The University of North Texas recently hosted a sustainability conference with student presenters and panelists from various industry sectors, including Dixon Water Foundation. Follow this link for a recap of the event:
New Report Testing Novel Phenology Monitoring Approach to Help Inform Graze Planning
In the spring and summer of 2022, Dixon Water Foundation helped sponsor and host a project that utilized novel imaging technology to track prairie plant phenology. Phenology is the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate, plant and animal life. As phenology relates to plants, it refers to flowering and seeding.
This project, conducted by the Bontanical Research Institute of Texas, explored the use of time-lapse cameras and community science protocols to observe and analyze pollinator abundance and plant phenology within various pastures of Dixon’s Leo Unit in North Texas. By understanding when and where pollinators and resources important to pollinators were on the landscape throughout the year and considering this information when making a grazing plan, ranchers may be able to promote conservation of essential species and native prairie functionality.
See the results of the pilot study in the report linked here.
Winter Grassland Bird Tagging in Far West Texas
Check out this recent article from the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies about their work in West Texas at our Marfa ranch.
DWF in Recent Episode of Marfa Public Radio’s Nature Notes
The central grasslands stretch from Canada to West Texas, and extend into the desert highlands, from Arizona to the Marfa Plateau and Chihuahua. For many Americans, they remain as foreign as they were for Cather’s 19th-century narrator. Grasslands are thought to lack the “charisma” of mountains and forests – to some, they epitomize “fly-over country.”
But the grasslands in fact contain an immense natural and cultural richness. And they’re deeply imperiled. Of the 600 million acres of historic grasslands, two-thirds have been lost or degraded. There’s a growing effort to preserve and restore them. And in Trans-Pecos Texas, the Dixon Water Foundation is committed to that effort…
Read More Here
BCarbon Begins Joint Research Project on Soil Carbon Sequestration with ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Project involves 20,000 acres of public and private grasslands.
BCarbon and ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company (EMRE) will begin a three-year study of nature-based carbon sequestration potential in association with the King Ranch, the EXELL Cattle Company, the Clark Farm, the Dixon Water Foundation, the North Dakota Department of Trust Lands, the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, and the New Mexico State Land Office.
The research will measure variation in carbon sequestration rates between tallgrass, shortgrass, and Texas coastal prairie ecosystems across a variety of climate and soil conditions as well as quantify range management impacts on water and biodiversity. Other key capacity and cost issues will be studied, including new measurement technologies and regional soil carbon analysis infrastructure including data analytics, laboratories, education, and training.
BCarbon is a non-profit carbon credit certification organization based in Houston, Texas that was created in 2020 by a diverse stakeholder group sponsored by the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Jim Blackburn, CEO of BCarbon said, “Nature-based systems have the potential to significantly reduce our carbon footprint as well as provide far greater resilience for floods and droughts. This is the kind of real-world collaboration we believe will produce lasting results. And make no mistake about it – we are looking to create lasting results on climate, ecology and economics.”
Robert Hodgen, President and CEO of King Ranch, Inc. stated, “This project aligns with several of our core values including innovation, sustainability and support of rural communities. Our team is excited to collaborate with BCarbon and EMRE in this important project to define the natural carbon sequestration capacity of ranchlands across the country.”
Land Commissioner Jodi Smith with the North Dakota Department of Trust Lands added, “The Department manages over 700,000 surface acres of trust lands to provide funds for public schools and other public institutions. Managing these lands to naturally store more carbon could be important for the future funding of public education in North Dakota, and for meeting the state’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2030; however, we need the research to help us plan more effectively.”
Julie Maitland, Division Director for Agricultural Programs and Resources at the New Mexico Department of Agriculture said, “New Mexico is leading important efforts in climate change. Understanding how soil carbon might offer both climate solutions and important new economic revenue streams to our rural areas is critical to our long-term strategy.”
Will Barnes, Deputy Director of the Surface Resources Division of the New Mexico State Land Office added that, “working with state land agricultural lessees to conduct this kind of world class scientific research is vitally important to the protection of resilient rangelands and rural economies in New Mexico and helps the Commissioner’s efforts to create new diverse revenue streams on behalf of New Mexico public schools, universities and hospitals.”
Robert Potts, President of the Dixon Water Foundation offered, “We have supported our own research into soil carbon in the past. We know it occurs. We are very pleased to have a chance to extend our knowledge to areas like our Marfa, Texas ranching operations in drier climates where soil carbon accumulation will be more challenging.”
Dr. H.C. Clark, Owner of the Clark Farm in Texas, appreciates being part of this research project stating, “I’ve been reading about this potential soil carbon market for several years and am excited to be a part of the development of science-based research to help make better-informed decisions.”
“ExxonMobil’s continued investment in R&D plays an important role in developing breakthrough solutions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions intensity across our businesses,” said Vijay Swarup, Vice President of Research and Development at ExxonMobil. “This collaboration with BCarbon is designed to study the nature-based carbon sequestration potential in grasslands in multiple states, with the potential to be deployed on and around ExxonMobil operations.”
The project will be underway as of January 15th , 2022, and research updates will be posted here regularly. For further information, contact Jim Blackburn, CEO and Chairman of the Board for BCarbon, at blackbur@rice.edu.
