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Shinnery Sands

Ecoregion in Llano Estacado, Great Plains in NM, TX

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The Shinnery Sands ecoregion includes sand hills and dunes as well as flat sandy recharge areas. These sand beds lie at the western edge of the High Plains where rising winds drop heavier sand grains and carry finer material further east onto the flat expanse of the Llano Estacado (25i). The ecoregion is named for the Havard (shin) oak brush that stablizes sandy areas subject to wind erosion. Although the shin oak rarely grows higher than 4 feet, its extensive root system can reach over 50 feet through dune sand to reach water. The largest area of sand dunes, at the southwestern edge of the Llano Estacado (25i), is composed of sands blown out of the Pecos River Basin against the Mescalero Escarpment of the Llano Estacado by prevailing southwesterly winds. These dunes serve as a major recharge area for the Pecos River. While sandsage and prairie grasses may create a continuous plant cover in portions of Ecoregion 25j, the vegetative cover is vulnerable to overgrazing and subsequent wind blowouts which may begin a cycle of dune formation. In dune areas, anchoring shrubs such as Havard shin oak, fourwing saltbush, and yucca stabilize the dune sand for herbaceous grasses and forbs such as sand verbenas, sunflowers, fringed sagewort, and hoary rosemary-mint. Ephemeral ponds and swales between the dunes support rushes, sedges, and sandbar willow. The shinnery sands are habitat for the lesser prairie-chicken and sanddune lizard, two species that are in serious decline. The shrubs offer cover and shade for nesting prairie- chickens, and shin oak acorns are a staple food source. Parts of the sand plains and dune fields of Ecoregion 25j contain dense arrays of oil fields.

— EPA

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Ecoregion