California coastal sage and chaparral

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California coastal sage and chaparral
Mediterranean (Csa)
Conservation
Conservation statusCritical/Endangered[2]
Global 200Yes
Habitat loss18.5%[1]
Protected17.8%[1]

The California coastal sage and chaparral (

World Wildlife Fund, located in southwestern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico). It is part of the larger California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion. The ecoregion corresponds to the USDA Southern California ecoregion section 261B,[2] and to the EPA Southern California/Northern Baja Coast ecoregion 8.[3]

Geography

The California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion covers about 12,730 square miles (32,970 km2) of coastal terraces, plains, and foothills between

Channel Islands, Guadalupe Island, and Cedros Island.[citation needed
]

Major urban centers located within this ecoregion include

Tecate
.

Climate

The climate is Mediterranean, with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers.[2] Almost all of the daily maximum temperatures lie between 16 and 27 °C (61 and 81 °F).[4] Mean annual precipitation is generally below 12 inches (300 mm),[4] although can be as high as 26 inches (660 mm) in the Santa Monica Mountains and hills around the Los Angeles Basin.[3]

Flora

The plant species of the California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion are diverse, with high

chamise chaparral, southern oak woodland, pine forests, riparian woodland, and salt marshes.[5][4]

Coast

Sea dahlia growing on steep coastal slopes near Ensenada, Baja California

Prominent coast adjacent species include:

Mimulus aurantiacus), and California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum).[5]
: 328–333 

Cacti and succulents can be found in the southern areas of this coastal ecoregion in Baja California.

golden cereus (Bergerocactus emoryi), and other prickly pear (Opuntia), Yucca and Dudleya species.[2]

Some of the endemic plants to the ecoregion's southern coast zone include: San Diego thornmint (Acanthomintha ilicifolia), San Diego ambrosia (Ambrosia pumila) and San Diego barrel cactus (Ferocactus viridescens).[citation needed]

Slopes

Higher up from the shoreline the slopes are densely covered in chaparral shrubs, such as: chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum), and California lilac (Ceanothus spp.) and manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa, Arctostaphylos glauca, and Arctostaphylos patula) .[2][5]: 344–350  Chaparral yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei) is commonplace throughout the climate zone.[citation needed] Other species include mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides), silk-tassel bush (Garrya fremontii), and ribbonwood (Adenostoma sparsifolium)[5]: 350–353 

Trees

Coastal scrub and torrey pines in the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, San Diego

Still higher are mountain

Pinus coulteri), Bigcone Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga macrocarpa), and incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens).[4]

Some endemic tree species mark niche

alkaline soils eroded from gabbro.[5]
: 399 

Los Angeles basin and San Fernando Valley
.

Southern California black walnut (Juglans californica) remnant populations are on some north faces of the Santa Monica Mountains, Santa Susana Mountains, and the San Jose Hills.

Channel Islands

The

Bishop pine
also occurs on these islands.

Other habitats

In and around these different habitats this diverse ecoregion also contains 'patches' of stream-riverside riparian zone oak-sycamore woodlands, native and introduced species grasslands, and serpentine barrens.

Seasonal

wetlands, such as vernal pools, form ecological islands. There are more than 30 wildflower species that are endemic to the pools in this ecoregion, including Orcuttia californica grass.[6] One subspecies of meadow-foam, Limnanthes alba ssp. parishii is only found in the ephemeral wetlands of the Laguna Mountains (and also 800 mi or 1,300 km away in the Klamath Mountains).[5]
: 395–396 

Wildfires are part of the natural fire ecology throughout the ecoregion. Habitats of this hot, dry coast must survive and revive following the regular forest fires, and the dominant plant species have adapted to recover from fires.[4]

Fauna

A bobcat roaming the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains
See also: Wildlife of the Channel Islands of California

The coastal sage and chaparral of California are home to a variety of herbivores, such as

Dipodomys stephensi), and Merriam's kangaroo rat
.

Reptiles of note include

rosy boa, red-diamond rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber), and western patch-nosed snake (Salvadora hexalepis
).

Invertebrates of note include the cheese-weed moth lacewing (Chrysoperla species). The Hermes copper and Quino checkerspot butterflies among the 200 butterfly species found here.

Vernal pools in the ecoregion are home to Riverside fairy shrimp (Streptocephalus woottoni).

Birds

The

Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus
).

Important Bird Areas in Mexico include

Isla Cedros, and parts of Sierra de Juárez and Sierra de San Pedro Mártir
.

Threats and preservation

Restored patch of coastal scrub at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

This attractive coastline is highly vulnerable to urban, recreational, and agricultural development and only 15% of original habitat is intact.[7] Habitats are vulnerable to livestock grazing, which has removed much native vegetation on the Channel Islands, such as Santa Cruz where sheep were grazed for over 100 years.

Another threat, ironically, is fire control, which only allows the amount of dry material in the forest to build up, resulting eventually in massive fires. However, in many chaparral regions such as the Santa Monica Mountains, increased fire frequency is the larger concern because fire return intervals in mature chaparral communities should be 30–150 years, unlike much of the region which often has return intervals of 20 years or less.[8][9]

There are patches of coastal sage scrub in

Irvine Ranch in Orange County, California
. Additional patches of coastal sage scrub exist in Southern California in the Angeles National Forest.

Protected areas

A 2017 assessment found that 1,925 km2, or 6%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas.

Torrey Pines State Reserve
.

In Baja California, the chaparral ecology of Guadalupe Island, Isla Todos Santos, and the Coronado Islands are protected within the Baja California Pacific Islands Marine Conservation Area.[11]

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ a b c d "The Atlas of Global Conservation". maps.tnc.org. Archived from the original on 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "California coastal sage and chaparral (NA1201)". World Wildlife Fund. Archived from the original on 2011-10-03.
  3. ^ a b "Ecoregions of California" (PDF). USGS. 2016. USGS Open-File Report 2016-1021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "California Coastal Sage and Chaparral". One Earth. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0-520-06921-3
    .
  6. ^ "California Orcutt grass (Orcuttia californica)". US Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  7. ^ Castellanos, A. V.; Mendoza, S. R. (1991). "Aspectos Socioeconómicos". In Ortega, A.; Arriaga, L. (eds.). La Reserva de la Biosfera "El Vizcaíno" en la Peninsula de Baja California. México (in Spanish). Vol. 4. Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas de Baja California Sur. pp. 35–52.
  8. ^ "Wildfire in the Chaparral". California Chaparral Institute. Archived from the original on 2016-07-31. Retrieved 2016-07-30.
  9. ^ "Mean Fire Return Interval". Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-07-30.
  10. PMID 28608869
    .
  11. ^ "Conservación de islas | Prevenir extinciones y proteger a las especies y hábitat insulares". www.islas.org.mx. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
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