A_NatC1.xls Class … · Web viewHeavily grazed perennial grasslands were invaded by introduced, exotic annual grasses and forbs from Mediterranean Europe. As the tops of the perennial

A_NatC1.xls

PLANT COMMUNITIES//BAYLANDS (Continued)

ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM MASTER CLASS 46

2018-2019

COMMUNITY Name:NON-NATIVE GRASSLAND/ Being restored to

NEEDLEGRASS GRASSLAND

Characteristic Plant Species:

Wild oat (introduced annual*)

Avena fatua and A. barbata

Soft Chess “

Bromus [mollis] hordeaceous

Ripgut grass “

Bromus diandrus

Italian ryegrass (intro. perennial**)

Lolium multiflorum

Filaree (intro. forb***)

Erodium botrys, E. cicutarium

Purple needlegrass (native perennial)

Stipa[Nassella] pulchra

Wildrye grass

Elymus sp.

Associated Plant Species:

Coast live oak

Quercus agrifolia

Toyon

Heteromeles arbutifolia

Valley oak

Quercus lobata

Coyote brush

Baccharis pilularis

California poppy

Eschscholtzia californica

Sticky bush monkeyflower

Mimulus[Diplacus] aurantiacus

Mule’s ears

Wyethia angustifolia.

Iris

Iris macrosiphon

Poison oak

Toxicodendron diversalobum

Tar plant

Hemizonia spp.

Gold fields

Lasthenia spp.

Houndstongue

Cynoglossum grande

Soap root

Chlorogalum pomeridianum

Lupine

Lupinus spp.

Owl’s clover

Castilleja [Orthocarpus] densiflora.

* annual= germinates from seed each year, produces seed and dies, dead plant retains few nutrients.

** perennial= remains alive for more than one season and retains nutrients in leaves or storage areas above or below ground.

*** forb= soft, non-woody, flowering plant.

Structural Aspects:

Sparse to dense cover of annual grasses and some perennial wild flowers and few perennial grasses. Flower heads may be 1 to 2 feet high in dry years and on slopes. They may be 8 to 10 feet high in moist years on lowland meadows. Originally there were fewer annual grasses and the perennial bunchgrasses were spaced so that native forbs and bulbs could grow abundantly.

Predominant Terrain Features:

Grasslands usually are on relatively flat plains and rolling hills of the central valley, coast and foothill ranges. At China Camp the grasslands are found on the upland soils of the Franciscan Formation hills that were surrounded by the salt marsh.

Predominant Climatic Conditions:

Mediterranean climate of central California, average rainfall of 6 to 20 inches, falling in winter to spring with hot, dry summers (Munz 1970). Growing season 7 to 11 months.

Elevation Range:

Five to 4000 feet in the State, 5 to 500 feet at China Camp State Park, Marin County.

Characteristic Animal Species:

Western spadefoot toad

Scaphiopus hammondi

Pacific tree frog

Hyla rigilla

Western fence lizard

Sceloporum occidentalis

Gopher snake

Pitiophis melanoleucus

Western meadowlark

Sturnella neglecta

Short-eared owl

Asio flammeus

Red-tailed hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

American kestrel

Falco sparverius

California ground squirrel

Spermophilus beecheyi

Botta’s pocket gopher

Themomys bottae

California vole

Microtis californicus

Black-tailed hare

Lepus californicus

Gray fox

Urocyon cinereoargenteus

Striped skunk

Mephitis mephitis

Key Wildlife Aspects:

· Grasses are very productive providing many seeds and forage for small rodents which in turn are preyed upon by the raptors and mammals such as the fox. Perennial grasses remain rich in nutrients.

Constraints / Sensitivities:

· Heavily grazed perennial grasslands were invaded by introduced, exotic annual grasses and forbs from Mediterranean Europe. As the tops of the perennial grasses were removed by the grazing, the underground roots responded by producing new above-ground foliage. After about three rounds of grazing these perennials became weakened and many died. Annual grasses germinated earlier in the spring and thus “got ahead” of the perennials in annual growth; this led to shading of the perennials and less strong growth. The smaller the amount of biomass producing sugar, the smaller the amount of storage products that are available for replenishing supplies in the roots. This “starvation” caused the death of many of the perennial “bunch” grasses. At China Camp, a program of controlled burning was carried on to restore the perennial bunchgrass component of the grassland which is represented here by purple needle grass.

· Before China Camp State Park lands were purchased by the State of California (in approximately 1975) they were leased to a motorcycle club and the lower, grass covered hills were scarred with motorcycle tracks.

· The tendency of the public to consider grassland expendable for development or other uses continues today because of the misconception that “there is nothing there to damage”. Perennial grasslands are, in fact, amongst the most rare and endangered habitats in California. Unfortunately, these habitats are not protected by law; only plant species receive limited protection and the species of the perennial grasslands are not considered endangered.

COMMUNITY Name:Valley Oak WOODLAND / Savannah


Valley oak

Quercus lobata

Western poison oak

Toxicodendron diversilobum

Creeping wildrye grass

Elymus [Leymus] triticoides

Wild oat

Avena fatua and A. barbata

Soft chess

Bromus [mollis] hordeaceus

Ripgut grass

Bromus diandrus

Associated Species:

Blue oak

Quercus douglasii

Coast live oak

Quercus agrifolia var. agrifolia

California coffeeberry

Frangula [Rhamnus] californica

Sticky bush monkey-flower

Mimulus aurantiacus

Yerba buena

Clinopodium [Satureja] douglasii

Snowberry

Symphoricarpos albus var laevigatus

Houndstongue

Cynoglossum grande

Common chickweed

Stellaria media

Structural Aspects:

This is an open savanna rather than a closed woodland. The trees are large, spreading specimens of winter-deciduous Valley oaks which reach 50 to 125 feet at maturity. Stands seldom exceed 30 to 40 percent cover in the tree canopy. Grasses such as creeping wildrye would have formed the native understory with occasional shrubs. Introduced annual grasses are now the common ground cover.


