Texas Almanac, 1978-1979 Page: 81
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SOIL CONSERVATION AND USE
The following discussion was prepared especially for the Texas Almanac by the Soil Conservation Service, U. S.
Department of Agriculture, Temple, Texas. Additional Information may be obtained from that source.
The vast expanse of Texas soils encouraged waste- Splendora and Sorter in the flatwoods section border-
ful use of soil and water throughout much of the state's ing the Coast Prairie. Alluvial soils, mainly of Bibb,
history. Some 800 different soils series are recognized Mantachie and Gladewater series, occur in narrow to
in the state. Settlers were attracted by these rich soils wide strips in the flood plains of local and through-
and the abundant water of the eastern half of the re- flowing streams.
gion, used them to build an agriculture and agribusi- The vegetation is mainly pine mixed with hard-
ness of vast proportions, then found their abuse had wood trees, mainly oak, gum, elm and some hickory.
created critical problems. CUAYPAN AREA
In the 1930s, Interest in soil and water conservation This is a nearly level to gently rolling moderately
began to mount. In 1935, the Soil Conservation Service dissected woodland, savannah to brushy area (Post
was created in the U. S. Department of Agriculture. In Oak Belt) with moderate surface drainage. The area is
1939, the Texas Soil Conservation Law made it possible slightly less than 7 million acres.
for landowners to organize local soil and water conser- Upland soils are sandy loams, commonly thin over
vation districts. gray, mottled or red, firm, clayey subsoils. Some deep,
The state in 1976 had 196 conservation districts sandy soils with less clayey subsoils exist Main series:
which manage the various conservation functions Lufkin, Axtell, Tabor (thin-surface claypan soils);
within the district. A subdivision of state government, Freestone, Arenosa and Padina (thick-surface sandy
each district is governed by a board of 5 elected land- soils).
owners. Technical assistance in planning and applying Bottomlands are reddish brown to dark gray, to
conservation work is provided through the USDA Soil loamy to clayey alluvial soils. Main series: Miller, Nor-
Conservation Service. State funds for districts are wood, Pledger (Brazos and Colorado Rivers); Kauf-
administered through the Texas State Soil and Water man, Trinity, Gladewater, Gowen (Trinity River and
Conservation Board. (See IWdex.) other smaller streams).
A recent conservation needs Inventory compiled Vegetation consists of scattered stands of post oak
by state and federal agencies showed that about one and blackjock oak with tall bunch grasses in the up-
third of all land in Texas now has proper soil and water lands, youpon and other underbrush prevalent in
conservation treatment while the remaining two- places. In the bottomlands, hardwoods are predoml-
thirds needs one or more conservation measures. In nant but pecans occur in some areas.
terms of acres, grassland improvement is still the The land is woodland and brushy range. A few
state's biggest conservation problem. The inventory areas are used for tame pasture and cool-season for-
shows this breakdown of land use" age crops
Use Acres BLACKLAND PRAIRIE SOILS
Cropland . .. ..... 35,630,331 An almost treeless area, the Blackland Prairies
Pasture ..... .. 14,081,642 consist of about 13 million acres of East Central Texas
Range . . . . . 85,604,543 extending southwesterly from the Red River to Bexar
Forest .. ... . ......... 22,681,747 County. There are smaller, similar areas to the
Other Land . . 2,262,847 southeast
Total .... ..........160,261,110 The soils of the greater portion of the Blackland
Non-inventoried land . . 739976 Prairie proper are mainly of the Houston Black, Held-
Total Texaens Land Austin series with smaller areas of Lewisville,
Total Texas Land Area 168,001086 Alto a and Eddy soils.
Soil Subdivisions The native vegetation consists of bunch and short
Most authorities divide Texas into 14 major subd grasses. The main species are Andropogons-lttle and
Most authorities divide Texas into 1 mator subdl- ig bJuestems-grama and Indian, buffalo and
visions which have similar or related soils, vegetation, threeawn grasses. In places, scattered mesquite trees,
topography, climate and land uses. Brief descriptions cacti and other shrubs form a rather thick cover. Hard-
of these subdivisions follow S wood trees-mainly elm, hackberry and pecan-occur
... ..T ARE SLS .... n stream bottoms.The Coast Prairie Includes the nearly flat strip
that borders the Gulf Coast in Southeast Texas In the
humid and subhumid zones. It ranges from 30 to 80
miles in width and extends along the coast from the
Sabine River in Orange County to Baffin Bay in Kle-
berg County. Total area of the Coast Prairie is about 9
million acres. The principal soils in the eastern portion
from about the San Antonio River to the Sabine River
are Lake Charles, Bernard, Edna, Morey and Beau-
mont series near the coast, comprising more than 4
million acres.
The more inland soils in the eastern section are
Hockley, Katy and Kenney series, comprising nearly 2
million acres. The portions west and south of the San
Antonio River are Victoria, Orella and Clareville soils,
comprising some 2 million acres. Other important
soils, which occur In the bottomlands, are Ships, Nor-
wood, Pledger, Trinity and Kaufman soils, comprising
nearly 1 million acres. The native vegetation is coarse
grasses, mainly species of Andropogon, Pospolum and
Panicum, with a narrow fringe of trees along the
streams.
COAST MARSH SOILS
The Coast Marsh includes a narrow strip of wet
lowland adjacent to the coast The principal part lies
east of Galveston Bay, but narrow fringes occur along
the entire coast. The total area is about 500,000 acres.
The surface is at, or only a few feet above, sea level.
Harris clay and Galveston sand are the principal soil
types. Cattle grazing is the chief economic use of the
salt grasses and sedges.
EAST TEXAS TIMBERLAND SOILS
The East Texas Timberlands comprise the forest-
ed eastern part of the state, about 16 million acres.
The principal soil series are Woodtell, Bowie and
Tonkawa in the northern and central parts; Nacog-
doches and Bub in the "Redlands" section; Segno,GRAND PRAIRIE SOILS
The Grand Prairie includes the prairie lust west of
the Blackland Prairie in North Central Texas. It ex-
tends south from the Red River to about the Colorado
River and comprises about 7 million acres.
The principal soils of the Grand Prairie are of the
Tarrant, San Saba and Denton series. Small areas of
soils of the Crawford, Brackett, Krum and Lewlsvlle
series occur also on the uplands and alluvial soils,
mainly of the Frio series, occur in the flood plains of
streams.
The native vegetation is mainly short grasses with
some mid and tall grasses on the deeper soils. Buffalo
and grama grasses,little bluestem and Indian gross are
the most widespread. In many places, especially on
rocky slopes of shallow soils, small oak and juniper
trees form a thick cover, and scattered mesquite trees
occur throughout the area.
CROSS TIMBERS SOILS
The Cross Timbers comprise a total of more than
3.5 million acres. The Western Cross Timbers include
the wooded section west of the Grand Prairie in Cen-
tral North Texas. They extend from the Red River
southward to the north edge of Brown County and in-
clude a total area of about 2.7 million acres. Small
areas also occur Intermixed or Interlaced with soils of
the western part of the Grand Prairie.
The principal series are Wlndthorst, Nimrod and
Duffau. Narrow areas of alluvial soils, mainly of the
Gowen series, occur In the flood plains of local
streams. Soils of the Miller, Yahola and Weswood
series occur in the flood plains of the through-flowing
rivers.
The Eastern Cross Timbers Include a long narrow
strip of wooded soils that separates the northern parts
of the Blackland and Grand Prairies. This strip is only
81
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Texas Almanac, 1978-1979, book, 1978~; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth113814/m1/85/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.