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Provisional. A provisional ecological site description has undergone quality control and quality assurance review. It contains a working state and transition model and enough information to identify the ecological site.
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Figure 1. Mapped extent
Areas shown in blue indicate the maximum mapped extent of this ecological site. Other ecological sites likely occur within the highlighted areas. It is also possible for this ecological site to occur outside of highlighted areas if detailed soil survey has not been completed or recently updated.
MLRA notes
Major Land Resource Area (MLRA): 150B–Gulf Coast Saline Prairies
MLRA 150B is in the West Gulf Coastal Plain Section of the Coastal Plain Province of the Atlantic Plain and entirely in Texas. It makes up about 3,420 square miles. It is characterized by nearly level to gently sloping coastal lowland plains dissected by rivers and streams that flow toward the Gulf of Mexico. Barrier islands and coastal beaches are included. The lowest parts of the area are covered by high tides, and the rest are periodically covered by storm tides. Parts of the area have been worked by wind, and the sandy areas have gently undulating to irregular topography because of low mounds or dunes. Broad, shallow flood plains are along streams flowing into the bays. Elevation generally ranges from sea level to about 10 feet, but it is as much as 25 feet on some of the dunes. Local relief is mainly less than 3 feet. The towns of Groves, Texas City, Galveston, Lake Jackson, and Freeport are in the northern half of this area. The towns of South Padre Island, Loyola Beach, Corpus Christi, and Port Lavaca are in the southern half. Interstate 37 terminates in Corpus Christi, and Interstate 45 terminates in Galveston.
Classification relationships
USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2006.
-Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 150BEcological site concept
Wind Tidal Flats are generally dry, but during times when conditions are right, they are inundated by water from wind action and vegetated with an algal crust.
Associated sites
R150BY651TX Salt Flat
This site is slightly higher, vegetated, and is further inland.
R150BY728TX Subaqueous Grassflat
This site is permanently submersed.
R150BY652TX Southern Salt Marsh
This site is located in adjacent positions and is vegetated.
Table 1. Dominant plant species
Tree Not specified
Shrub Not specified
Herbaceous (1) Salicornia bigelovii
(2) Bare GroundPhysiographic features
These nearly level soils are on wind-tidal flats on the bay or lagoon side of barrier islands. These soils are subject to frequent or very frequent flooding by wind tides and tropical storms. Slope ranges from 0 to 1 percent.
Figure 2.
Table 2. Representative physiographic features
Landforms (1) Barrier island > Wind-tidal flat
(2) Barrier island > Deflation basin
Runoff class Negligible to high Flooding duration Very brief (4 to 48 hours) to long (7 to 30 days) Flooding frequency Frequent to very frequent Ponding duration Brief (2 to 7 days) to long (7 to 30 days) Ponding frequency Occasional to frequent Elevation 0 – 3 ft Slope 0 – 1 % Ponding depth 0 – 12 in Water table depth 0 – 18 in Aspect Aspect is not a significant factor Climatic features
The climate is predominately maritime, controlled by the warm and very moist air masses from the Gulf of Mexico. The climate along the upper coast of the barrier islands is subtropical subhumid and the climate on the lower coast of Padre Island is subtropical semiarid (due to high evaporation rates that exceed precipitation). Almost constant sea breezes moderate the summer heat along the coast. Winters are generally warm and are occasionally interrupted by incursions of cool air from the north. Spring is mild and damaging wind and rain may occur during spring and summer months. Tropical cyclones or hurricanes can occur with wind speeds of greater than 74 mph and have the potential to cause flooding from torrential rainstorms. Despite the threat of tropical storms, the storms are rare. Throughout the year, the prevailing winds are from the southeast to south-southeast.
