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Limestone Plains

Ecoregion on Great Plains, Edwards Plateau in TX

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The Limestone Plains ecoregion is composed of thin strata of Permian-age limestone, sandy limestones, and mudstone. The Limestone Plains are covered by mixed grass prairie of little bluestem, yellow Indiangrass, and buffalograss, with scattered honey mesquite. However, upland soils are often thin, rocky, and droughty in the vicinity of limestone outcrops. Drier (or eroded) areas support desert shrubs such as lotebush, agarita, tree cholla, and ephedra. The Central Great Plains (27) are typically treeless except in riparian areas, but at the southern end of Ecoregion 27j, scattered plateau live oak grow with the mesquite shrub, in transition to the live oak-mesquite-juniper woodland of the adjacent Edwards Plateau (30). As in some other limestone-based ecoregions in Texas (such as 29d, 29e, 30a), land use is dominated by grazing rather than cultivated agriculture. A minor amount of wheat or sorghum may be grown in deeper alluvial soils. Riparian vegetation can include hackberry, cottonwood, elms, and willows. Tree density is sometimes greater to the east near the Cross Timbers (29), as shown here along the Clear Fork of the Brazos River near Ft. Griffin. Photo: Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, University of Texas

— EPA

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