VEGETATIVE AND ANIMAL COMMUNITY SAMPLING OF LICK CREEK PARK,

BRAZOS COUNTY, COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS

ANGELA MOHLE

INTRODUCTION
Lick Creek Park became part of the College Station park system in 1987. The
park was established as part of land negotiations to create a city industrial park. It is 515
acres with about 3.5 miles of trails appropriate for hiking, biking, or permitted equestrian
activities. There are also ample opportunities to bird watch, conduct nature studies, or
take in some of the cultural sites at the park. In 1998, College Stations Parks and
Recreation department added in a new entrance, updated the parking lot, improved the
trail system, and put in a visitors center as well as facilities suitable for an outdoor
classroom. The park is located at 13600 East Rock Prairie Road, a little over a mile east
of William D. Fitch Parkway. Located in the East Central Texas Plains ecoregion, the
native wildlife diversity is vast as well as the plant life, including the endangered
Navasota Ladies Tresses. As such, all plants and animals are protected; they should not be
harmed or threatened (City of College Station, 2016).
Lick Creek is a tributary of the Navasota River. The park offers a variety of
ecosystems, such as blackland prairie areas, upland forest, bottomland forest, a sedge
meadow, seasonal oxbow lakes, Rocky Creek and, of course, the Lick Creek. There is
also a lesser-known area called The Mesa, which is off an established trail and difficult to
find (Reed 2016). The upland areas are sandy or sandy loam type soil, and the
bottomlands are primarily clay.
The Texas Almanac states, Pecans, walnuts, and other kinds of water-demanding
trees grow along streams. The southwestern extension of this belt is often poorly defined,
with large areas of prairie. The original vegetation consisted mainly of little bluestem, big
bluestem, indiangrass, switchgrass, purpletop, silver bluestem, Texas wintergrass, spike
woodoats, longleaf woodoats, post oak, and blackjack oak. The area is still largely native
or improved grasslands, with small farms located throughout. Intensive grazing has
contributed to dense stands of a woody understory of yaupon, greenbriar, and oak brush
(Texas State Historical Association 2016).
After the grazing was halted, the invader species began to decline and the natives
came back strong. It also supports a variety of herbs and wildflowers. In the bottomland
forest, you will also find prickly pear and sundew. The sedge meadow is absent of
underbrush and is in the floodplain of Lick Creek. This is also the location of the oxbow
lakes. Lick Creek itself is usually pretty slow and stands still in some places. After a hard
rain, the water flows strong and can also create piles of plant debris, a telling sign of how
high the water had been (Reed 2014).
The overall climate at Lick Creek Park during our sampling time is an average of
17.2C with a dew point of 11.7C. The humidity average is 71%. (WeatherUnderground
2015). The day of our sampling, specifically, the air temperature was 14.8C, the relative
humidity was 67%. We had 5% cloud cover with a NE wind at 10mph.
The objective of this sampling study was to characterize the dominant vegetation
types and animal communities through a survey of Lick Creek Park to test the hypothesis
was that there would be more diverse vegetation and animal activity in the bottomland
forest than in the savanna. Altogether, our class had three groups collecting separate sets
of data.