The average annual precipitation is 45 to 57 inches in the northeastern half of this area, 26 inches at the extreme southern tip of the area, and 30 to 45 inches in the rest of the area. Precipitation is abundant in spring and fall in the southwestern part of the area and is evenly distributed throughout the year in the northeastern part. Rainfall typically occurs as moderate-intensity, tropical storms that produce large amounts of rain during the winter. The average annual temperature is 68 to 74 degrees F. The freeze-free period averages 340 days and ranges from 315 to 365 days.Table 3 Representative climatic features
Frost-free period (characteristic range) 260-370 days Freeze-free period (characteristic range) 370 days Precipitation total (characteristic range) 30-50 in Frost-free period (actual range) 250-370 days Freeze-free period (actual range) 370 days Precipitation total (actual range) 30-50 in Frost-free period (average) 330 days Freeze-free period (average) 370 days Precipitation total (average) 40 in Characteristic rangeActual rangeBarLineFigure 3. Monthly precipitation range
Characteristic rangeActual rangeBarLineFigure 4. Monthly minimum temperature range
Characteristic rangeActual rangeBarLineFigure 5. Monthly maximum temperature range
BarLineFigure 6. Monthly average minimum and maximum temperature
Figure 7. Annual precipitation pattern
Figure 8 Annual average temperature pattern
Climate stations used
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(1) GALVESTON [USW00012944], Galveston, TX
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(2) GALVESTON SCHOLES FLD [USW00012923], Galveston, TX
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(3) FREEPORT 2 NW [USC00413340], Freeport, TX
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(4) MATAGORDA NO 2 [USC00415659], Matagorda, TX
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(5) PALACIOS MUNI AP [USW00012935], Palacios, TX
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(6) PORT O'CONNOR [USC00417186], Port O Connor, TX
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(7) ARANSAS WR [USC00410305], Tivoli, TX
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(8) ROCKPORT [USC00417704], Rockport, TX
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(9) CORPUS CHRISTI NAS [USW00012926], Corpus Christi, TX
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(10) PADRE IS NS [USC00416739], Padre Island Ntl Seashor, TX
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(11) PORT MANSFIELD [USC00417184], Port Mansfield, TX
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(12) PORT ISABEL [USC00417179], Port Isabel, TX
">Influencing water features
This is a wet site receiving water from runoff and flooding from wind-generated tides. It has a permanent water table at a depth of 0 to 18 inches throughout most years. Areas are flooded for brief to long periods of time.
Wetland description
These areas have hydric soils. Onsite investigation needed to determine local conditions.
Soil features
Soils are poorly or very poorly drained and runoff is negligible or low. Permeability is moderately slow to very slow. A permanent water table fluctuates between the surface to about 18 inches. These soils formed in sandy eolian and storm washover sediments of Holocene age. These soils are frequently flooded for brief periods with salt water, which occur during times of high wind that pushes water onto the wind-tidal flats, storm surge, and heavy rains associated with tropical storms. Soils correlated to this site include: Arrada, Barrada, Satatton and Tatton.
Table 4. Representative soil features
Parent material (1) Eolian deposits – igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rock
(2) Alluvium – igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rock
Surface texture (1) Fine sand
(2) Loamy fine sand
(3) Sandy clay loam
Family particle size (1) Sandy
(2) Fine
(3) Fine-loamy
Drainage class Poorly drained Permeability class Moderately slow to very slow Soil depth 0 – 18 in Surface fragment cover <=3" Not specified Surface fragment cover >3" Not specified Available water capacity
(0-60in)2 – 5 in Calcium carbonate equivalent
(0-60in)3 – 10 % Electrical conductivity
(0-60in)30 – 175 mmhos/cm Sodium adsorption ratio
(0-60in)30 – 125 Soil reaction (1:1 water)
(0-60in)6.6 – 9 Subsurface fragment volume <=3"
(40-60in)0 – 6 % Subsurface fragment volume >3"
(40-60in)0 – 3 % Ecological dynamics
The Texas coastline is composed of barrier islands, peninsulas, bays, estuaries, and natural or man-made passes. The process of erosion and accretion constantly reshapes these mobile environments. Hurricane activity can significantly change the environment. Wind Tidal Flats lie on the bayward side of the back-island dune field. This land form is the lowest in the landscape leading into the bay or lagoon. This site is subject to frequent or very frequent flooding by wind tides and tropical storms.
Reference conditions consist of an Algal crust community. The Wind Tidal Flat is essentially barren of vegetation but has a thin benthic, blue-green algal mat consisting of cyanobacteria under the genus Lyngbea. Following short periods of inundation, halophytic vegetation consisting of glasswort (Salicornia spp.), dwarf saltwort (Salacornia virginica), sea lavender (Limonium spp.), and sea purselane (Sesuvium spp.). The presence of this community is short-lived however, due to the surface salinity rising as the surface dries eventually becoming toxic to the plants. The algal crust will also dry up and curl at the edges causing the site to look like a large mud flat area.State and transition model
More interactive model formats are also available. View Interactive Models
Click on state and transition labels to scroll to the respective textEcosystem states
State 1 submodel, plant communities
Community 1.1
Algal Crust
Figure 9. 1.1 Algal Crust Community
Figure 10. Close-up view of an algal mat
The reference community is dominated by an algal crust on the surface of the soil. Following inundation by climatic events, this area will populate with halophytic vegetation such as glasswort, dwarf saltwort, sea lavender, and sea purslane. The surface salinity rises as the surface dries, and eventually becomes toxic to the plants. The algal crust will also dry up curling at the edges resulting in this site looking like a large mud flat.
