Grasses of the Texas Gulf Prairies and Marshes

Grasses of the Texas Gulf Prairies and Marshes PDF Author: Stephan L. Hatch
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 9780890968895
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
The coastal prairies and marshes of the Texas Gulf Coast are among the richest grazing lands in the state. Traditionally they have been the site of some of the largest ranches in Texas; today the ranches are primarily cow-calf operations that use forage grasses as well as "tame" grasses such as Bermuda and some bluestems. This region is also an excellent natural habitat for upland game and waterfowl and is an important recreational hunting and fishing area. Urban and industrial development has increased in the region as well; since World War II the prairies and marshes have seen the greatest industrial development of any part of the state, and the effects of that development on the environment are of great concern. Grasses of the Texas Gulf Prairies and Marshes serves as a useful manual for the identification and study of grasses of the prairies and marshes adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico from northern Mexico to western Louisiana. This field guide is a systematic and descriptive treatment of the grasses found on that coastal zone and includes keys to the 98 genera and 303 species. For convenience in locating specific taxa, the grasses are listed alphabetically by genus and then by species within genus; common names are provided when they are known. Species descriptions include information on longevity, dimensions of the entire plant and of the spikelets, and descriptions of the grass's habitat and distribution and rating of its value for stock or wildlife. The notes on abundance, habitat, and distribution provide information on the ecological niche of each species. Where known, the requirements of the species, such as moisture, soil, and other environmental conditions are given. Heavily illustrated with line drawings of grass plants and plan parts, this field guide will be useful for stock raisers, wildlife managers, and environmentalists as well as grass taxonomists and range scientists.

Grasses of the Texas Gulf Prairies and Marshes

Grasses of the Texas Gulf Prairies and Marshes PDF Author: Stephan L. Hatch
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 9780890968895
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 372

Get Book Here

Book Description
The coastal prairies and marshes of the Texas Gulf Coast are among the richest grazing lands in the state. Traditionally they have been the site of some of the largest ranches in Texas; today the ranches are primarily cow-calf operations that use forage grasses as well as "tame" grasses such as Bermuda and some bluestems. This region is also an excellent natural habitat for upland game and waterfowl and is an important recreational hunting and fishing area. Urban and industrial development has increased in the region as well; since World War II the prairies and marshes have seen the greatest industrial development of any part of the state, and the effects of that development on the environment are of great concern. Grasses of the Texas Gulf Prairies and Marshes serves as a useful manual for the identification and study of grasses of the prairies and marshes adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico from northern Mexico to western Louisiana. This field guide is a systematic and descriptive treatment of the grasses found on that coastal zone and includes keys to the 98 genera and 303 species. For convenience in locating specific taxa, the grasses are listed alphabetically by genus and then by species within genus; common names are provided when they are known. Species descriptions include information on longevity, dimensions of the entire plant and of the spikelets, and descriptions of the grass's habitat and distribution and rating of its value for stock or wildlife. The notes on abundance, habitat, and distribution provide information on the ecological niche of each species. Where known, the requirements of the species, such as moisture, soil, and other environmental conditions are given. Heavily illustrated with line drawings of grass plants and plan parts, this field guide will be useful for stock raisers, wildlife managers, and environmentalists as well as grass taxonomists and range scientists.

Guide to Texas Grasses

Guide to Texas Grasses PDF Author: Robert B. Shaw
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1603441867
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 1098

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Book Description
In this new, complete Guide to Texas Grasses, Robert B. Shaw and the team at the Texas A&M University Institute of Renewable Natural Resources provide an indispensable reference to the world’s most economically important plant family. After discussing the impact of grass on our everyday lives as food, biofuels, land restoration, erosion control, and water become ever more urgent issues worldwide—the book then provides:a description of the structure of the grass plant;details of the classification and distribution of Texas grasses;brief species accounts;distributional maps;color photographs;plus black-and-white drawings of 670 grass species—native, introduced, and ornamental. Scientific keys help identify the grasses to group, genera, and species, and an alphabetized checklist includes information on: origin (native or introduced); longevity (annual or perennial);growth season (cool or warm season); endangered status;and occurrence (by ecological zone). A glossary, literature citations, and a quick index to genera round out the book. Guide to Texas Grasses is a comprehensive treatment of Texas grasses meant to assist students, botanists, ecologists, agronomists, range scientists, naturalists, researchers, extension agents, and others who work with or are interested in these important plants.

