Are you draining aquifers? Scary stuff! (Austin, West: HOA, to buy, living)

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

I was going to respond, something about cedar being a water hog, but checked my facts and found this indicating I was wrong. But also that cedar has a shallow root system so probably doesn't do well in an extended drought.

Scientists refute cedar "water hog" myth

That's interesting....I didin't think that cedars/junipers were water hogs, but I didn't know that they had a shallow root system.

They are very invasive, and many consider them a pest. A number of ranchers pull cedar.

Many also consider mesquites a pest, and as I understand it, mesquites ARE water hogs with roots that go down very deep to reach water.

[joqua]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

I was going to respond, something about cedar being a water hog, but checked my facts and found this indicating I was wrong.

You may be thinking of SALT CEDAR, which is an invasive species and has resisted all efforts, to date, to eradicate it:

Today, scientists from New Mexico and Texas universities, as well as various state agencies, are spending millions of dollars to eradicate the aggressive, invasive species from the Pecos and Rio Grande river basins.


“We've been testing methods to get rid of salt cedar since 1987,” says Keith Duncan, a brush and weed control specialist with the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service. Duncan works out of the Agricultural Science Center in Artesia in the heart of the Pecos Valley.


FULL ARTICLE HERE>>>

People often refer to JUNIPER as CEDAR - that may be where the confusion arises. Juniper is considered invasive in ranching country and some ranchers have taken extreme measures to reduce its impact on their pastures. But it's the overgrowth of juniper vs grasslands that is the issue - not necessarily water depletion.

Junipers (aka Cedars), are causing enormous problems for central Texas. For example, the area of infestation in Texas already has a terrific problem with water shortages throughout the year. During years when rainfall is less than normal (approximately 30 inches), the juniper is absorbing ground water at an alarming rate. For the outdoors people, the juniper overtakes areas that would normally be in native hardwoods and grasses and ruins the area for outdoor enjoyment.

FULL ARTICLE HERE>>>

[BestintheWest]

Figure this out. New homes everywhere you look, all with lawn.

The development I live in does not allow Xeriscape landscaping which would save a lot of water, they wont even allow solar panels. Go figure.

[Philip T]

Originally Posted by aliveandwellinSA

Figure this out. New homes everywhere you look, all with lawn.

The development I live in does not allow Xeriscape landscaping which would save a lot of water, they wont even allow solar panels. Go figure.

HOA? or is that (even worse) city code/policy?

There is so much of this, I can see public interest lawsuits coming.

[Pontificator]

You all are bringing up fascinating and helpful info! I'd read about Junipers being a big water draw, and there was a terrific article a while back in Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine (?) about ranchers clearing their land of this. When they cleared the scrub growth, it encouraged growth of the native grasses, which effectively channel rainwater downward. I KNOW -- what's rainwater??

And yeah, bright green lawns everywhere don't help......we've all become such a needy people! I'll take the blame here, too, but I am trying to take better care! Can't believe a subdivision would not allow xeriscaping, wow. And I think places will come around about solar panels, but then you're taking out someone's profit margin.

Now if we can just break this weather pattern.......

[die Eichkatze]

I know they have had some success with helicopter spraying south of I-10 on the Pecos, but that is expensive.
There may be some hope/help with a beetle from Asia that only eats saltcedar: Discover Entomology at Texas A&M University

[BestintheWest]

Originally Posted by Philip T

HOA? or is that (even worse) city code/policy?

There is so much of this, I can see public interest lawsuits coming.

HOAwith their head in the sand

[Lee W.]

The Ashe Juniper is a survivor...not so easily killed as you seem to think. Here we've pretty much been in drought conditions for five years (with some time off during El Nino) and believe me, it's not that kind of tree that is most likely to die as the drought goes on and on. Some local native trees that died in 2009 during the worst of the last drought that ended with El Nino's arrival in 2009 were more the Escarpment Black Cherry and the Texas Red Oak here. Not the Ashe Juniper!

[joqua]

Originally Posted by Lee W.

The Ashe Juniper is a survivor...

There are numerous juniper/cypress varieties throughout the SW USA. Several years ago there was a massive extinction of the variety that grows in northern New Mexico. Thousands of acres were destroyed by bark beetles. Of course the area was overburdened with these trees due to long-term fire suppression that had allowed them to thicken markedly in the past century.

At the moment there is increasing die-off of junipers in the south-central mountains of the state. It's being blamed on a combination of drought plus a record-setting cold spell this past winter. Haven't heard if bark beetles are also involved.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by Lee W.

The Ashe Juniper is a survivor...not so easily killed as you seem to think. Here we've pretty much been in drought conditions for five years (with some time off during El Nino) and believe me, it's not that kind of tree that is most likely to die as the drought goes on and on. Some local native trees that died in 2009 during the worst of the last drought that ended with El Nino's arrival in 2009 were more the Escarpment Black Cherry and the Texas Red Oak here. Not the Ashe Juniper!

The ashe juniper may be a hardy survivor, but when I get firsthand rancher accounts of that tree dying out in their pasture, I believe them.

Good riddance. They are indeed survivors and absolute pests to the point where ranchers pull them.