Figure 11. Annual production by plant type (representative values) or group (midpoint values)
Table 5. Annual production by plant type
Plant type Low
(lb/acre)Representative value
(lb/acre)High
(lb/acre)Forb 0 5 15 Grass/Grasslike 0 0 0 Shrub/Vine 0 0 0 Total 0 5 15 Table 6. Ground cover
Tree foliar cover 0% Shrub/vine/liana foliar cover 0% Grass/grasslike foliar cover 0% Forb foliar cover 10% Non-vascular plants 100% Biological crusts 0% Litter 0% Surface fragments >0.25" and <=3" 0% Surface fragments >3" 0% Bedrock 0% Water 0% Bare ground 0% Additional community tables
Table 7. Community 1.1 plant community composition
Group Common name Symbol Scientific name Annual production () Foliar cover (%) Forb1 Forbs 5–15 lavender thrift LICA17 Limonium carolinianum 5–15 – Virginia glasswort SADE10 Salicornia depressa 5–15 – pickleweed SALIC Salicornia 5–15 – slender seapurslane SEMA3 Sesuvium maritimum 5–15 – Interpretations
Animal community
The animal communities of the Coastal Prairie communities are influenced by fresh and salt water inundations. Cattle and many species of wildlife make extensive use of the site. White-tailed deer may be found scattered across the prairie and are found in heavier concentrations where woody cover exists. Feral hogs are present and at times become abundant. Coyotes are abundant and fill the mammalian predator niche. Rodent populations rise during drier periods and fall during periods of inundation. Alligators are locally abundant and make frequent use of the marshes depending on salt concentrations in the marshes.
The region is a major flyway for waterfowl and migrating birds. Hundreds of thousands of ducks, geese, and sandhill cranes abound during winter. Whooping cranes are an important endangered species that occur in the area, especially near Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Northern harriers are common predatory birds seen patrolling marshes. Curlews, plovers, sandpipers, and willets are shorebirds that make use of the tidal areas. Seagulls and terns are plentiful throughout the year trolling the shores as well. Further inland, rails, gallinules, and moorhens make use of the brackish marshes.Hydrological functions
Infiltration into the soils of this site is slow due to the high water table. However, because of the level terrain and proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, this site may be inundated periodically.
Recreational uses
The Padre Island National Seashore is a popular tourist designation throughout the year. Because the National Seashore endeavors to preserve Padre Island in its natural state, visiting the island is very much like stepping back into the past. Bird watching is popular. However, the algal crust is extremely sensitive to damage. Any physical impact to this algal crust will take many years to recover.
Other information
None.
Supporting information
Inventory data references
A team of range specialists and soil scientists, with years of coastal field experience, made onsite field visits to evaluate the vegetation present to provide this technical ecological site description.
Other references
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Bailey, V. 1905. North American Fauna No. 25: Biological Survey of Texas. United States Department of Agriculture Biological Survey. Government Printing Office, Washington D. C.
Beasom, S. L, G. Proudfoot, and J. Mays. 1994. Characteristics of a live oak-dominated area on the eastern South Texas Sand Plain. In the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute Annual Report, 1-2.
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Butzler, R. E. 2006. The Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Lycium carolinianum Walt. M. S. Thesis. Texas A&M, College Station, TX.
Chabreck, R. H. 1972. Vegetation, water and soil characteristics of the Louisiana coastal region. Louisiana State University Agriculture Experiment Station Bulletin, 664.
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Drawe, D. L., A. D. Chamrad, and T. W. Box. 1978. Plant communities of the Welder Wildlife Refuge. The Welder Wildlife Refuge, Sinton, TX.
Drawe, D. L., K. R. Kattner, W. H. McFarland, and D. D. Neher. 1981. Vegetation and soil properties of five habitat types on north Padre Island. Texas Journal of Science, 33:145-157.
Everitt, J. H., D. L. Drawe, and R. I. Leonard. 2002. Trees, Shrubs, and Cacti of South Texas. Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock, TX.
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Frost, C. C. 1995. Presettlement fire regimes in southeastern marshes, peatlands, and swamps. Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference Proceedings, 19:39-60.
Fulbright, T. E., D. D. Diamond, J. Rappole, and J. Norwine. 1990. The Coastal Sand Plain of Southern Texas. Rangelands, 12:337-340.
