Chapman (1967) reported on attempts to vegetate a dredged-material 
island in Galveston Bay with sod, rhizomes, and seeds of Spartina 
alterntflora. Seed germination was not satisfactory, but transplants 
did appear to establish and spread. Woodhouse, Seneca, and Broome 
(1972) examined some of the aspects of reproduction, propagation, 
establishment, and growth of smooth cordgrass on dredged material in 
North Carolina. They concluded that establishment on some areas was 
possible with either seeds or transplants. However, transplants were 
more adaptable to a wider yariety of conditions. Germination response 
of Spartina alterniflora to temperature and salinity as well as seedling 
response to salinity by three height classes was also investigated in 
North Carolina by Mooring, Cooper, and Seneca (1971). Broome, Woodhouse, 
and Seneca (1973) reported on the propagation and mineral nutrition 
required for establishment of Spartina alterniflora. They reported that 
productivity was probably limited by nutrient supply. 
Research on establishment of vegetation on dredged material in 
San Francisco Bay was reported by Mason (1973). He found, based on the 
physical and chemical characteristics of the dredged material, that it 
was not a good growth medium for marsh plants. However, the root system 
of Spartina foltosa converted the anaerobic soil to aerobic soil and 
survived. Garbisch, Woller, and McCallum (1974) investigated salt marsh 
establishment and development on shores and dredged materials in the mid- 
Chesapeake Bay region. They reported no limitations for vegetation 
establishment above mean high water. Establishment of Spartina alternt- 
flora in intertidal zones was restricted by wave action and coarse 
sediment stresses. Similarly to Woodhouse, Seneca, and Broome (1974), 
they reported increased production by Spartina alterniflora with 
fertilizer treatments. A review of available information on the 
establishment of marsh and aquatic plants on newly available sub- 
strates was compiled by Kadlec and Wentz (1974). 
II. DESCRIPTION OF AREA 
The shoreline of Texas consists of both a gulf shoreline and a bay 
shoreline. The bay shoreline generally lacks sand beaches and in many 
places is associated with low-lying marshes. Low bluffs exist wherever 
wave action has eroded the Pleistocene terrace deposits. Estuaries and 
consequently bay shorelines originated from the drowning of entrenched 
valleys as the sea level rose in the late Pleistocene age. Some 
estuaries filled, and deltaic plains formed at mouths of the Rio Grande, 
Brazos, and Colorado Rivers. A series of barrier islands have formed 
from the sediment in many areas along the coast. Smaller streams, 
i.e., the Nueces and San Jacinto Rivers, flow in narrow valleys and empty 
into bays or estuaries behind these barrier islands (LeBlanc and 
Hodgson, 1959). 
Climate differs greatly along the 375-mile Texas gulf coastline. 
The Galveston area has a relatively high humidity and receives about 
40 inches of rain annually (Table 1). Chambers County, immediately 
