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M130 Prosopis glandulosa - Celtis ehrenbergiana / Trichloris pluriflora Tamaulipan Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup
Type Concept Sentence: This macrogroup is a heterogeneous assemblage of upland drought-tolerant thornscrub and grassland-savanna vegetation types of the Tamaulipan biotic region of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico that have been highly impacted by clearing and overgrazing. The thornscrub vegetation is characterized by small-leaved, thorny, woody species such as Celtis ehrenbergiana, Prosopis glandulosa, and many others; the grasslands include Bothriochloa barbinodis, Trichloris pluriflora, and many other characteristic grasses.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Honey Mesquite - Spiny Hackberry / Multi-flower Rhodesgrass Tamaulipan Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup
Colloquial Name: Tamaulipan Scrub & Grassland
Hierarchy Level: Macrogroup
Type Concept: This heterogeneous vegetation assemblage of the Tamaulipan biotic region of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico combines upland drought-tolerant thornscrub with related grassland and savanna vegetation types. The thornscrub vegetation is characterized by small-leaved, thorny, woody species that range in height from 1-6 m, including Celtis ehrenbergiana, Leucophyllum frutescens, and Prosopis glandulosa, along with Acacia berlandieri, Acacia greggii var. wrightii, Acacia rigidula, Castela erecta, Citharexylum berlandieri, Condalia hookeri, Cordia boissieri, Diospyros texana, Ehretia anacua, Eysenhardtia texana, Guaiacum angustifolium, Havardia pallens, Karwinskia humboldtiana, Leucophyllum frutescens, Cylindropuntia leptocaulis, Yucca treculeana, Zanthoxylum fagara, and Ziziphus obtusifolia. Grasses are present among the shrubs, characterized by Bothriochloa barbinodis and Trichloris pluriflora, with other herbaceous species including Bouteloua spp., Bouteloua dactyloides, Trichloris crinita, Heteropogon contortus, Hilaria belangeri, Pappophorum bicolor, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Setaria spp. These same species constitute the components of the related grassland vegetation types of this region. This vegetation has been highly impacted by clearing and overgrazing. Few high-quality examples remain.
Diagnostic Characteristics: This macrogroup is characterized by thornscrub and grasslands occupying dry uplands in the Tamaulipan region of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Both ~Tamaulipan Dry Mesquite & Thornscrub Group (G099)$$ and ~Tamaulipan Dry Grassland Group (G100)$$ are floristically variable, and some of their components may be better classified with related subtropical vegetation, and others with related temperate vegetation. More data, analysis, and review are needed to discern how to best classify this vegetation, its natural process and threats (Reid et al. 1990, Fowler et al. 2011). This vegetation has been highly impacted by clearing, overgrazing, disruption of natural processes, and invasive species (Jahrsdoerfer and Leslie 1988, Manzano and Navar 2000, Fulbright 2001, Ewing and Best 2004, Foroughbakhch et al. 2014). Little data on high-quality examples exist on which to base this classification. As currently described, the groups that constitute this macrogroup (M130) do not include the savanna/scrub woodland vegetation (~Texas Live Oak - Wax Mallow Motte & Coastal Forest Group (G799)$$) of the South Texas Sand Plain that is characterized by woody mottes of Prosopis glandulosa and Quercus fusiformis along with many shrub and grass species shared with ~Tamaulipan Dry Mesquite & Thornscrub Group (G099)$$ and ~Tamaulipan Dry Grassland Group (G100)$$; ~Tamaulipan Saline Thornscrub (CES301.711)$$ occurs in this macrogroup and is currently represented by one association, ~Varilla texana - Castela erecta ssp. texana - Isocoma coronopifolia / Hilaria belangeri Shrubland (CEGL007763)$$, which is included in G099.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: This vegetation ranges in physiognomy from low dense shrublands to open short woodlands (<6 m tall) (Bray 1901) to perennial grasslands that may occur in a mosaic with patches of thornscrub species. It also varies in canopy closure and height. It is also adapted for xeric conditions and many species have semi-tropical to tropical affinities.
Floristics: The thornscrub phase of this vegetation, ~Tamaulipan Dry Mesquite & Thornscrub Group (G099)$$, is characterized by small-leaved, thorny, woody species that range in height from 1-6 m, including Celtis ehrenbergiana (= Celtis pallida), Leucophyllum frutescens, and Prosopis glandulosa, along with Acacia berlandieri, Acacia greggii var. wrightii (= Acacia wrightii), Acacia rigidula, Aloysia gratissima, Castela erecta, Citharexylum berlandieri, Condalia hookeri, Cordia boissieri, Diospyros texana, Ehretia anacua, Eysenhardtia texana, Guaiacum angustifolium (= Porlieria angustifolia), Havardia pallens, Karwinskia humboldtiana, Leucophyllum frutescens, Cylindropuntia leptocaulis (= Opuntia leptocaulis), Yucca treculeana, Zanthoxylum fagara, and Ziziphus obtusifolia. Grasses are present among the shrubs, characterized by Bothriochloa barbinodis and Trichloris pluriflora (= Chloris pluriflora), with other herbaceous species including Bouteloua spp., Bouteloua dactyloides (= Buchloe dactyloides), Trichloris crinita (= Chloris crinita), Heteropogon contortus, Hilaria belangeri, Pappophorum bicolor, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Setaria spp. These same species constitute the components of the related grassland vegetation of this region, ~Tamaulipan Dry Grassland Group (G100)$$. Other woody scrub species present may include Ebenopsis ebano, Sideroxylon lanuginosum, and Cordia boissieri.