View full press release here.
Dixon Water Foundation’s Mimms Unit becomes host to first Motus station in the Chihuahuan Desert
In Mid-December, 2021, Dixon Water Foundation’s Mimms Unit ranch in the Marfa Grasslands became the first location in the Chihuahuan Desert to host a Motus wildlife tracking station. Motus is an international network of tracking stations that will document when radio-tagged migratory wildlife species come within the range of the a deployed station. This range is typically around 15-20km (9-12 miles). The station utilizes several radio antennas that coincide with widely used radio collar technologies, as well as a solar powered logger that catches observation data which is uploaded over a cellular network.
The Mimms Unit was selected as a host site due to the presence of over-wintering grassland birds that are the focus of several studies researching habitat requirements and causes of population declines for species of concern. Many birds spend their breeding seasons in the Northern Great Plains and migrate south to the Chihuahuan Desert for the winter. The goal of this station is to record the presence of radio-tagged birds to help answer questions about when and where birds spend various portions of their life cycle.
Dixon staff worked with the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies to locate a site for the new station and chose to repurpose an out-of-service utility pole on a hillside overlooking large pastures.
Researchers and the public alike can learn more about Motus at their website, motus.org
Study affirms adaptive grazing’s water benefits
Adaptive multi-paddock grazing enhances water conservation and protects water quality, according to a recent Texas AgriLife study published in Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment.
“We found grazing management practices do have a significant influence on ecosystem services provided by rangelands,” said co-author Dr. Srinivasulu Ale, a geospatial hydrology associate professor. “Not only did the multi-paddock grazing practice provide several hydrological benefits such as increased soil infiltration, increased water conservation and decreased surface runoff, but also environmental benefits such as water quality improvement.”
Richard Teague, an AgriLife rangelands researcher in Vernon and science advisory board member for the foundation, was another co-author on the study. Teague said the research was designed to help producers assess the hydrologic and water quality impacts of traditional and alternate grazing management practices and identify best management practices for long-term sustainability of rangelands.
The Dixon Water Foundation funded the research project and employs adaptive multi-paddock grazing on Dixon Ranches.
For a summary of the research findings, visit the Texas AgriLife news website. The complete journal article is also available on ScienceDirect: “Evaluating the ranch and watershed scale impacts of using traditional and adaptive multi-paddock grazing on runoff, sediment and nutrient losses in North Texas, USA.”
Rodents and grassland birds nearly recovered at Mimms
Small rodent and grassland bird populations have nearly recovered from the devastating 2011 Rock House Fire and drought, according to recently completed research by Bobby Allcorn with Sul Ross State University‘s Borderlands Research Institute.
For the past two years, Allcorn has been comparing rodent and bird communities on burned areas on Mimms Unit and unburned areas on an adjacent ranch, following the historic fire and drought that burned more than 90% of the foundation’s ranch in Marfa.
Allcorn found that populations of small rodents and grassland birds on Mimms have almost returned to normal, thanks to precipitation in 2013 and 2014, but there were still important differences between burned and unburned areas. The roster of rodent species in burned areas was different and less diverse than in unburned areas. Grassland birds lagged behind in population density in burned areas. These findings may be due to the number of shrubs that were destroyed during the fire, leaving more true grassland habitat in burned areas.
Learn more about this research project in this article in the Big Bend Sentinel, another article from Texas Wildlife, and Allcorn’s thesis-defense presentation, “Small Mammal and Grassland Bird Response to Wildfire on the Marfa Grasslands.” Allcorn’s manuscript will be available on our website soon.
His project was funded by the Dixon Water Foundation and advised by Dr. Bonnie Warnock, the Clint Josey Endowed Chair for Sustainable Ranch Management Professor at Sul Ross.
Soil Carbon Curious
Soil Carbon Curious is a new short film from Peter Byck, the producer of Soil Carbon Cowboys and Carbon Nation. It’s about an exciting new collaborative research group, the ASU•Soil Carbon Nation Whole Systems Science Team. As Byck describes:
“Adaptive Multi-Paddock grazing (AMP grazing) is regenerating soils around the world, producing healthy grass-finished beef. But the science on AMP grazing is sparse, to say the least. Now, a group of leading soil, rangeland, bug and social scientists are setting out to fill the science gap. Led by Dr. Richard Teague of Texas A&M, and convened by filmmaker Peter Byck of Arizona State University, the ASU•Soil Carbon Nation Whole Systems Science Team is positioned to do large scale science that’s never been done before.”
The team is working on the 1 Million Metric Tons Pilot Program, which aims to demonstrate the carbon-sequestration potential of soil managed with adaptive multi-paddock grazing.
You can now also view Soil Carbon Cowboys en español.
Grant for soil microbe research in the news
Hardin-Simmons University researchers recently received a Dixon Water Foundation grant to explore how land management affects the subterranean world of soil microbes on a Runnels County ranch. Learn more in this article from Ballinger News and the video below from Abilene Fox affiliate KXVA. KRBC meteorologist Scott Cook also featured the research project on Abilene’s NBC affiliate.