Found on deep, well drained alluvial soils, usually valley bottoms (Holland 1986). Large, healthy valley oaks are probably rooted down to permanent water supplies (Griffin 1973).


Mediterranean climate of central California, mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers.

Community Distribution and Elevation Range:

Larger specimens of Valley Oaks are found throughout eastern Marin County from Ross Valley north on the “higher” portions of the alluvial valleys and on the lower slopes of the hills as a part of the Coast Live Oak and Broadleaf Evergreen Communities. Valley oak grows in California from near sea level to nearly 6000 feet (Griffin and Critchfield 1972) but is most common at lower elevations on valley floors and abandoned river terraces.


· Acorns produced by Valley oaks supply major food source for many species of mammals and birds.

· Habitat structure is open savannah rather than a closed woodland. Understory is also open, with low growing grasses and herbs. Used by a broad variety of wildlife species, including both narrowly adapted and widely adapted bird species.

· Large trunks and branches with dead ends and cavities are important habitat for hole nesters. Big trees are used by raptors.


Ensatina

Ensatina eschscholzi

California newt

Taricha torosa

Arboreal salamander

Aneides lugubris

California slender salamander

Batrachoseps attenuatus

Western fence lizard

Sceloporus occidentalis

Pacific tree frog

Hyla rigilla

Western toad

Bufo boreas

Coyote

Canis latrans

Bobcat

Lynx rufus

Gray fox


Black-tailed deer

Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

Raccoon

Procyon lotor

Shrew-mole

Neurotrichus gibbsii

Pallid bat

Antrozous pallidus (Federal candidate for listing as endangered [C2])

Striped skunk

Mephitis mephitis

Spotted skunk

Spilogale putorius

Botta pocket gopher

Thomomys bottae

Gray squirrel

Sciurus griseus

Cooper's hawk

Accipiter cooperii (California Species of Concern [CSC])

Sharp-shinned hawk

Accipiter striatus (CSC)

Great horned owl

Bubo virginianus

Acorn woodpecker

Melanerpes formicivorus

Northern flicker

Colaptes auratus

Ash-throated flycatcher

Myiarchus cinerascens

Scrub jay

Aphelocoma coerulescens

Plain titmouse

Parus inoratus

Dark-eyed junco

Junco hyemalis

Turkey vulture

Cathartes aura

California quail

Callipepla californica

20 other Passerine species


· Sudden changes in soil drainage and oxygenation (e.g., garden irrigation) can cause death of root tissue and tree decline.

· Reproduction of valley oaks may be limited by a variety of causes including lowered water-table, and removal of seedlings due to grazing by cattle, browsing by deer and predation by gophers all of which may have been caused or exacerbated by human activity.

· Breeding birds are most sensitive to disturbance during spring nesting season.

COMMUNITY Name:COAST LIVE OAK WOODLAND


Coast live oak

Quercus agrifolia

California bay or laurel

Umbellularia californica

Pacific madrone

Arbutus menziesii

Western poison oak



Snowberry

Symphoricarpos albus var laevigatus

Toyon




Wild oat

Avena sp.

Ripgut grass

Bromus diandrus

Warrior’s plume

Pedicularis densiflora

Yerba buena

Clinopodium [Satureja]douglasii

Sticky monkey-flower

Mimulus aurantiacus

California buckeye

Aesculus californica

Valley oak

Quercus lobata

Houndstongue

Cynoglossum grande

Soaproot

Chlorogalum pomeridianum var. pomeridianum

Black oak

Quercus kelloggii

Wild honeysuckle

Lonicera hispidula

Structural Aspects:

A fairly dense stand of trees which on Santa Margarita Island might be called a forest rather than a woodland. Shuford and Timossi define a stand of trees with under 30 percent canopy cover as a savannah and over 30 percent as a woodland. The U.S. Forest Service Region 5 Timber Cover Classes for mapping are as follows: 10 to 19 percent is coded “S” (scattered over story); 20 to 39 percent is coded “P” (woodland [open]); 40 to 69 percent is coded “N” (woodland [moderate]), and; 70 percent and above is coded “G” (forest [dense]).


Grows on steep slopes and the top of Turtle Back in China Camp State Park and Santa Margarita Island on the rocky soil of the Franciscan Formation sandstones and cherts.


Mediterranean climate of central California, modified by summer fog or by slope which decreases evapotranspiration by shading the vegetation during a portion of the day.


Usual range from just above sea level to 3000 feet in the outer coast ranges and on north-facing slopes of the inner coast ranges, on coastal plains and bluffs but not within the area receiving salt spray. Coast live oak also occurs up to 5000 feet (1500 m) elevation inland and on coastal valley floors.


· Acorns produced by Coast live oaks supply food for many species of mammals and birds.

· Foliage of oak used as browse by black-tailed deer.


· Approximately the same species use Coast Live Oak Woodland as use the Valley Oak Woodland (9) but it is less likely that raptors and acorn woodpeckers will nest in this woodland.


· Coast live oak woodland is located on the slopes of hills in eastern Marin County. Expansion of development in Marin’s Urban Corridor has had impacts on the community. These impacts include removal from building sites and damage to roots during construction.

· Coast live oak, like other oak species is sensitive to changes in the moisture and oxygen content of the soil surrounding the roots. Too much moisture (i.e., irrigation in garden setting) supports water molds and other fungi that cause injury and eventually death to oak roots. Lack of oxygen may be caused either by displacement of soil atmosphere by water, compaction or the blanketing of the original soil surface by a new layer of soil.

