Water is critical to reforestation success, especially in regions where
drought is the norm.
(Idalou)—Texas is a vast state, exceeding the size of all of New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Carolina combined, and in its variance has lush wet forests in the east and dry, sparse plains in the west. The long arm of the Texas Forest Service reaches them all.
Texas Forest Service works to reforest the many regions of the state. Reforestation is the regeneration of trees in an area where for various reasons the forest has been or will be removed.
However, reforestation takes on a different meaning in parts of Central and West Texas where unconventional reforestation practices include strategically planting trees and shrubs for conservation and environmental purposes in areas where historically there are no trees.
Some of the land used for livestock and agriculture is now being forested for various conservation reasons, such as creating windbreaks and living snow fences, providing protection for livestock, topsoil, homesteads and farmsteads, and improving wildlife habitat.
The High Plains region in Texas, also known as the Llano Estacado, is characterized by short grass prairies, high winds, high temperatures and semiarid conditions.
“Drought is the norm, not the exception,” said Texas Forest Service High Plains forester Robert Fewin. “We have a drought every year.”
The Texas High Plains span 7,680,000 acres and receive less than 20 inches of rainfall each year. Annual precipitation for 2005 in West Texas was 19.4 inches compared with 31.5 inches that forested East Texas received (18 inches below normal) during the same year.
Although reforestation techniques vary, reforestation success does not. No matter what, water is a critical factor to getting trees established.
“There are many places here that need trees,” said Fewin, “but there is no water.”
In his more than 35 years experience of foresting West Texas’ “non-forest,” Fewin has developed a successful planting protocol that allows tree plantings in areas where they haven’t grown before and where it isn’t feasible to water them everyday.
“The technique works,” said Fewin. “For example, in 1998, under severe drought conditions, we had 40 consecutive days of temperatures above 100 degrees and no rainfall between April and September, which isn’t uncommon. Using our technique, we planted the equivalent of eight miles of trees (four rows, each two miles long) in Canyon. At year’s end, we had about a 97 percent survival rate.”
Fewin’s success is due to a planting sequence anchored in site preparation and in the use of a protective fabric.
Windbreaks
protect vulnerable seedlings in the High Plains region.
Texas Forest Service offers planning and planting assistance to landowners wishing to develop conservation formations using 1,000 seedlings or more.
Landowners seeking seedlings find a plethora in the West Texas Nursery where there is a fruitful balance of sandy soil and an adequate water supply to grow trees not only for West Texas, but essentially for most of the Lone Star State.
West Texas Nursery entered the Central Texas Hardwood Seedling Program approximately five years ago to help supply Central Texas landowners with low cost, high quality seedlings. According to Texas Forest Service chief regional forester Jim Rooni, the program supports and complements current reforestation programs such as oak wilt suppression, disease management, reforestation of marginal lands and farmlands, wildlife attraction, water quality control, and reaching aesthetic and stewardship goals.
West Texas Nursery receives some of their seed from Central Texas foresters who gather from various regions in the state. They collect seeds of bur oak, chinkapin oak, pecan, Mexican plum, Guadalupe bald cypress and lacey oak which are sent to the nursery and planted in the West Texas soil.
The trees are shipped to Central Texas in October of their second year and distributed among more than 100 individual properties. The program sold out of all species in 2006 resulting in plans for a larger order in 2007, expanding their species list to include other woodland shrubs, trees and Mexican buckeye.
Texans have historically found innovative ways to adapt to the challenging
elements of the land and achieve success in agricultural endeavors. Texas
Forest Service has redefined reforestation and enabled trees to grow and
thrive in dusty West Texas. 