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In the past, grasslands and savannas were common in many areas of south-central Texas, including the San Antonio area. With the advent of European settlers and their livestock, much of this area was converted to agriculture and rangeland. Today, most of San Antonio is developed, but some preservation has occurred. Restored grassland, mechanically cleared of Juniperus ashei (juniper, Ashe juniper) and other woody species in 2013, was examined and compared to adjacent non-cleared woodland. The woodland examined was dominated by Diospyros texana (Texas persimmon) and Juniperus ashei. Richness in the woodland canopy was 15 species. The understory below the canopy had 25 woody species. In the restored grassland area, herbaceous plant cover was 41.8%, woody plant cover 5.8%, bare soil 2.9%, and litter cover 49.5%. Species richness was 71, with 60 herbaceous and 11 woody species (percent cover of each from

For successful grassland restoration, commercial soil inoculants are often recommended to increase establishment success. In spring 2009, a 0.94-ha tract was targeted for restoration at Phil Hardberger Park, a 126-ha park in the heart of San Antonio, Texas. Woody species, mainly Texas persimmon (Diospyros texana Scheele), and Ashe juniper (Juniperus asheii Buchholz), were removed and the area was divided into 10 subplots measuring 911 m2 on average. In September 2009, over 40,000 plugs of seven native grass species were planted. In addition, native prairie seed mixes, including various grass and forb seeds, were sown into the site at a rate of 11.26 kg/ha. Half of the native grass plants were treated with a soil bacteria inoculant plus additional nutrients (IN) (BioGensis IIITM DS Tainio Technology and Technique Inc.), and half were left as controls (C). Soil samples from the plots were taken in February 2010 and 2011 and analyzed for soil nutrients, bacteria, protozoa, and fungi. Vegetation dat...

Streptanthus bracteatus A. Gray, bracted twistflower (Brassicaceae), is a rare, endemic of the Edwards Plateau ecoregion of central Texas. We examined effects of light levels on the growth of S. bracteatus in a field experiment and also the combined effects of a canopy (+/-) and exclosure (+/-, herbivory) in a 2 × 2 factorial field experiment. Plants in the light experiment in high light had significantly greater growth compared to plants in the low light treatments. For most variables, plants in the factorial field experiment were negatively affected by herbivory (likely white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus) and the presence of woodland canopy with significant interactions between herbivory (+/exclosure) and canopy treatments (+/-). Survival was 100% in exclosures and 58% when unprotected. Plants protected from herbivory and in the open had the greatest basal diameter, height, aboveground, belowground, and total dry mass, while those not protected from herbivory had much lower responses. Pl...

The Golden-cheeked Warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia), a member of the Parulidae, uses a two-category song system referred to as Type A and Type B. However, songs recorded from adult males in Bexar County, Texas, USA, did not resemble the typical A or B songs reported for this species. We report an analysis of these atypical songs from six adult males. Quantitative features of the measured songs and syllable structure suggest this atypical song is more comparable to a B song than an A song with some modifications. The atypical song has dropped a terminal syllable of the known B song, and selectively modified one of the syllables to include frequency modulations (up and down slurs). Further, the known B song was not heard in the investigated sites. We conclude the atypical song is a variant of the B song.