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METHODS
Vegetation Sampling
In our sampling techniques, we used three types of methods: quadrat, line
intercept, and point-center-quarter. These were the best ways to gather our data on
vegetation types, frequency, and patterns. To determine our sampling location, we used a
random number generator to plot four points between one and 50m. The length of the
transect was 50m and we marked the four random points along that line.
In the quadrat method of sampling, the focus was on the herbaceous layer of
vegetation. We measured out 3m from the transect line at each of our four randomlygenerated plot points and placed a rectangular frame of 50cm x 30cm at each of the four
corners of our plot. Within each sampling area, we evaluated the canopy cover and
counted the species present and the specific species that were absent. With that data, we
were able to estimate the frequency and pattern of the different types of plants located in
that particular area. In this method, we were sampling for Little Bluestem, Sedge, ThreeAwn, and Chasmanthium. We also recorded data in an other category for any species
not on our list.
With the line-intercept method, we were measuring the shrub and sapling layer of
vegetation, less than 1.5m in height, for percentage of canopy. We used a two-man team
to measure out 10m from the transect line at each of the four randomly-generated plot
points. We evaluated the amount of canopy cover and counted the species that touched
any point on the 10m tape line. For this method, we were specifically looking to sample
Farkleberry and Yaupon, but maintained an other category as well.
In the point-center-quarter method, we were focusing on the diameter at breast
height (DBH) of the tree with a DBH of greater than 10cm nearest to each of our four
randomly-generated plot points in order to determine tree density. At each point, we
extended a measuring tape to the tree closest to our point and recorded the distance. Next,
we measured the diameter of the trunk at breast height as well as species and recorded
that. For the DBH sampling, we were looking for Blackjack or Post Oaks, Willow or
Water Oaks, Elm, and Sugarberry or Sycamores.
We conducted these sampling methods for both the upland forest area as well as
the bottomland forest area in Lick Creek Park.
There were three groups in three different areas of the two regions we sampled.
Altogether there were 24 different assessments made. After each group compiled their
own data, the classs data as a whole was put together.
White-tail Deer Community Sampling
To get a good assessment of the animal community in Lick Creek Park, a series of
game trail camera traps were set up. There were six altogether, with a group of three each
located in the upland forest and the bottomland forest areas (Figure 2-1). These cameras
were placed in the locations to monitor what kind of wildlife is in the area and to see
what behaviors they were exhibiting. They were motion activated, so when the electric
eye determined there was movement, it would take a digital photograph.

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Figure 2-1
To determine the White-tail deer community, we looked at 60 random images
from each of the cameras and tallied what types of deer we saw in order to get an
estimation of how many deer were in the given area. We recorded data for categories of
male, female, or other, which could be any other wildlife captured on camera. For
identification purposes, we considered all antlerless deer to be female.
RESULTS
Vegetation Sampling
The savanna quadrat sampling method shows a slight differentiation in frequency
of vegetation, but not a very clear dominant species. If you contrast that with the
bottomland data, you will see a drastically different sampling result in the bottomland
area of vegetation. There is a distinct difference in the presence of sedge and
Chasmanthium in the bottomlands versus the savanna area (Table 3-1).

Group

Average
Canopy
Cover, %

Frequency, %
Little
Bluestem

Threeawn

Sedge

Chasmanthium

Other

Class Avg.

57.5

10

13.33

8.33

Class Avg.

33.33

1.67

1.67

11.67

8.33

15.56

Savanna Quadrat Herbaceous Layer

Bottomland Quadrat Herbaceous Layer

Table 3-1

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The savanna line intercept method showed rather interesting results. Some areas
had zero counts of a species while an adjacent area surveyed by another group had quite a
few of the same species. While there are many other species in the sampling, the amount
of yaupon found in the savanna area is very high (Table 3-2).
Percent Cover, %
Group
Yaupon

Farkleberry

Other

Total:

Class Avg.

31.73

0.28

16.88

48.88

Class Avg.

8.25

6.03

11.38

25.65

Savanna Shrub/Sapling Layer, 1.5m

Bottomland Shrub/Sapling Layer, 1.5m

Table 3-2
The dominant tree species was very easy to detect when looking at the data. There
were many more Post or Blackjack Oaks than any other tree in the savanna. In the
bottomland, it was clear that Elm dominated all other species there (Table 3-3).

Table 3-3
White-tail Deer Sampling
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The data pulled off of the digital camera traps showed a distinct preference for the
male deer to spend time in the savanna, although just as many does were spotted in the
savanna as the in bottomland (Table 3-4)
Male
Deer