Fulbright, T. E., J. A. Ortega-Santos, A. Lozano-Cavazos, and L. E. Ramirez-Yanez. 2006. Establishing vegetation on migrating inland sand dunes in Texas. Rangeland Ecology and Management, 59:549-556.
Gosselink, J.D., C.L. Cordes, and J.W. Parsons. 1979. An. Ecological characterization study of the Chenier Plain Coastal Ecosystem of Louisiana and Texas. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Biological Services, Washington, D.C.
Gould, F. W. 1975. The Grasses of Texas. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX.
Gould, F. W. and T. W. Box. 1965. Grasses of the Texas Coastal Bend. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX.
Grace, J. B., L. K. Allain, H. Q. Baldwin, A. G. Billock, W. R. Eddleman, A. M. Given, C. W. Jeske, and R. Moss. 2005. Effects of prescribed fire in the coastal prairies of Texas. USGS Open File Report, 2005-1287.
Hamilton, W. and D. Ueckert. 2005. Rangeland woody plant control: Past, present, and future. Brush management: Past, present, and future, 3-16.
Harcombe, P. A. and J. E. Neaville. 1997. Vegetation types of Chambers County, Texas. The Texas Journal of Science, 29:209-234.
Hatch, S. L., J. L. Schuster, and D. L. Drawe. 1999. Grasses of the Texas Gulf Prairies and Marshes. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX.
Johnson, M. C. 1963. Past and present grasslands of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. Ecology 44(3):456-466.
Lehman, V. W. 1965. Fire in the range of Attwater’s prairie chicken. Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference Proceedings, 4:127-143.
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Mapston, M. E. 2007. Feral Hogs in Texas. Texas Agrilife Extension Bulletin, B-6149
McAtee, J. W., C. J. Scifres, D. L. and Drawe. 1979. Digestible energy and protein content of gulf cordgrass following burning or shredding. Journal of Range Management, 376-378.
McGowen, J. H., L. F. Brown, T. J. Evans, W. L. Fisher, and C. G. Groat. 1976. Environmental geologic atlas of the Texas Coastal Zone-Bay City-Freeport area. The University of Texas at Austin, Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin, TX.
Miller, D. L., F. E Smeins, and J. W. Webb. 1998. Response of a Texas Distichlis spicata coastal marsh following Lesser Snow Goose herbivory. Aquatic Botany, 61:301-307.
Miller, D. L., F. E. Smeins, and J. W. Webb. 1996. Mid-Texas coastal marsh change (1939-1991) as influenced by Lesser Snow Goose herbivory. Journal of Coastal Research, 12:462-476.
Miller, D. L., F. E. Smeins, J. W. Webb, and M. T. Longnecker. 1997. Regeneration of Scirpus americanus in a Texas coastal marsh following Lesser Snow Goose herbivory. Wetlands, 17:31-42.
Oefinger, R. D. and C. J. Scifres. 1977. Gulf cordgrass production, utilization, and nutritional value following burning. Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin, B-1176.
Palmer, G. R., T. E. Fulbright, and G. McBryde. 1995. Inland sand dune reclamation on the Coastal Sand Plain of Southern Texas. Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute Annual Report, 1994-1995.
Prichard, D. 1998. Riparian area management: A user guide to assessing proper functioning condition and the supporting science for lotic areas. Bureau of Land Management, Denver, CO.
Rappole, J. H. and G. W. Blacklock. 1985. Birds of the Texas Coastal Bend: Abundance and distribution. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX.
Scifres, C. J. and W. T. Hamilton. 1993. Prescribed burning for brushland management: The South Texas example. Texas A&M Press, College Station, TX.
Scifres, C. J., J. W. McAtee, and D. L. Drawe 1980. Botanical, edaphic, and water relationships of gulf cordgrass (Spartina spartinae [Trin.] Hitchc.) and associated communities. The Southwestern Naturalist, 25(3):397-409.
Shiflet, T. N. 1963. Major ecological factors controlling plant communities in Louisiana marshes. Journal of Range Management, 16:231-235.
Singleton, J. R. 1951. Production and utilization of waterfowl food plants on the east Texas gulf coast. Journal of Wildlife Management, 15:46-56.
Smeins, F. E., D. D. Diamond, and W. Hanselka. 1991. Coastal prairie, 269-290. Ecosystems of the World: Natural Grasslands. Edited by R. T. Coupland. Elsevier Press, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Smeins, F. E., S. Fuhlendorf, and C. Taylor, Jr. 1997. Environmental and land use changes: A long term perspective. Juniper Symposium, 1-21.