Field Guide to Common Texas Grasses

Field Guide to Common Texas Grasses PDF Author: Stephan L. Hatch
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1623493250
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
Covering 172 species of the most significant common grasses growing in Texas, this complete update of the now-classic Common Texas Grasses: An Illustrated Guide contains range maps and color images of the inflorescences and spikelets of each species along with the detailed, black-and-white illustrations found in the original volume. Identifying descriptive text, keys to genera and species, a checklist, and a glossary round out this standard field reference for botanists, students, and naturalists.

Grasses of the Texas Hill Country

Grasses of the Texas Hill Country PDF Author: Brian Loflin
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1585444677
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
This photographic guide to grasses gives all who have been frustrated trying to identify these difficult plants an easy-to-use, visually precise, and information-packed field guide to seventy-seven native and introduced species that grow in the Texas Hill Country and beyond. With a blade of grass in hand, open this book and find: Handy thumb guides to seedhead type, the most visible distinguishing characteristic to begin identification. Color photographs of stands of grasses and detailed close-ups. Concise information about economic uses, habitat, range, and flowering season. Quick-reference icons for native status, toxicity, growing season, and grazing response

Texas Aquatic Science

Texas Aquatic Science PDF Author: Rudolph A. Rosen
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1623491932
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
This classroom resource provides clear, concise scientific information in an understandable and enjoyable way about water and aquatic life. Spanning the hydrologic cycle from rain to watersheds, aquifers to springs, rivers to estuaries, ample illustrations promote understanding of important concepts and clarify major ideas. Aquatic science is covered comprehensively, with relevant principles of chemistry, physics, geology, geography, ecology, and biology included throughout the text. Emphasizing water sustainability and conservation, the book tells us what we can do personally to conserve for the future and presents job and volunteer opportunities in the hope that some students will pursue careers in aquatic science. Texas Aquatic Science, originally developed as part of a multi-faceted education project for middle and high school students, can also be used at the college level for non-science majors, in the home-school environment, and by anyone who educates kids about nature and water. To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.

Grasses of the Great Plains

Grasses of the Great Plains PDF Author: James Stubbendieck
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1623494788
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 736

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Book Description
A vast swath of prairie situated between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains, the North American Great Plains extend across ten states in the United States and three provinces in Canada. The dominant vegetation is grass—both the native species that have long thrived here and the cultivated crops such as corn, wheat, and sorghum that are the result of human agricultural activity. This comprehensive guide, written by three grass specialists, is an invaluable tool for identification of the approximately 450 species of grasses that occur on the Great Plains. In each description, the authors cover distribution, habitat, forage value, and toxicity and include a detailed black-and-white illustration of the grass as well as a range map. Intended as a reference for landowners, rangeland specialists, students, state and federal agency professionals, and nongovernment conservation organizations, Grasses of the Great Plains will serve a wide audience of users involved in and dedicated to grassland management.

