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Semiarid Edwards Plateau

Ecoregion on Great Plains, TX

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The Semiarid Edwards Plateau ecoregion lies west of the 100th meridian, where precipitation amounts are too low to support closed canopy forest. Although the geologic foundation of Ecoregion 30d, Cretaceous limestone, is the same as the rest of the Edwards Plateau, the shape of the landscape differs from that further east because of the relative lack of precipitation. The profiles of the hills are sharp, not rounded, because erosion occurs mainly through rockfall at the margins of mesas rather than through limestone dissolution. Canyons break the surface; most streams are intermittent, but perennial streams have the character of those in the wetter central Edwards Plateau to the east. Although honey mesquite, Ashe juniper, and plateau live oak are still present in Ecoregion 30d, live oak is restricted to floodplains. Other arid-land shrubs become more common: lotebush, lechuguilla, sotol, and redberry juniper. Short grasses, such as buffalograss, tobosa, and black grama become more common in the west and northwest portions of Ecoregion 30d as the climate becomes more arid.

— EPA

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