Snyder, R. A. and C. L. Boss. 2002. Recovery and stability in barrier island plant communities. Journal of Coastal Research, 18:530-536.
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Thornthwaite, C. W. 1948. An approach towards a rational classification of climate. Geographical Review, 38: 55-94.
Thurow, T. L. 1991. Hydrology and erosion. Grazing Management: An Ecological Perspective. Edited by R.K. Heitschmidt and J.W. Stuth. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
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Van’t Hul, J. T., R. S. Lutz, and N. E. Mathews. 1997. Impact of prescribed burning on vegetation and bird abundance on Matagorda Island, Texas. Journal of Range Management, 50:346-360.
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Williams, A. M., R. A. Feagin, W.K. Smith, and N. L. Jackson. 2009. Ecosystem impacts of Hurricane Ike on Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula: Perspectives of the coastal barrier island network (CBIN). Shore and Beach, 7(2):1-5.
Williams, L. R. and G. N Cameron. 1985. Effects of removal of pocket gophers on a Texas coastal prairie. The American Midland Naturalist Journal, 115:216-224.
Wright, H.A. and A.W. Bailey. 1982. Fire Ecology: United States and Southern Canada. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ.Contributors
Vivian Garcia, RMS, NRCS, Corpus Christi, TX
Approval
Bryan Christensen, 9/22/2023
Acknowledgments
Contributing Authors: Justin Clary, RMS, NRCS, Temple, TX Shanna Dunn, RSS, NRCS, Corpus Christi, TX Vivian Garcia, RMS, NRCS, Corpus Christi, TX Jason Hohlt, RMS, NRCS, Kingsville, TX Mark Moseley, RMS, NRCS, San Antonio, TX Stan Reinke, RMS, NRCS, Corpus Christi, TX Tim Reinke, RMS, NRCS, Victoria, TX Site Development and Testing Plan: Future work, as described in a Project Plan, to validate the information in this Provisional Ecological Site Description is needed. This will include field activities to collect low, medium and high-intensity sampling, soil correlations, and analysis of that data. Annual field reviews should be done by soil scientists and vegetation specialists. A final field review, peer review, quality control, and quality assurance reviews of the ESD will be needed to produce the final document. Annual reviews of the Project Plan are to be conducted by the Ecological Site Technical Team.
Rangeland health reference sheet
Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health is a qualitative assessment protocol used to determine ecosystem condition based on benchmark characteristics described in the Reference Sheet. A suite of 17 (or more) indicators are typically considered in an assessment. The ecological site(s) representative of an assessment location must be known prior to applying the protocol and must be verified based on soils and climate. Current plant community cannot be used to identify the ecological site.
Author(s)/participant(s) Contact for lead author Date 08/18/2026 Approved by Approval date Composition (Indicators 10 and 12) based on Annual Production Indicators
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Number and extent of rills:
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Presence of water flow patterns:
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Number and height of erosional pedestals or terracettes:
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Bare ground from Ecological Site Description or other studies (rock, litter, lichen, moss, plant canopy are not bare ground):
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Number of gullies and erosion associated with gullies:
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Extent of wind scoured, blowouts and/or depositional areas:
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Amount of litter movement (describe size and distance expected to travel):
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Soil surface (top few mm) resistance to erosion (stability values are averages - most sites will show a range of values):
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Soil surface structure and SOM content (include type of structure and A-horizon color and thickness):
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Effect of community phase composition (relative proportion of different functional groups) and spatial distribution on infiltration and runoff:
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Presence and thickness of compaction layer (usually none; describe soil profile features which may be mistaken for compaction on this site):
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Functional/Structural Groups (list in order of descending dominance by above-ground annual-production or live foliar cover using symbols: >>, >, = to indicate much greater than, greater than, and equal to):
Dominant:
Sub-dominant:
Other:
Additional:
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Amount of plant mortality and decadence (include which functional groups are expected to show mortality or decadence):
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Average percent litter cover (%) and depth ( in):
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Expected annual annual-production (this is TOTAL above-ground annual-production, not just forage annual-production):
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Potential invasive (including noxious) species (native and non-native). List species which BOTH characterize degraded states and have the potential to become a dominant or co-dominant species on the ecological site if their future establishment and growth is not actively controlled by management interventions. Species that become dominant for only one to several years (e.g., short-term response to drought or wildfire) are not invasive plants. Note that unlike other indicators, we are describing what is NOT expected in the reference state for the ecological site:
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Perennial plant reproductive capability:
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