Starts: How the Fireshed Project Strengthens Readiness in West Texas

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Across Texas, wildfire seasons are growing longer and less predictable, and for landowners, that means planning ahead is no longer optional. The U.S. Forest Service’s Fireshed Registry offers a powerful new way to do just that.

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Revegetation vs. Encroachment: Why There’s No “Silver Bullet” for Woody Plant Management

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Across the Great Plains and Texas rangelands, woody plant encroachment continues to challenge grassland health and productivity. A brand new study from Trejo-Perez et al. (2025) offers important insight into why some rangeland reseeding efforts fall short and what it really takes to keep trees and shrubs from taking over.

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Everything that reflects, is not gold

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On August 19, 2025, Secretary Rollins said “Our prime farmland should not be wasted and replaced with green new deal subsidized solar panels. It has been disheartening to see our beautiful farmland displaced by solar projects, especially in rural areas that have strong agricultural heritage. One of the largest barriers of entry for new and young farmers is access to land. Subsidized solar farms have made it more difficult for farmers to access farmland by making it more expensive and less available. We are no longer allowing businesses to use your taxpayer dollars to fund solar projects on prime American farmland, and we will no longer allow solar panels manufactured by foreign adversaries to be used in our USDA-funded projects.”

A new journal article from Bacon et al. (2025)  recently looked at effects of large-scale solar installations on rangelands, arid landscapes critical for grazing, biodiversity, and carbon storage, disruption of ecosystem services with immediate and long-term consequences. Based on a global assessment of solar park impacts (Hernandez et al., 2019) and new, summarized data from Bacon et al. (2025), we continue to documented, research-based cascading effects on biodiversity, soil, water cycles, and climate regulation, exacerbated by construction, operation, repairs, and eventual panel degradation.

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Ten Years of Mesquite Application Timing…Spray a Healthy Tree or Wait Until 75F Soil Temperature?

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Mesquite (Prosopis spp.) is a tough, invasive shrub that plagues rangelands across Texas and beyond, outcompeting native grasses, reducing forage for livestock, and altering wildlife habitats. For ranchers aiming to boost grazing productivity, conservationists focused on restoring biodiversity, and wildlife managers enhancing quail or deer cover, effective mesquite management is key. But timing your herbicide applications, especially foliar sprays, can make all the difference. Drawing from a ten-year dataset spanning counties like Hamilton, Jack, Hood, Eastland, Comanche, Tom Green, and Schleicher, let’s explore how environmental factors like soil temperature influence mesquite mortality rates one and two years after treatment (YAT).

 

Insights from the Field Trials

This dataset compiled over 500 observations across 10 years from individual plant treatment (IPT), from 5 Texas counties, tracking percent mortality alongside variables such as soil temperature (12-inch depth), air temperature, and relative humidity. While individual results varied by site and conditions, clear patterns emerge when we aggregate the data.

  • Peak Performance in Late Spring/Early Summer: Applications in May and June yielded the highest average mortality—around 88% at 1 YAT and 92% at 2 YAT in May, dropping slightly to 85% and 86% in June. These months coincide with rising soil temperatures (averaging 70°F in May and 79°F in June), when mesquite is actively growing and translocating herbicides to roots more effectively.
  • Decline in Late Summer and Fall: By July and August, averages dip to 75% (1 YAT) and 66% (2 YAT) in July, further to 56% and 68% in August, despite warmer soils (82°F average). September through November show even lower efficacy, with November applications averaging just 3% at 1 YAT and 9% at 2 YAT—likely due to cooler soils (68°F) and plants entering dormancy.
  • Soil Temperature’s Role: While warmer soils are indicative of growing conditions, it is not the primary driver of plant mortality – IT’S THE TREE!!! There is no statistical significant difference between spraying below 75F and above 75F (P = 0.300) soil temperature at 12” depth.  These results emphasize that if the target tree is healthy, full leaf, and mature in phenology stage, it is ready to be sprayed!

Practical Tips for Your Operation

  • Target May-June Window: For most Texas regions, this period offers the sweet spot of active growth without excessive heat stress, grasshoppers or other insect damage, and hopefully before cotton is in the ground. Adjust for your county’s microclimate, e.g., earlier in southern areas like Tom Green.

 

 

By syncing sprays with healthy trees and peak growth, you can achieve higher kill rates, saving time and resources while promoting healthier rangelands. Whether you’re running cattle, promoting biodiversity, or managing for open-spaces, data-driven timing turns mesquite from foe to forgotten!!  Happy spraying and spray for the tree!  

