The Western Gulf coastal grasslands stretch along the West Gulf Coastal Plain from southwestern Louisiana across the Texas Gulf coast to northeastern Tamaulipas, Mexico. This mostly flat to gently rolling region mixes beaches, estuarine lagoons, intertidal marshes, and barrier islands with inland prairies and woodlands, where coastal uplands are dominated by grasses such as seacoast bluestem, little bluestem, and big bluestem, alongside oak groves and mesquite shrubland. Its climate grades from humid subtropical in the east to subhumid and semiarid subtropical to the west. The signature Gulf coastal prairie has lost more than 80% of its area in Louisiana since European settlement, making it a conservation priority.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 25.9°N, 97.8°W.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
11a-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
11b-13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +3.6°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
About the tropical & subtropical grasslands, savannas & shrublands biome
Warm grasslands and savannas where grasses dominate and trees are scattered, maintained by seasonal rainfall, grazing, and fire. They support large herbivore communities and respond sharply to wet–dry cycles.
National refinement sub-regions
Within this RESOLVE ecoregion, national agencies recognise finer-grained sub-regions. Plotwright assigns each sub-region polygon to its containing RESOLVE polygon by centroid.
EPA Level III (US-only) — 1 sub-region
34 · Western Gulf Coastal Plain
Source: USGS / EPA via Omernik (1987).
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.
Climate-resilient picks · 52
These plants fit this ecoregion today AND remain in range under the mid-century SSP3-7.0 projection. Lead with these for a planting that holds up as the climate shifts.
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.
Related ecoregions
Other tropical & subtropical grasslands, savannas & shrublands ecoregions to explore: