Water In Bedrock is Helping Sustain Trees in Edwards Plateau
December 17, 2025
Bedrock is a dynamic and critical supply of water in the Edwards Plateau region of Texas, soaking up water during stormy times and holding onto it during times of drought. That matters for trees growing in the area, which often don’t have soil to rely on. Trees may also be playing a role in enhancing the bedrock’s water storage capacity by increasing permeability and porosity of the underlying rock.
These findings are based on three years of measurements, starting in 2020, from a team of scientists from the Jackson School of Geosciences and Texas A&M University. Their field site was a sloped karst environment in the Edwards Plateau region of Texas dominated by juniper and live oak trees.
They found that in some areas, bedrock holds about twice the amount of water found in the overlying soil. What’s more, the greatest permeability and porosity was found under the trees. This suggests that the growing trees aren’t just tapping into rock moisture but are also playing a role in increasing the storage capacity.
This collaborative study shows that in just 80 years, the shift from grasses to trees has dramatically altered the permeability of the underlying limestone. This helps explain why, in some cases, increasing tree cover actually boosts groundwater recharge. In the Edwards Plateau, where groundwater is a critical resource, understanding how land cover shapes water pathways is critical for long-term water resource management.
Research by Associate Professor Daniella Rempe and Logan Schmidt, M.S. 2022
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Published in August 2025 in Water Resources Research and September 2023 in Scientific Reports