D•MAP TOOL

Use soil depths and landforms to divide your land into smaller parcels called land management units (LMUs). The cross section below illustrates the six LMU categories (from left to right): Riparian, Floodpalin, Bluff, Deep Plain, Hill, and Shallow Plain.  

Establishing LMUs increases manageability and effectively addresses site-specific differences.

SEE THE LMU CROSS SECTION BELOW

Classify tree cover into stands according to physical attributes (forest, regrowth, and pioneer scrub) and age class, enabling more effective, targeted management. For the Hill Country, there five basic trees stands: Bottomland Forest, Upland Forest, Motte, Shinnery, and Pioneer Scrub.

Tree stand types and ages will help determine the best management strategy for each LMU. For instance, younger cedar pioneer scrub growing in the Deep Plain LMU often occur where overgrazing has degraded soils to the point prairie grasses can no longer form a continuous cover. That scrub will need to be managed differently from older cedar pioneer scrub growing on the Hill LMU that are working to regenerate a hillside forests.

Visually assess the overall ecological health of each LMU and identify problem areas. This process teaches landowners how to “read” the subtle patterns and nuances of their land, enabling more informed management decisions.

‘Read’ at least five key indicators of ecological health to assess the condition of each LMU. Each LMU will receive a score that indicates its general health. For example more covered soil is receives a higher score than soil that is less covered. Landowners will have the opportunity to choose from basic, low-cost assessment methods and advanced, higher-cost methods.

WHAT DOES ‘READ YOUR LAND’ MEAN?

Learning how to “read” your land is vital to more sustainable land management. Reading your land simply means taking the steps needed to develop a more holistic understanding of your land that includes the pros and cons. 

Reading your land should be done before you set your goals. Once you determine what your land can do for you, then set your goals. 

Using this approach produces will produce longer-lasting, more resilient results because you will be working with the land as opposed to forcing it to be something it cannot or should not be.

Choose techniques for each LMU based on its health and tree stand cover to support the landowner’s goals, budget, and timeframe.

Techniques will be innovative, regenerative solutions that utilize livestock, wildlife, insects, seeds, roots, and live stakes, compost, cut slash, and manual and mechanical labor to slow and sink rainfall, improve soil biology and vegetation structure and diversity, and mitigate for wildfire, floods, and droughts.