· In 1995 a tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflora) disease was reported in Mill Valley and by 1999 a die-off of large numbers of tanoak was noted in the Marin Municipal Water District’s watershed. In 2000 the die-off extended to coast live oak and black oaks and infection was reported to be present in 40% of 400 trees (found in 10 plots in the watershed and at China Camp State Park) sampled in July 2000. The major pathogen has been identified as a previously unknown “fungi-like” species. This organism is Phytophthora ramorum. After initial attack (which is evidenced by sap “bleeding” from a canker on the bark of the trunk) the tree is subsequently invaded by a decay fungus (Hypoxylon thourasianum) and bark beetles. Spores of the fungus are spread, it is believed, by chlamydospores to healthy trees by droplets of rain. The sporangia which produce these spores are found mainly on the leaves of California bay or laurel trees. Due to all of the unknown factors, great care should be taken in disposing of wood and soil from trees vicinity. The disease is believed to be killing or at least present in 45 species of plants and associated with numerous other species.

COMMUNITY Name:salt marsh

Characteristic Native Plant Species:

California cord grass

Spartina foliosa (SPFA)

Common pickleweed

Salicornia[Sarcoconia]pacifica (SAVI)*

Saltgrass

Distichlis spicata (DISP)

Salt marsh gumplant

Grindelia stricta var.angustifolia [G. humilis] (GRHU)

Fleshy jaumea

Jaumea carnosa (JACA)

Associated Species:

Alkali heath

Frankenia salina

Arrow-grass

Triglochin concinna

Seaside arrow-grass

Triglochin maritima

Fat hen

Atriplex triangularis

Salt marsh rosemary

Limonium californicum

Goldenthread

Cuscuta pacifica var. pacifica

Alkali bulrush

Bolboschoenus[Schoenoplectus] robustus (SCRO)

C

Structural Aspects:

Open marsh composed of mostly perennial native species which are either grass-like or bush-like (suffrutescent) in their growth habit. The species are colonizers but once established remain as perennials that grow during late spring and summer from roots or rhizomes that remain in the mud. Flowering in fall; the above-ground portion withers and dies during winter. With roots in saturated sediments that have very little oxygen, they must be supplied with oxygen internally. Sediments are black due to anaerobic conditions and only the surface layer is brown due to the presence of oxygen forming iron oxide.


These species germinate on mud from storm-suspended upland sediment deposited on the marsh surface or the neighboring mud flats or more commonly plants reproduce vegetatively from fragments of original plants or growth up through the mud. These alluvial and estuarine sediments are flat although micro-topographic differences result from the sorting of sediments at the margins of sloughs and determine the extent of tidal inundation.

Tidal Influence and Elevation:

The tides result from the gravitational attractions of the sun and moon (primarily) on the water of the oceans. The attraction causes the water to well up which causes the body of water to become deeper at the point of attraction and shallower in other portions of the earth which in turn causes the water to rise and fall along the shoreline like the sloshing of water in a bowl. The water in San Francisco Bay rises and falls twice approximately every 24 hours and 50 minutes (a “tidal day”). The average (over the 19-year tidal epoch) of all of the high tides is called the Mean High Water (MHW) and the average of all of the low tides, the Mean Low Water (MLW). The Mean High Water level and the average level of all of the highest tides of each day--the Mean Higher High Water (MHHW) -- together with the amount of sediment the water is carrying, determine the elevation to which a salt marsh may build although storm waves do alter this picture.

Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) Each location in San Francisco Bay has a slightly different bottom elevation and thus a slightly different MHHW and MLLW, which is the average of the lowest water of each day of the epoch. MLLW has historically been very important to navigators who do not wish to strand their vessels on mud shoals and therefore this is the elevation which has been calculated for many locations in the Bay and used as the basis or “0.0” (zero point) . This is the “Datum” for all tidal charts and calculations.

Mean Sea Level (MSL) or North American Vertical Datum (NAVD 88) For many years engineers building upland projects used the average elevation of the level of the sea. This “Datum” was called “Mean Sea Level” or MSL and appears on all U.S Geological Survey quadrangle sheets. Today, this has been replaced with a “Datum” that is set on the upland for the entire country and is called the “North American Vertical Datum” or NAVD. In San Francisco Bay there may be from 2.3 to 4.0 feet difference between MLLW 0.0 and NGVD 0.0 so it is important to know which Datum a reference is based upon. In my research I converted all elevations to NGVD to simplify reporting on marshes spanning the entire Bay. (The NAVD 88 has replaced the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 [NGVD 29], previously known as Sea Level Datum of 1929)


Mediterranean, wind-swept location. Tidal inundation is the predominant influence.

Marsh Elevation Range:

The plain of the marsh at China Camp is at or slightly above the elevation of MHHW. Marsh plants in the lowest zone are found on mud flats at approximately +1 foot NAVD that is very near MSL datum. The plain of the marsh at China Camp at the mouth of Gallinas Creek averages +3.27 feet NAVD based on 44 measurements across the marsh (Cuneo, 1987). MHHW is +3.25 NAVD at China Camp (NOAA tide gage near Buck’s Landing).


Ribbed mussel

Modiolus demissus

Mud crab

Hemigrapsis oregonensis

Amphipods

Orchestia sp.

Northern harrier

Circus cyaneus

Snowy egret

Egretta thula

Common egret

Casmerodius albus

Great blue heron

Ardea herodias

Black-crowned night-heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Northern pintail

Anas acuta

Cinnamon teal

Anas cyanoptera

Song sparrow

Melospiza melodia samuelis

California clapper rail (Federal and State Endangered Species)

Rallus longirostris obsoletus

Black rail (State Threatened Species)

Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus

Western meadowlark

Sturnella neglecta

Least sandpiper

Calidris minutilla

Western sandpiper

Calidris mauri

Sanderling

Calidris alba

Dunlin

Calidris alpina

Willet

Catoptrophorus semipalmatus

American avocet

Recurvirostra americana

American coot

Fulica americana

Black-bellied plover

Fluvialis squatarola

Salt marsh harvest mouse (Federal and State Endangered Species)

Reithrodontomys raviventris halicoetes (North of Gallinas Creek)

Raccoon

Procyon lotor

Gray fox


Vagrant shrew

Sorex vagrans

Ornate shrew

Sorex ornatus californicus

Rat

Rattus rattus norvegicus

California vole

Microtus californicus

California mouse

Peromyscus californicus


* Mud flats of salt marshes and bottom mud adjacent to them are the habitat of numerous polychaete and spirochaete worms, mollusks such as mussels and clams and arthropods such as crabs, shrimps, and crustaceans that are fed upon by thousands of migratory and resident shorebirds.

