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CDRI Desert NewsFlash
October 2024
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Please join us for the Roger Conant Distinguished Guest Lecturer Program
with Jesse Kelsch on October 17 at 7:00 p.m.
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| Native Grasses are a Big Deal
Last month, CDRI held its dedication of its Native Grasses Exhibit, which features 26 species of grasses native to the Chihuahuan Desert. The Trans-Pecos Region of the Chihuahuan Desert is home to at least 268 grass species, with about 50 of those found at CDRI and in the immediate area.
The project was designed by Jim Martinez, CDRI's Board President, along with CDRI's co-founder Mike Powell as a consultant. It has been nearly two years in the making, from idea to design to clearing the ground, building up the soil, planting and nurturing the seeds with frequent watering, and producing a thriving exhibit. The exhibit is divided into large sections so visitors can see each grass species growing as it would appear naturally.
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| So?
So, you may ask, why? Why would we place so much time and importance on a grasses exhibit? There are several reasons why, but let’s start with this one:
In unstable environments, grasses hold more carbon than forests.
That’s a big statement. Grasses hold carbon in their roots and the soil, while trees store carbon in their trunks and leaves. Trees pull carbon from the soil to obtain the carbon necessary for their growth, resulting in depleting carbon in the soil.
When a tree is destroyed by fire, carbon stored in the tree is released into the atmosphere. Alternatively, since grasses store carbon underground in their roots and in the soil, carbon is not lost in a fire, making grasses a viable carbon sink.
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| Native grasses are a plant “hero.”
Grass has been described as the world’s most important crop. It protects against soil erosion. Additionally, its fibrous roots loosen soil and help to disperse water into the soil. Organic material is created from decaying grass as it interacts with microbes in the soil, releasing nitrogen and other nutrients to improve and enrich soil quality.
Grassroots also act as a filtration system, catching impurities and pollutants before they enter the groundwater supply.
Perhaps most importantly, having a vast root system and the ability to regenerate relatively quickly, grasslands have been identified as “heroes” in the fight against the effects of the unstable conditions brought on by climate change because of their ability to hold more carbon within their root mass than forests.
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| Grasslands Require Animal Interaction.
Well-managed livestock ranching is one of the tools necessary to promote a healthy, diverse grassland environment. Although grasslands are in decline in part due to the overgrazing of livestock, grasslands depend on grazing animals to maintain the ecosystem. Bison, deer, pronghorn, and cattle compact the soil with their hooves and open new areas for seeds to germinate and take root.
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Mule deer doe photo by Alan Wintz.
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| Threats to grasslands
The main threats to the health and the immense biodiversity of the Chihuahuan Desert grasslands are caused by human activity and a changing climate. Human activity includes overgrazing of livestock, poor water management, and an expanding agriculture industry. A direct result of grassland disturbance over the past 150 years, now exacerbated by climate change, can be seen in the depletion of North American grasslands, including the Chihuahuan Desert grasslands, with the ongoing migration of lower-elevation desert scrub into the grasslands.
Birds – “The Canary in the Coal Mine”
The Chihuahuan Desert grasslands serve as wintering grounds for about 90% of northern Great Plains birds. The presence of birds in an area indicates that the necessary plants and seeds are present. It indicates that the environment is in balance, providing grasses and forbs for herd animals and other wildlife, and grasses to reduce erosion, with a root structure to disperse water through the soil that ultimately recharges our groundwater.
Since 1970, grassland birds have experienced the greatest decline in population of any North American biome, with over one-half of the grassland bird population lost. This decline is directly caused by the disappearance of grasslands.
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Woodhouse's Scrub Jay by Alan Wintz.
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| What can we do to protect the grasslands and support native grasses?
We can be proactive. You can find out through your local botanical gardens, Master Gardener, or Master Naturalist programs if there are any community efforts to restore grasslands that you can participate in.
We can remove non-native species and invasives from our yards and plant native grasses. Native American Seed, Junction, Texas, is a mail-order seed company that can help you choose the best grass seed or a mix for your region.
We can support conservation groups. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Dept. has extensive information about habitat loss and efforts to maintain and restore grasslands in the Great Plains.
And we can support sustainable farming and ranching.
Thank you.
A 36-page Grasses Exhibit booklet ($2.00) with photographs and illustrations is available at the Information Desk inside the Powell Visitor Center.
The Native Grasses Exhibit in the Botanical Gardens was designed by Jim Martinez, Marfa, Texas, with A. Michael Powell, Alpine, Texas, as a consultant.
