THE ROLE OF ROOT STRUCTURES IN EPIKARSTAL PROCESSES, FORT HOOD MILITARY INSTALLATION, TEXAS

The Fort Hood Military Installation is a karst landscape hosting Lower Cretaceous Trinity and Fredericksburg Group carbonates within the Lampasas Cut Plain in Central Texas. The installation is characterized by broad, dissected plateaus that host juniper-oak woodlands; incised canyons that support mesic vegetation communities, and rolling lowlands with extensive grasses and shrubs proximal to stream valleys. Ongoing research in Fort Hood has identified karst features within the installation using LiDAR and field traverses, including shelter caves, sinkholes, fractures, and depressions. Many of the known karst features within the installation are predominantly surficial expressions of collapse features.

In fall 2019, traverses through the field area revealed small openings near the root structures of trees that were commonly less than 70 cm in depth. Many of these features were originally identified as animal burrows, but during field observations, these openings were reclassified as pathways for soil piping and fluid transport. These conduits provide avenues for precipitation infiltration and create opportunities for enhanced karst development in surficial carbonates and subsurface karst features. These structures are important to understand because they provide a pathway through which fluids are able to percolate, creating a focal point for karst development and connectivity. Understanding the biological influence on epikarst manifestations in Fort Hood could provide insight into the early stages of karst development across the plateaus and help range managers protect environmentally sensitive karst terrains.