* Open marshland is home to small rodents such as California voles and the endangered Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse. These, in turn, are preyed upon by raptors and mammalian predators such as the northern harrier, raccoon and gray fox.

* Insects feed upon grasses and seeds and are food for insectivores such as the song sparrow and meadowlark and omnivores such as the raccoon. The harvest mouse eats green plant material such as pickleweed and the song sparrows glean insects and seeds.


* Because salt marshes have always been limited in size and distribution and because the animals adapted to life in salt marshes such as the salt marsh harvest mouse, California clapper rail and black rail are restricted to these habitats, the survival of these species depends on the continued existence of salt marshes.

* Native perennial salt marsh plant species are very hardy, colonizing species. The sediment on which they grow may be lost to wave action from shipping or pleasure boat wakes. Fluctuations in the sediment content of streams and bays are naturally occurring perturbations of the salt marsh mud but upland land uses may lead to a lack of sediment for marsh renewal or conversely the burying of the marsh under too much sediment. In these cases the individual plants die but the adaptations of the species allow the marsh to recover.

* Rising tidal elevations because of sea level rise may inundate bay marshes at a greater rate than sediments are able to elevate the marsh surface.

* Levees were placed on the mud flat or the lower edge of the salt marsh to allow the wetlands to be drained and in some cases filled with imported dirt. Communities such as Santa Venetia on Gallinas Creek and many other communities in East Marin were built on this kind of fill. On the shore of San Rafael from Las Gallinas Creek to Highway 37 the diked mud flats were used as agricultural fields, particularly to grow hay and “green chop” for the dairy industry. The sediments continued to accrete bayward of the levee and to be colonized with marsh plants thus forming an apron of low and middle elevations of marsh. This created a marsh with an abrupt upper margin that has no “ refuge” . Marsh animals are forced up onto exposed levees where predators can catch them. After tidal marshlands were leveed and drained, the marsh mud lost water and subsided or lost elevation from shrinkage and loss of organic matter.

* SAVI stands for Salicornia virginica, former name of Salicornia pacifica

PLANT COMMUNITY Name:broadleaf evergreen / conifer


California bay


Douglas fir

Psuedotsuga menziesii var. menziesii

Associated Species:

Coast live oak

Quercus agrifolia

Madrone

Arbutus menziesii

Coast redwood

Sequoia sempervirens

Interior live oak

Quercus wislizenii

Canyon live oak

Quercus chrysolepis

Toyon


Coffeeberry


Hazelnut

Corylus cornuta ssp. californica

California huckleberry

Vaccinium ovatum

Tan oak, tanbark oak

Notholithocarpus densiflora

Vaccinium ovatum

California buckeye

Aesculus californica

Big-leaf maple

Acer macrophyllum

Yerba buena

Clinopodium [Satureja] douglasii

Structural Aspects:

This intermediate forest type (between Redwood on the moist [mesic] end of the scale and Coast Live Oak on the dry [xeric]) that consists of a moderately closed canopy of tall Douglas fir and a lower canopy of tan oak and coast live oak. The forest species component is highly dependent on the degree of exposure to the sun’s rays (aspect) and soil chemistry and texture (edaphics) combined with moisture availability and elevation or temperature. In a survey of Marin Municipal Water District watershed lands Parker (1990) determined that the first six trees on the list above (plus Sargent cypress) account for 90 percent of all of the forest cover but the seven species never all occur in the same location.


Occurring usually on north-facing slopes, grading into Redwood Community on mesic sites and Coast Live Oak Community on dryer sites.


Throughout northern and eastern Marin County at elevations ranging from sea level to 2200 feet (700 m). The forest type is found from the outer Coast Ranges and the lower elevation of the Klamath Range to montane Sierra Nevada of California


* Multi-tiered canopy provides structural diversity for wildlife use.

* Biological diversity great because of the mosaic effect of the varied distribution of the seven major tree species.

* Re-sprouting of tanoak and madrone after fire increase structural and biological diversity. These species increase in density under fire regime, Doug fir does not.


Ensatina

Ensatina eschscholtzi

Black salamander

Aneides flavipunctatus

Arboreal salamander

Aneides lugubris



Shrew-mole


Pallid bat

Antrozous pallidus

Spotted skunk

Spilogale putorius

Western gray squirrel

Sciurus griseus

Gray fox


Black-tailed deer


Raccoon

Procyon lotor

Cooper's hawk

Accipiter cooperii

Sharp-shinned hawk

Accipiter striatus

California quail


Mourning dove

Zenaida macroura

Great horned owl

Bubo virginianus

Steller jay

Cyanocitta stelleri


* As urban areas expand into areas of this forest type, the danger of unplanned fire increases due largely to human carelessness. At the same time that fuel loads are very high due to many decades of fire-suppression. This can result in disastrous wild fires that not only destroy human dwellings but also change the character of the forest because of the intensity of the fire.

The disease called ‘sudden oak death’ (see Coast Live Oak Woodland [above]) is prevalent in this community attacking tan oak in particular as well as coast live oak, black oak, and Shreve oak. (See, www.suddenoakdeath.org)

COMMUNITY Name:mixed chaparral


Eastwood manzanita

Arctostaphylos glandulosa ssp. glandulosa

Chamise

Adenostoma fasciculatum

Chaparral oak

Quercus wislizeni var. frutescens

Scrub oak

Q. berberidifolia

Associated Species:

Toyon


Shatterberry

Arctostaphylos nummularia ssp. sensitiva

California bay


Buckbrush

Ceanothus cuneatus var. cuneatus


Vaccinium ovatum

Chaparral pea

Pickeringia montana

Poison oak


Coyote brush

Baccharis pilularis



Orange sticky monkey-flower

Mimulus aurantiacus

California yerba santa

Eriodictyon californicum

California poppy

Eschscholtzia californica

Bush poppy

Dendromecon rigida

Indian paint brush

Castilleja sp.