A Photographic Guide to the Vegetation of the South Texas Sand Sheet

A Photographic Guide to the Vegetation of the South Texas Sand Sheet PDF Author: Dexter Peacock
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1623497833
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 410

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Book Description
The South Texas Sand Sheet, also known as the Coastal Sand Plains and the Llano Mesteño, is a vast region covering more than two million acres at the southern tip of the state, just north of the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The landscape’s distinctive feature is the dunes created from sheets of sand blown inland from the shoreline of an ancient sea. Highly diverse native plant communities help make it one of the state’s most cherished ecological regions as well as the premier hunting region in the world for northern bobwhites. The Sand Sheet is a constantly shifting semi-arid landscape, shaped by wind, ranching, energy production, and, increasingly, by growing urban populations surrounding the region. Organized with the nonbotanist or beginning-level botanist in mind, A Photographic Guide to the Vegetation of the South Texas Sand Sheet includes 200 of the most common grasses, flowering plants, vines, cacti, and woody plants of the South Texas Sand Sheet, 56 of which are species endemic to Texas and 15 of which can only be found in this region. Species are grouped by physical appearance, allowing budding naturalists, landowners, and students to find a specific plant without needing to first understand how families and species are grouped scientifically. Each plant entry includes a representative sampling of photos for that species, showing how it might look from a distance, up close, and at different stages of its life cycle. This handy snapshot of plant life in the South Texas Sand Sheet will enable anyone to easily identify Sand Sheet plants, learn more about their uses, and understand their value to the region.

The Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas, Revised Edition

The Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas, Revised Edition PDF Author: Kim Withers
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1623499925
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 713

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Book Description
The Laguna Madre is the only hypersaline coastal lagoon on the North American continent and only one of five worldwide. The lagoon is renowned for its vast seagrass meadows, huge wintering redhead population, and bountiful fishing grounds. In 2000, the Nature Conservancy, whose mission is the conservation of biodiversity through protection of habitat, recognized the need to amass all known information about the Laguna Madre and implement a science-based conservation agenda. From those efforts came the first edition of this book. Now completely revised and updated, this second edition of The Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas is the culmination of two decades of additional research and continued conservation efforts in the region. Nearly 100 years of literature on the Laguna Madre and surrounding environments has been synthesized here. With 150 figures and illustrations, the book takes a broad and comprehensive look at both the Texan and Tamaulipan Laguna Madre. The value of this book for scientists, conservationists, resource managers, and policy makers involved in the future of the Texas and Mexico coasts is clear. Coastal residents, birders, anglers, and nature lovers who want to learn about and take care of the Laguna Madre will find this to be an indispensable guide.

TEXAS QUAILS: Ecology and Management

TEXAS QUAILS: Ecology and Management PDF Author: Leonard Alfred Brennan
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1603445129
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 507

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Book Description
Texas Quails presents the first complete assessment of the four species of quail found in this vast state. Experts describe each of them and examine all geographic regions of the state for historical and current population trends, habitat status, and research needs. These experts also discuss management practices, hunting issues, economics, and diseases.

Prairie

Prairie PDF Author: Suzanne Winckler
Publisher: University of Iowa Press
ISBN: 1587294885
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 147

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Book Description
North America’s grasslands once stretched from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and across this considerable space different prairie types evolved to express the sum of their particular longitude and latitude, soils, landforms, and aspect. This prairie guide is your roadmap to what remains of this varied and majestic landscape. Suzanne Winckler’s goal is to encourage travelers to get off the highways, out of their cars, and onto North America’s last remaining prairies. She makes this adventure as easy as possible by providing exact driving directions to the more than three hundred sites in her guide. She also includes information about size, management, phone numbers, and outstanding characteristics for every prairie site and provides readers with a thorough list of recommended readings and Web sites. The scope of the guide is impressive. It encompasses prairies found within national grasslands, parks, forests, recreation areas, wildlife refuges, state parks, preserves, and natural areas and on numerous working ranches in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. A series of maps locate the prairies both geographically and by name. From “the largest restoration project within the historic range of tallgrass prairie” at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa to Big Bend National Park in Texas, where “the Chisos Mountains, completely surrounded by the park, rise up majestically from the Chihuahuan Desert floor,” Winckler celebrates the dramatic expanses of untouched prairie, the crown jewels of prairie reconstruction and restoration, and the neglected remnants that deserve to be treasured.