COMPOSITION, CLASSIFICATION AND SPECIES RESPONSE PATTERNS OF REMNANT TALLGRASS PRAIRIES IN TEXAS Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Thirty-five remnant upland grasslands were sampled for species frequency, foliage cover and richness. The majority of these grasslands are dominated by Schizachyrium scoparium with Sorghastrum nutans the next most important species. Andropogon gerardii and Bouteloua curtipendula increase in importance with increasing soil clay content, organic matter and pH and decreasing total annual precipitation. Paspalum plicatulum becomes an important secondary species in communities over acid Alfisols in the Fayette Prairie and acid Alfisols and Vertisols of the Upper Coastal Prairie. High precipitation (>90cm) areas over Alfisols at the N end of the Blackland Prairie support a unique grassland dominated by Sporobolus silveanus with Carex meadii as an important secondary species. In this same area on Vertisols communities are found that are dominated by Tripsacum dactyloides and Panicum virgatum. Species respond independently and continuously along soil and climatic gradients except where locally sharp transitions occur between Alfisols and Vertisols. Species diversity did not vary significantly among communities. Soil pH was positively correlated with species richness, which was related to slightly higher richness of stands on Alfisols which have low pH, and slightly higher richness of Coastal Prairie stands which also have generally lower pH values.-from Authors

published proceedings

  • AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST

author list (cited authors)

  • DIAMOND, D. D., & SMEINS, F. E.

citation count

  • 19

complete list of authors

  • DIAMOND, DD||SMEINS, FE

publication date

  • January 1985

publisher