16 - The Sand Shinnery Oak (Quercus havardii) Communities of the Llano Estacado: History, Structure, Ecology, and Restoration

Summary

These lands [shinnery oak communities] are perhaps the most fragile of all ecosystems on the southern High Plains of Texas and the landowner cannot afford to abuse them.

(Pettit 1979)

Introduction

Sand shinnery oak communities are some of the least known and most poorly described communities in the southwestern United States and untill recently were given little attention. Historically they have been subjected to degradation and eradication, specifically destructive grazing, herbiciding, and other large-scale disturbances. Early observations by biologists and naturalists suggested that shinnery oak communities may be refugia for a variety of plants, mammals, insects, and birds. More recent studies indicate a rich flora and fauna, including three federally endangered and one locally threatened species. Today, there is a strong need for conservation and restoration, especially because eradication schemes are used widely (e.g., Test 1972; Pettit 1979; Sears et al. 1986). Unfortunately, no conservation or formal restoration is planned for these threatened communities. This is the first review of the ecology and future conservation of the sand shinnery oak communities.

Historical Background

Little has been written about shinnery oak communities. Before the late 1800s, the Llano Estacado (panhandle of Texas and high plains of Texas and New Mexico) was occupied by Native Americans, causing Europeans to avoid settling the area until the late 1870s (Biggers 1991). Early explorers described the area as “exceedingly monotonous and uninteresting, being a continuous succession of barren sandhills” covered with a “dense growth of dwarf oak bushes” (Marcy 1854, quoted in Rowell 1967).