*These data are currently being drafted for submission to Rangeland Ecology and Management.

Restoring Rangeland in Sterling County: Combating Compaction with Bamert Seed Company

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In the arid landscapes of West Texas, where shallow soils and unpredictable rainfall define the rangeland ecosystem, stewardship is key to maintaining productivity and preventing long-term degradation. Sterling County has faced a relentless drought over the past few years, exacerbating challenges for livestock producers. Compounded by disturbances from transmission line work in 2023, which compacted soils and stripped vegetation, one particular site required urgent intervention to stabilize against erosion and potential desertification.

 

 

Back in May 2023, the drought spanning about 2.5 years at that point, had already stressed the aboveground plant communities, reducing forage production, species diversity, and ground cover. Belowground, soil health suffered, with diminished water infiltration, stability, and structure. The transmission work further altered the site’s ability to respond to rainfall, threatening infinite impacts on productivity.

 

 

Recommended Seed Mix and Reseeding Protocol

In order to begin restoring the compacted and degraded site, we knew we needed to promote rapid germination and establishment of native, perennial grasses. So we focused on a seed-mix of diverse blend of cool- and warm-season grasses, incorporating short, mid, and tall structures for functional variety. Forbs were also included to enhance biodiversity and soil cover. Here’s the full recommended species list:

Category: Grass

Species include:

  • Common curly mesquite
  • Buffalograss
  • Sideoats grama
  • Little bluestem
  • Green sprangletop
  • Blue grama
  • Hairy grama
  • White tridens
  • Sand dropseed
  • Silver bluestem
  • Hooded Windmill Grass
  • Canada Wildrye

Category: Forbs

Species:

  • Engelmann’s daisy
  • Orange zexmenia
  • Bush sunflower

We worked with Brian Hays of Bamert Seed Company (contact: 806-395-3141) to prep the site and prepare the seed mix. Given the disturbance’s intensity and landowner’s commitment to rangeland function and process, frequent monitoring was advised to detect early erosion or invasive species.

 

 

Collaborative Research Demonstration: Monitoring Reseeding Impacts

Building on these recommendations, reseeding strategies were implemented in 2024 on the disturbed and compacted rangeland. We’re proud to collaborate with Sterling County Extension Agent Caleb Kott on this as a research demonstration project. The goal is to evaluate the effectiveness of these efforts in stabilizing the site and restoring productivity.

 

 

Our monitoring uses on-the-ground monitoring applying point intercept cover transects to assess vegetation establishment and ground cover changes over time. Talk to Caleb for more information on his Research Demonstration report! Complementing this fieldwork, we leverage data from the Rangeland Analysis Platform (RAP) to track biomass production and analyze long-term trends. This dual approach helps quantify how reseeding mitigates erosion risks and combats desertification in vulnerable West Texas soils.

 

 

Insights from Historical and Current Production Data

RAP data provides a clear picture of the site’s challenges and progress. Over the long-term period from 1986 to 2025, the average annual production is 1,100 lbs/acre. In this figure, a distinct drop in production in 2023 occurred, and the second disturbance occurred shortly after from the transmission line construction.

For 2025 specifically, cumulative production through mid-September stands at 572 lbs/acre, which is about 63.13% of the long-term average for that date (906 lbs/acre). Here’s a snapshot of the 16-day incremental production trends for 2025:

These figures underscore the ongoing recovery needs, but early data from our reseeding demonstration suggests positive shifts in cover and stability—insights we’ll continue to share as monitoring progresses.

Looking Ahead: Sustainable Rangeland Management

Projects like this highlight the resilience of West Texas rangelands when proactive measures are taken. By addressing soil erosion head-on and restoring native vegetation, we’re not just aiding one producer but contributing to broader efforts against desertification in drought-prone regions. If you’re facing similar challenges, reach out to your local County Extension agent for tailored advice. And definitely have a conversation with our friends at Bamert Seed Company.  They are instrumental at putting all these pieces of the restoration puzzle together, especially on shallow soils of semi-arid rangelands.  Together, we can ensure these vital ecosystems thrive for generations.

 

Native Perennial Grasses: Powerhouses Belowground

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When we think of rangelands, it’s easy to focus on the grasses we see aboveground, the leaves, stems, and seedheads obvious in the West Texas wind. But the real powerhouse of grass growth and survival lies beneath the soil. Our publication, Understanding Native Perennial Grass Growth, highlights how native perennial grasses rely on underground bud banks to regrow after grazing, fire, or drought.

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