Structural Aspects:

Dense, often impenetrable cover of evergreen shrubs ranging from 3 to 10 feet (1 to 3 m) in height with occasional tree species intermixed. The plants are typically deep-rooted (Holland 1986) to contend with summer drought but also have surface roots to quickly exploit surficial moisture. There is little or no understory due in part to production of allelopathic compounds that may be toxic to other plants. In 10 to 30 years the short-lived chamise canopy closes, and dead material accumulates (Hanes 1977). Scenescence is reached in 25 to 60 years in the absence of fire. The Eastwood manzanita produces large burls from which it sprouts after a fire has burned the aboveground portions.


On the tops and steeply sloping sides of ridges with rocky, infertile soil. If there is sandstone parent material that has produced a thin soil , the Eastwood manzanita usually dominates the community. On other soils the manzanita tends to inhabit the ridges and less steep slopes, chamise or buckbrush dominates the steeper slopes and the scrub oak is found in ravines (Parker 1990).


Native to areas with short winter rainy seasons and long, hot dry (late spring, summer and fall) seasons. Precipitation in stands of chaparral in California averages from 15 to 25 inches per year (Ornduff 1974) although this section of Mt. Tam receives 34 to 35 inches of rain per year according to Marin Municipal Water District documents. Most chaparral species are highly flammable and are adapted to repeated fires, to which many species respond by stump sprouting.


Chaparral is the most extensive plant community type in the state, covering one-twentieth of California and ranging from southern Oregon to Baja California and from 900 to 9000 feet in elevation range (Hanes 1977)


* Dense shrubby canopy provides secure, often impenetrable wildlife cover.

* Structural diversity increased by included patches of perennial grasses and rock outcrops.

* Re sprouting and the germination of herbaceous plants after fire increases structural and biological diversity.

* Abundant fruits, seeds and associated insect populations are important wildlife food resource.


Redtail hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

Coyote

Canis latrans

Black-tailed deer

Odocoilus hemionus columbianus

Pocket gopher

Thomomys bottae

Anna's hummingbird

Calypte anna

Wrentit

Chamaea fasciata

Bushtit

Psaltriparus minimus

Plain titmouse

Parus inornatus

Scrub jay


Raccoon

Procyon lotor

Constraint / Sensitivities:

* Controlled burns are conducted on occasion to reduce fuel load but are hard to control due to the heat with which chaparral species burn. Many of the species survive and are benefited even by a catastrophic fire but the threat of wildfire to lives and property is great.

* Burns change the chemical and physical nature of soil surface. Some fires leave a mineral soil that easily becomes saturated in the next large storm and, with its stabilizing vegetation burned away, will slide downslope. In other cases, fires create a non-wettable layer that repels water and resists infiltration making plant survival more difficult.

* Each control burn must be an individual prescription, preceded by a careful study of the reproductive strategies of all of the species involved. Natural burns occur in the dry season. Controlled burns are often planned to occur over moist soil for safety reasons but may create conditions that cook seeds in soil. The survival of endangered and threatened species must be considered in any prescribed burn.

COMMUNITY Name:SERPENTINE chaparral


Tamalpais manzanita

Arctostaphylos hookeri spp. montana (CNPS List 1B)

Musk brush

Ceanothus jepsonii var. jepsonii

Chamise

Adenostoma fasciculatum

Leather oak

Quercus durata

Associated Species:

Toyon


California bay


Silk tassel bush

Garrya elliptica

Sargent cypress

Hesperocyparis[Cupressus] sargentii

Serpentine reed grass

Calamagrostis ophiditis (CNPS List 4)

California fescue

Festuca californica

Purple needlegrass

Stipa[Nassella] pulchra

Serpentine buckwheat

Eriogonum luteolum var luteolum

Rosin weed

Calycadenia multiglandulosa

Serpentine monardella

Monardella purpurea

Structural Aspects:

Open stand of evergreen shrubs ranging from 1 to 3 feet (30 cm to 1 m) in height with scattered stands of Sargent cypress intermixed. The plants are typically deep-rooted (Holland 1986) to contend with summer drought but also have shallow roots to quickly exploit surface moisture. There are stands of perennial bunchgrass in between the shrubs.


On serpentine soil developed from serpentinite rocks of the Franciscan Formation. Where ordinary soil is rich in calcium and poor in magnesium. Serpentine is just the opposite and contains what would be toxic amounts of magnesium for most plants in the absence of calcium. Calcium protects non-serpentine plants from the toxicity of magnesium. The plants that are capable of surviving on serpentine soils are adapted to the chemical balance of the soil and may enjoy a competitive advantage over non-adapted plants.*


Native to areas with short winter rainy seasons and long, hot dry (late spring, summer and fall) seasons. Precipitation in stands of chaparral in California averages from 15 to 25 inches per year (Ornduff 1974) although this section of Mt. Tam receives 34 to 35 inches of rain per year.


Serpentine rocks are found in isolated outcrops throughout the state where the Franciscan Formation is found.


* Structural diversity increased by included patches of perennial grassland and rock outcrops.

* Several endangered species are dependent on serpentine rock or plant species for habitat (e.g., arachnids known as “blind harvestmen”).


Redtail hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

Coyote

Canis latrans

Black-tailed deer

Odocoileus hemionus

Pocket gopher

Thomomys bottae

Anna's hummingbird

Calypte anna

Wrentit

Chamaea fasciata

Bushtit


Plain Titmouse

Parus inornatus

Scrub jay


Raccoon

Procyon lotor

Constraint / Sensitivities:

* Serpentinite rock contains asbestos fibers and caution should be exercised when any action such as road building will create clouds of serpentine rock dust.

* Many species of plants found on serpentine soil are rare and therefore endangered or threatened because of their initial isolation combined with human impacts.

* Numerous invertebrate species dependent on serpentine habitats are listed as endangered by federal and state governments and would require a survey before construction to prevent a “take” of the species.

