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/.

 

Fighting Fire with Fire: Rx Fire Toolbox to Combat Identified Social Barriers

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Interested in attending our online webinar on July 27, 2020 at 9:00 AM showcasing the research findings from Texas A&M University Dr. Urs Kreuter’s Joint Fire Science Program project:

“Fighting Wildfire with Prescribed Burning in the Southern Great Plains: Social and Regulatory Barriers and Facilitators” (funded by the Bureau of Land Management Joint Fire Science Program (Contract #L16AC00206))??

Please register HERE!

Range Concepts – Texas Ecosystem Analytical Mapper and Seed Mix Map

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This week’s Range Concepts dives into the Texas Ecosystem Analytical Mapper (TEAM) from Texas Parks and Wildlife.  TEAM is an easy-to-use FREE resource that includes soil mapping, plant community descriptions, threatened and endangered species, and much more!

The Seed Mix Map from Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute displays a FREE custom seed mix for an identified area defined by soil type within each ecoregion.

Both of these tools can be synergistically used together to build reseeding recommendations for disturbed rangelands, or for enhanced understanding of rangeland soils and plant communities!

Handout: Texas Ecosystem Analytical Mapper and Seed Mix Map

YouTube Tutorial Video: https://youtu.be/Nd_K7zbr0kg