Female
Deer

Other

Deer
Total

Savanna

17

11

28

Bottomland

11

bobcat

18

Table 3-4
DISCUSSION
The results of the data show that there is great diversity in both the savanna and
bottomland regions, but the species in that particular area are geared toward the climate,
water availability, and soils. It was no surprise to find no sedge or chasmanthium in the
savanna; it is much more abundant in the bottomlands. Vegetation sampling at two
southeast Texas bottomland hardwood stands showed that C. entrerianus [a species of
sedge] is capable of invading the understory of a mature forest with old-growth
characteristics (Rosen 2006) Chasmanthium as well prefers a wet environment, hence
the common name Sea Oats.
One thing I did not expect was the sheer amount of Yaupon in the savanna, in
contrast to other species. The background information I researched told me a lot of what I
needed to know about it. The white settlers suppressed wildfires, had overgrazing
tendencies, and didnt maintain fenceline brush. An article published by the Society for
Range Management reinforced and expounded on that information: The Post Oak
Savannah Ecological Region in Texas was one an open grassland savannah maintained by
periodic firesToday, the savannahs have been replaced by oak woodlands with dense
yaupon understories... Restriction of fires in conjunction with poor grazing management
and periodic droughts are often credited for the dense thickets that occur in the Post Oak
Savannah. (Mitchell 2005)
The sampling of deer was not much different than I had expected it to be. If given
the choice between a savanna with oak trees spread around, or a bottomland with vines
and elms, it makes sense that deer would prefer the savanna. I do not believe the bobcat
has anything to do with the fewer numbers of deer in the bottomland, but its a notable
correlation regardless.
The methods we used for vegetation sampling seemed varied enough to give a
good idea of the diversity in the two park areas but I am curious to see what different data
we would get if we did this same sampling in maybe two other areas in each the
bottomland and the savanna. Perhaps sampling somewhere out of the line of sight of the
last sampling site. Maybe another way would be to plot a GPS point in Google Maps and
then traveling to that random site to do sampling there. Its possible that random sampling
may have been a little biased when choosing a site by just walking to one place. I believe
the wildlife camera traps were probably a good way to get data on the types of wildlife
walking around in the areas. However, if I were to place them out there myself, I would
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be more prone to placing them along an obvious game trail or near a water source. I am
not sure how that would skew the population numbers data, but it would probably give a
better idea of the variety of wildlife using those locations as passages or drinking sources.
It is also possible that the students involved in the sampling, being inexperienced
in the practice, may have made errors in the processes or may not have fully understood
the instructions. Properly identifying the species could have been an issue as well.
The time of year of the sampling could have an impact on the results as well. The
vegetation was mostly green and growing due to an unusually warm winter and early
spring, which may have had an opposite effect on other vegetation species. Deer behave
differently in times of rut, birthing fawns, and when they first shed their antlers. Their
movements could have been altered due to that condition and giving just a snapshot of
data rather than over a longer length of time which would reflect an average of
population numbers.
The data collected would be important for land managers to see because it would
allow them to make choices about invasive species control as well as manage for desired
animal species through habitat management.
This sampling experiment gave me real-world experience for when I go out into
the career field. Since I am still not sure exactly what type of job I will be seeking,
learning sampling methods, how to interpret data, and how to evaluate the whole picture
is going to be something I need to know later in my education and beyond.

REFERENCES

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City of College Station. (n.d.) Lick Creek Park. Retrieved April 13, 2016, from
http://www.cstx.gov/index.aspx?page=538
Reed, Monique. (n.d.). LICK CREEK PARK. Retrieved April 13, 2016, from
http://botany.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/LCP/LCPFIELDTRIP.html
Near Lick Creek Park Weather; Personal Weather Station: KTXCOLLE34 by
Wunderground.com. (2016). Retrieved April 13, 2016, from
https://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?
ID=KTXCOLLE34#history/s20150412/e20160412/myear
Texas State Historical Association. (n.d.). Texas Plant Life. Retrieved April 13, 2016,
from http://texasalmanac.com/topics/environment/texas-plant-life
Rosen, D. J., Carter, R., & Bryson, C. T.. (2006). The Recent Spread of Cyperus
entrerianus (Cyperaceae) in the Southeastern United States and Its Invasive
Potential in Bottomland Hardwood Forests. Southeastern Naturalist,5(2), 333
344. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.libezproxy.tamu.edu:2048/stable/3878214
Rob Mitchell, Cathey, J. C., Brad Dabbert, Dale F. Prochaska, Stephanie DuPree, & Ron
Sosebee. (2005). Managing Yaupon with Fire and Herbicides in the Texas Post
Oak Savannah. Rangelands, 27(5), 1719. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org.lib-ezproxy.tamu.edu:2048/stable/4002147

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