· Serpentine species are highly flammable. Controlled burns must be conducted with the same care as with the mixed chaparral community (see Chaparral, above)

*Serpentine and Endemism

· Serpentinite is a soft, slippery green rock that forms when hot mantle peridotite reacts with water at the crest of an oceanic ridge or deep beneath the oceanic trench.

· Serpentine is defined in your Geology and Soils glossary as “a group of common rock-forming secondary minerals derived from the alteration of magnesium-rich silicate minerals (e.g., olivine); found in igneous or metamorphic rocks; characterized by long fibrous crystals. The term, however, is used to refer to minerals, soils, and rocks.

· Minerals may consist of one element (e.g., diamond, sulfur, and copper) or two or more such as quartz and calcite.

· Ions (cations of metals, anions of non-metalic elements) become available to plants as the minerals break down in the weathering of rock to soil and dissolve in the soil moisture.

Elements Required by Plants:

· From Atmosphere or Water

Oxygen

Hydrogen

Carbon

· From Soil Moisture (Macronutrients)

Nitrogen

Potassium Calcium

PhosphorusMagnesiumSulfur

· From Soil Moisture (Micronutrients)

Iron, Chlorine, Copper, Manganese, Zinc, Molybdenum, Boron and for some Cobalt and Sodium.

· Chemical Characteristics of Serpentine Soils 1) Levels of exchangeable magnesium are much higher than any other cation; 2) calcium levels are usually lower than those found on nonserpentine soils; 3) levels of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus are usually lower than those required for normal growth of crop plants; and 4) the heavy metals, chromium and nickel are often in high concentrations, while molybdenum may be in amounts insufficient for normal growth. The overall chemical infertility of California serpentines has been accepted as the controlling factor in plant response to serpentine soils. K.C. believes that it is the Calcium / Magnesium ratio that is the controlling factor because Magnesium is toxic unless adequate amounts of Calcium are present for most plants.

Origin of Endemic Populations· Raven and Axelrod (1977) in Origin of the California Flora “propose that some of the present taxa had a wide occurrence on non-serpentine sites from the Miocene well into the later Pliocene, that they invaded serpentine sites as these became available in the Pliocene, and that they were later confined to serpentine areas as the more widespread ecotypes disappeared as summer rains decreased, and that adaptation to ultrabasic substrates removed them from competition with the adjacent, non-serpentine flora.” With the passage of time and isolation the species became adapted in differing degrees to serpentine soils.

Plants of Mt. Tamalpais that occur on ultrabasic rocks and are also widely distributed:

· Woody plants include chamise, madrone, buckbrush, toyon, oceanspray (Holodiscus discolor), tanbark oak shrub (Notholithocarpus densiflorus var. echinoids), chaparral pea, Douglas fir, coast live oak, valley oak, coffee berry, and California bay. Herbaceous genera occurring both on and off serpentine are brome grass (Bromus),California poppy (Eschscholzia),sky piolet (Gilia), goldfields (Lasthenia), pepper grass (Lepidium), Linanthus, owl’s clover(Orthocarpus),checker-bloom (Sidalcea), squirrel-tail grass (Sitanion), needlegrass (Stipa), and violet (Viola).

Plants of Mt. Tamalpais that are largely, but not wholly, confined to serpentine· Sargent cypress, Mt.Tamalpais manzanita, leather oak and jepson’s ceanothus

Plants of Mt. Tamalpais that are nearly or entirely restricted to serpentine

· Serpentine reed grass and possibly others.

Plants of Mt. Tamalpais that are found on serpentine but degree of restriction unknown:

· Sticky rosinweed (Caylcadeia multiglandulosa, Tiburon buckwheat (Eriogonum luteolum var. caninum ), and serpentine monardella (Monardella purpurea)

PLANT cOMMUNITY NAME:ALDER RIPARIAN FOREST


Red alder

Alnus rubra

Big-leaf maple

Acer macrophyllum

White alder

Alnus rhombifolia

Associated Species:

Arroyo willow

Salix lasiolepis

Elderberry

Sambucus [mexicanus] nigra ssp caerulea

Western sword fern

Polystichum munitum

Lady Fern

Athyrium filix-femina

Hazelnut

Corylus cornuta var. californica

Sedge

Carex sp.

California bay


Elk clover

Aralia californica

Giant chain fern

Woodwardia fimbriata

Structural Aspects:

Mature alders form a tall, winter deciduous forest with a canopy that is dense in areas and open in others. Under dense canopy there is little understory but in open areas sedges, willows, elderberry and ferns are supported. Trees grow in gravel with roots just above the summer water level. Alder roots have nodules that host nitrogen fixing bacteria, allowing alders to be colonizing species capable of growing in newly deposited gravels along stream courses. Riparian corridor is typically narrow.


Usually bottom of an incised stream, often free flowing.


May occur in an area of low summer precipitation but requires a perennial stream course.


Near sea level to 6000 feet. In the stream courses of Marin County there may be a mix of white alder and red alder (Alnus rubra). Red alder is common near the Pacific and up to 3000 feet while white alder is found more inland such as in the riparian systems of the Central Valley and Foothills of the Sierra.


* Wildlife habitat value varies within the community depending on the structural and species diversity.

* Provides foraging and nesting habitat for resident and migratory birds and other wildlife; may provide reproductive habitat.

* Permanent water source for resident wildlife.

* Linear configuration functions as protected movement corridor.