Dynamics: More data, analysis, and review are needed to document and understand the natural process and threats of this vegetation (Reid et al. 1990, Fowler et al. 2011).
Environmental Description: This vegetation is found in semi-arid and subtropical southern Texas over a variety of soil depths and textures. Rainfall is highly variable both spatially and temporally and can range from 38 to 76 cm (15-30 inches) annually in a given locality, but all areas are prone to drought and water deficits (Bray 1901, Gilbert 1982, Jahrsdoerfer and Leslie 1988).
Geographic Range: This vegetation occurs in the central and southern part of the Tamaulipan biotic region of Texas and Mexico.
Nations: MX,US
States/Provinces: MXCOA, MXNLE, MXTAM, TX
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.860552
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 3 Desert & Semi-Desert Class | C03 | 3 |
| Subclass | 3.A Warm Desert & Semi-Desert Woodland, Scrub & Grassland Subclass | S06 | 3.A |
| Formation | 3.A.2 Warm Desert & Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland Formation | F015 | 3.A.2 |
| Division | 3.A.2.Na North American Warm Desert Scrub & Grassland Division | D039 | 3.A.2.Na |
| Macrogroup | 3.A.2.Na.1 Honey Mesquite - Spiny Hackberry / Multi-flower Rhodesgrass Tamaulipan Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup | M130 | 3.A.2.Na.1 |
| Group | 3.A.2.Na.1.a Honey Mesquite - Spiny Hackberry - Texas Barometerbush Thornscrub Group | G099 | 3.A.2.Na.1.a |
| Group | 3.A.2.Na.1.b Multi-flower Rhodesgrass - Cane Bluestem - Texas Prickly-pear Grassland Group | G100 | 3.A.2.Na.1.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: >< Eastern Coastal Plain Scrub (Muller 1939)
>< Mesquite - Granjeno - Acacia (728) (Shiflet 1994)
>< Mesquite-Acacia-Andropogon-Setaria Savanna (Küchler 1964)
>< Piedmont Scrub (Muller 1939)
= Rio Grande Chaparral (Bray 1901)
>< Mesquite - Granjeno - Acacia (728) (Shiflet 1994)
>< Mesquite-Acacia-Andropogon-Setaria Savanna (Küchler 1964)
>< Piedmont Scrub (Muller 1939)
= Rio Grande Chaparral (Bray 1901)
- Bray, W. L. 1901. The ecological relations of the vegetation of western Texas. Botanical Gazette 32:102.
- Ewing, K., and C. Best. 2004. South Texas Tamaulipan thornscrub restoration experiment measures growth of planted woody vegetation. Ecological Restoration 22(1):11-17.
- Faber-Langendoen, D., J. Drake, S. Gawler, M. Hall, C. Josse, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, L. Sneddon, K. Schulz, J. Teague, M. Russo, K. Snow, and P. Comer, editors. 2010-2019a. Divisions, Macrogroups and Groups for the Revised U.S. National Vegetation Classification. NatureServe, Arlington, VA. plus appendices. [in preparation]
- Foroughbakhch, R., M. A. Alvarado-Vázquez, A. Carrillo Parra, J. L. Hernández-Piñero, and M. A. Guzmán Lucio. 2013. Floristic diversity of a shrubland in northeastern Mexico. Phyton 82:175-184.
- Fowler, N., C. Best, D. Price, and A. Hempel. 2011. Ecological requirements of the Zapata bladderpod Physaria thamnophila, an endangered Tamaulipan thornscrub plant. The Southwestern Naturalist 56(3):341-352.
- Fulbright, T. E. 2001. Human-induced vegetation changes in the Tamaulipan scrub of La Frontera. Pages 166-175 in: G. L. Webster and C. J. Bahre, editors. Changing plant life of La Frontera: Observations on vegetation in the United States/Mexico borderlands. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.
- Gilbert, L. E. 1982. An ecosystem perspective on the role of woody vegetation, especially mesquite, in the Tamaulipan biotic region of South Texas. Tamaulipan Biotic Province. A Symposium: Resource, Management, Conservation. Unpublished.
- Jahrsdoerfer, S. E., and D. M. Leslie. 1988. Tamaulipan brushland of the lower Rio Grande Valley of south Texas: Description, human impacts, and management options. USDI Fish & Wildlife Service. Biological Report 88(36). 63 pp.
- Küchler, A. W. 1964. Potential natural vegetation of the conterminous United States. American Geographic Society Special Publication 36. New York, NY. 116 pp.
- LANDFIRE [Landfire National Vegetation Dynamics Database]. 2007a. Landfire National Vegetation Dynamics Models. Landfire Project, USDA Forest Service, U.S. Department of Interior. (January - last update) [http://www.LANDFIRE.gov/index.php] (accessed 8 February 2007).
- Manzano, M., and J. Navar. 2000. Processes of desertification by goats overgrazing in the Tamaulipan thornscrub (matorral) in north-eastern Mexico. Journal of Arid Environments 44:1-17.
- Muller, C. H. 1939. Relation of the vegetation and climatic types in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The American Midland Naturalist 21:687-729.
- Reid N., D. M. Stafford Smith, P. Beyer-Munzel, and J. Marroquin. 1990. Floristic and structural variation in the Tamaulipan thornscrub, northeastern Mexico. Journal of Vegetation Science 1:529-538.
- Shiflet, T. N., editor. 1994. Rangeland cover types of the United States. Society for Range Management. Denver, CO. 152 pp.
- TNC [The Nature Conservancy]. 2013. Climate Wizard. The Nature Conservancy, University of Washington, and The University of Southern Mississippi. [http://www.climatewizard.org/] (accessed September 19, 2013).