Juniper & Water in Central Texas

Noah Hopkins and Ryan McGillicuddy

Geographic focus: USA / Central Texas

Date completed: 2005

The Edwards Plateau region of central Texas covers several aquifers that provide the area’s inhabitants with drinking water and recreational environments. Availability of water has become increasingly important as the area’s population grows and becomes dependant on these aquifers. Two students from Texas used GIS to identify correlations between vegetation (focusing on the species Juniperus ashe, a shrub that heavily draws water from the soil) and water availability for the purpose of developing sustainable water use and grassland/rangeland management models. They recommended that Juniperus ashei be reduced in order to increase water availability for aquifer recharge, which is needed to support the growing population of central Texas.

Topics / keywords: Land Use; Water Availability

Project (pdf - 0.4MB)