Ensatina


Black salamander


Arboreal salamander

Aneides lugubris

Rough skinned newt

Taricha torosa

Coast Range newt

Taricha granulosa

Western toad

Bufo boreas

Bobcat

Lynx rufous

Gray fox


Shrew-mole

Neurotrichus gibsii

Broad-footed mole

Scapanus latimanus

Pallid bat

Antrozous pallidus

Striped skunk

Mephitis mephitis

Spotted skunk

Spilogale putorius

Long-tailed weasel

Mustela frenata

Turkey vulture

Carthartes aura

Sharp-shinned hawk

Accipiter scriatus

Cooper's hawk

Accipiter cooperii

Red-shouldered hawk

Buteo lineatus

Kestrel

Falco sparverius

Nuttall's woodpecker

Picoides nuttallii

Downy woodpecker

Picoides pubescens

Black phoebe

Sayornis nigricans

Ash-throated flycatcher

Myiachus cinerascens

Bushtit


California Quail


Anna's Hummingbird

Calypte anna

20 other Passerine species

PLANT COMMUNITIES//BAYLANDS (Continued)

PLANT COMMUNITIES//BAYLANDS

Kathy Cuneo September 23, 2014

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* Alder’s symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria allow it to colonize new mineral sand and gravel deposits very early before the development of a true soil. In a nitrogen rich stream resulting from grazing operations alders may not have a competitive advantage. Streams should be fenced with a buffer zone to protect from pollution by manure in the surface runoff, trampling and browsing the vegetation.

* May contain areas meeting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers criteria for “wetlands”. Any fill will require a permit.

* Alteration of the banks or the streambed will require a California Department of Fish and Game Streambed Alteration Agreement including mitigation which may involve some form of stream restoration.

* Wildlife (bird and amphibian) species are most vulnerable to disturbance during the spring and early summer nesting and breeding season.

* May support populations of unique and sensitive species; habitat should be surveyed to prevent inadvertent “take”.

PLANT COMMUNITY Name:Redwood Forest


Coast redwood

Sequoia sempervirens

Tan-oak

Notholithocarpus[Lithocarpus] densiflorus

California bay or laurel


Redwood sorrel

Oxalis oregana

Sword fern

Polystichum munitum


Elk clover

Aralia californica

Coast live oak

Quercus agrifolia

California azalea

Rhododendron occidentale

Coffeeberry


Wild-ginger

Asarum caudatum

Douglas fir

Pseudotsuga menziesii

Madrone

Arbutus menziesii

Big-leaf maple

Acer macrophyllum


Vaccinium ovatum

Structural Aspects:

Redwood forests are moderately dense communities of very tall trees, the tallest forest type in the world, several in Northern California attaining at least 360 feet. These trees also have the greatest standing biomass (amount of plant above the ground) of any other community in California. Because they are so tall and grow so rapidly, they are dependent on adequate soil and atmospheric moisture to enable them to either lift enough moisture to the height of their crowns or absorb the moisture through needles in their crowns.


Redwoods optimally grow where there is 60 inches (180 cm) of annual rainfall plus 12 inches (30 cm) of precipitation from fog drip and an average annual temperature of 65 degrees F (Schoenherr 1992).


Occurring on the sandy, alluvial soils of the valley floor on either side of Redwood Creek and for some distance up the sides of the canyon. Redwood does not occur on serpentine outcrops and soils developed from serpentine (Oberlander 1953). It is the inaccessibility of this grove that was the reason that it was not logged during the late 1800’s during the building and re-building (after the 1906 earthquake and fire) of San Francisco.


Redwood forests occur along the coast of California from southern Oregon to Big Sur in Monterey County and because of dependence on summer fog drip redwood forests seldom occur far from maritime influence. The Russian River valley is an exception because of its east-west orientation fog from the Pacific supports redwoods as far as 23 miles inland. Redwoods occur at elevations of from 200 to 2000 feet.


* Wildlife habitat value varies within the community depending on the structural and species diversity and available sunlight. The tops of redwoods host plant and animal communities that are unknown on the forest floor..

* Provides foraging and nesting habitat for resident and migratory birds and other wildlife.

* Because it is an “old growth” forest, Muir Woods may provide foraging for northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis) and nesting habitat for marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus).

* Salmon spawning occurs in Redwood Creek.

* Because of the low light intensity the Redwood forest does not have a great biological diversity.


Ensatina


Black salamander


Arboreal salamander

Aneides lugubris



Shrew-mole


Pallid bat

Antrozous pallidus

Spotted skunk

Spilogale putorius

Western gray squirrel

Sciurus griseus

Gray fox


Black-tailed deer


Raccoon

Procyon lotor

Cooper's hawk

Accipiter cooperii

Sharp shinned hawk

Accipiter striatus

California quail


Mourning dove

Zenaida macroura

Great horned owl

Bubo virginianus

Steller jay

Cyanocitta stelleri


* Coast redwood is shallow-rooted and roots extend for great distances: it is sensitive to soil compaction around roots so and any traffic due to footpaths, roads or construction should take this into account.

* Redwood stands are also vulnerable to strong winds. When forestry practices leave trees suddenly exposed the change in wind strength at the site of the trees may cause “blow down”.

* Coast redwood is fire resistant but if fire is suppressed for too many years damage will occur during the resulting catastrophic wildfire.

What Are plant Communities?

A Plant Community has been defined as “a regional assemblage of interacting plant species recognized by the presence of one or more dominant species”(Ornduff et al., 2003). To say that the plants interact or are dependent upon each other may be misleading.

When a plant germinates it has a genetic complement that determines its range of tolerance for features of its environment such as temperature, chemistry of water and soil and the amount of available sunlight. If a plant seed germinates in an environment where its tolerances are not exceeded, it survives and if there are other plants of its species nearby, this population of plants may reproduce. Other species of plants with similar ranges of tolerance may germinate, survive and reproduce in the same geographic area.

For example, imagine that population #1 is California bay, population #2 is Pacific madrone and the third population is coast redwood. Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is a tree of great height and biomass and our imaginations would not allow us to call the assemblage that it is found in anything except a “Redwood Community” or “Redwood Forest”.