Jim Fissel, Marfa, Texas, designed the Grasses Exhibit signage, booklet, bandanas, and the Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands panel inside the Powell Visitor Center.
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SRSU Assistant Professor, Jesse Kelsch.
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| The Roger Conant Distinguished Guest Lecturer Program Welcomes Geologist Jesse Kelsch, PhD
Please join us on Thursday, October 17, at the Crowley Theater in Marfa, Texas, for an inspired talk about the geologic formations that make up this region. Jesse can take a complex subject and deliver an enlightening discussion that will make sense out of the many different geologic activities that have taken place in the Big Bend Region.
The program starts at 7:00 p.m., with doors open at 6:30. Admission is free, and appetizers, along with beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages will be served.
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| Plant of the Month
Krameria erecta, Littleleaf Rhatany
Although this plant is seldom seen by hikers, it’s a pretty little shrub that warrants taking notice of it. Krameria erecta, with the common name littleleaf rhatany, is a grayish, twiggy, tangled, intricately branched shrub with small, showy, fragrant reddish-purple flowers. The flowers have a sweet aromatic anise scent with hints of spice, herb, and licorice.
It has grayish-green, fuzzy, linear leaves. Its fruit is heart-shaped and covered in fuzzy, pink hair and spines. It reproduces from seed.
Native to the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, where it grows in dry areas, i.e., desert flats and chaparral slopes, littleleaf rhatany can often be found in the understory of catclaw acacias, juniper, and pinyon pine. It can also be found growing near creosote bush. It’s an important forage species for livestock and deer, and it provides cover for small mammals and reptiles.
Uses of the roots by Native Americans include medicinal uses, also a red dye for wool, and as an ink.
Krameria species are root parasites that tap the tissues of nearby plants for nutrients and water. This helps it survive in almost totally dry areas.
An unusual feature is that Krameria flowers provide oil, not nectar, for visiting female bees of the genus Centris. These bees possess adaptations for carrying floral oils as well as pollen and nectar. The oil, mixed with pollen, is used to feed their larvae.
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The images of Krameria erecta, located in Big Bend State Park, are by Jim Martinez.
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Scary Monsters? Nah!
Tarantulas are large and fuzzy, and they frighten people. But they're not scary monsters, and they won't hurt you unless they feel threatened. And even then, if they bite, its bite is about equal to that of a bee sting.
Food Source
Spiders have fangs on the end of the chelicerae, which inject venom to kill their prey. Tarantulas feed on ground beetles, grasshoppers, cicadas, and caterpillars.
Habitat
Tarantulas live in abandoned rodent burrows, under logs or stones, or spaces under loose tree bark. They can also dig a burrow. Webbing is used inside the nest in addition to a "trip-wire" across the entrance of the nest to detect intruders. Tarantulas do not, however, catch prey in a web.
Walking Across the Road
This is the season when you'll see tarantulas fearlessly crossing the highway to get to the other side. Please don't try to run over them. These are male tarantulas that are searching for a female with which to mate. Unfortunately for the male tarantula, after mating, the female dispatches him the same as she would any other predator. Eating the male ensures she will be able to deliver healthy spiderlings, or "slings" for short.
Thanks to Andy Morgan Photography for the photo of the tarantula and to Amazon.com for the image of the bumper sticker.
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| Nature Book Guide
By Lisa Gordon
This is my plug for the Nature Book Guide, a quarterly, volunteer-created nature book review. And it's free. It's an excellent resource for discovering nature-related books - fiction, nonfiction, and children's books; plus, as a panelist, I reviewed The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan. It's on Page 16. Everyone who loves our Earth, and especially those who have not yet grasped the importance of preserving our grasslands and its wildlife, needs to read this book. The book tells the stories of real people, their hopes, their mistakes, and the tragedies that ensued. We don't want to repeat those mistakes made a century ago. Thanks.
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Visiting Group
Highland Lakes Master Naturalists
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The Highland Lakes Master Naturalists arrived on a chilly and foggy morning, ready to work. They pulled Horse Tail weeds, lopped baby Junipers, and picked up trash along the frontage road before touring the Botanical Gardens.
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| Until next time,
We wish you happy trails!
Come soon, and come often!
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The Salvia bed in the Botanical Gardens, Sept. 15, 2024.
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Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute, P.O. Box 905, Fort Davis, TX 79734
432.364.2499
www.cdri.org
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