Bay is common in California and southern Oregon and madrone is widespread from Baja to British Columbia. Both species have wide ranges of tolerance. In contrast, Coast redwood is a relic1 species occurring only along the north coast of California and southern Oregon, usually within 30 miles of the Pacific Ocean. Because this species has a narrow range of tolerance to drying, it is dependent on fog from the Pacific Ocean. While these species may affect one another such as by shading or competition for water, bay and madrone are more or less “fellow travelers” in the Redwood Community. Because the redwood has such a narrow range of tolerance for soil and atmospheric moisture we find that the term “Redwood Forest” conveniently describes a specific set of environmental and soil conditions, as well as a characteristic complex of plant species, in a very specific geographic and topographic region of California. This is only one of more than a dozen plant communities that have been identified and mapped for Marin County.

_______________________________

1 “Relic” refers to the fact that Coast redwood, once widespread in distribution, has gradually retreated to its present range through long-term climate change.

REFERENCES:

The following references were used to compile the community sheets for “Introduction to Marin’s Plant Communities” a class session given October 2, 2003 and coordinated by Katherine Cuneo and Nona Dennis.

Baldwin, B.G., D.H. Goldman, D.J. Keil, R. Patterson, T.J. Rosatti, and D.H. Wilken, Eds. 2012. The Jepson Manual: Vascular plants of California, 2nd Ed. University of California Press, Berkeley.

Barbour, M.G. and J. Major, Eds. 1977. Terrestrial vegetation of California. John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY.

CalVEG see Regional Ecology Group

Cheatham, N.H. and J.R. Haller. (unpub. 1975). “An Annotated List of California Habitat Types”. University of California Natural Land and Water Reserves System, Berkeley, CA.

CNDDB see Holland

Dunn, J.L. and Erik A.T. Blom, Chief Consultants. Field guide to the birds of North America, 2nd Ed. National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.

ESA. 1994. “Alameda Watershed; Natural and Cultural Resources”. Prepared for EDAW under contract to the San Francisco Water Department. Environmental Science Associates, San Francisco, CA

ESA. 1994. “Peninsula Watershed; Natural and Cultural Resources”. Prepared for EDAW under contract to the San Francisco Water Department. Environmental Science Associates, San Francisco, CA

Faber, P.M. and R.F. Holland. 1988. Common riparian plants of California. Pickleweed Press, Mill Valley, CA.

Griffin, J.R. 1973. “Xylem sap tension in three woodland lakes of central California”. Ecology 54:152-159.

Griffin, J.R. and W.B. Critchfield. 1972. The Distribution of forest trees of California. USDA Forest Serv. Res. Paper PSW-82. 114p.

Hanes, T.L. 1977. “Chapter 12: California Chaparral” in M.G. Barber and J. Major (eds.) Terrestrial vegetation of California. John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY>

Hickman, J.C., Ed. The Jepson manual: higher plants of California. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

Holland, R.F. 1986. Preliminary descriptions of the terrestrial natural communities of California. California Department of Fish and Game, Nongame-Heritage Program, Sacramento, CA.

Howell, J. T. 1970. Marin flora: Manual of the flowering plants and ferns of Marin County, California, 2nd Ed. with supplement . University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

Howell, J.T., Frank Almeda, Wilma Follette, and Catherine Best. 2007. Marin flora: Manual of the flowering plants and ferns of Marin County, California/ California Academy of Sciences and California Native Plant Society (Marin Chapter), San Francisco, CA.

Ingles, L.G. 1965. Mammals of the Pacific states: California, Oregon, and Washington. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.

Kozloff, E.N. and L.H. Beidleman. 1994. Plants of the San Francisco Bay Region, Mendocino to Monterey. Sagen Press, Pacific Grove, CA.

Kruckeberg, A.R. 1984. California serpentines: flora, vegetation, geology, soils and management problems. University of California Publications in Botany, Vol 78. University of California Press, Berkeley , CA

Marianchild, Kate. 2014. Secrets of the oak woodlands: plants & animals among California’s oaks. Heyday Press, Berkeley, CA.

Mayer, K.E. and W.F. Laudenslayer, Jr. (eds.). 1988. A Guide to wildlife habitats of California. USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, California Department of Fish and Game, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and USDA Forest Service, Region 5.

McBride, J. 1974. “Plant succession in the Berkeley Hills, California” Madrono 22:317-329.

McBride, J. and H.F. Heady. 1968. “Invasion of grassland by Baccharis pilularis D.C. J. Range Manage. 21:106-108.

Munz, P.A. and D. Keck. 1970. A California flora [and supplement]. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

Oberlander, G.T. 1953. The taxonomy and ecology of the flora of the San Francisco Watershed Reserve. Ph.D. Dissertation, Stanford University, Stanford, California.

Ornduff, R., 1974 [revised by P.M. Faber, and T. Keeler-Wolf. 2003]. Introduction to California plant life. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

Pavlik, B.M., P.C. Muick, S. Johnson, and M. Popper. 1991. Oaks of California. Cachuma Press, Los Olivos, CA.

Parker, V.T. 1990. “The Vegetation of the Mt. Tamalpais Watershed of the Marin Municipal Water District and those on the Adjacent Lands of the Marin County Open Space District”. In Leonard Charles & Associates and Wildland Resource Management. Vegetation and fire management baseline studies : The Marin Municipal Water District and the Marin County Open Space District (Northridge Lands), Marin County, California.

Regional Ecology Group. 1981. CALVEG: a classification of Californian vegetation. U.S. Forest Service, San Francisco, CA.

Sawyer, J.O. and T. Keeler-Wolf. A manual of California vegetation. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, CA.

Schoenherr, A.A. A natural history of California, California Natural History Guides: 56. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

Shuford, W.D. and I.C. Timossi. 1989. Plant communities of Marin County. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, CA.

Skinner, M.W. and B.M. Pavlik, Eds. 1994. California Native Plant Society’s Inventory of rare and endangered vascular plants of California. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, CA

Stebbins, R.C. 1966. A field guide to Western reptiles and amphibians. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MT.

www.calflora.org/

www.cnps.org

www.environmentalforumofmarin.shutterfly.com/

www.suddenoakdeath.org


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A_NatC1.xls Class … · Web viewHeavily grazed perennial grasslands were invaded by introduced, exotic annual grasses and forbs from Mediterranean Europe. As the tops of the perennial