California Plant Communities: based on lecture materials for Integrative Biology 102, California Plant Life, Spring 1994, Professor Rudi Schmid, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California at Berkeley. Copyright © 1994 Rudi Schmid Printing Tip: Before printing, choose Page Setup from the File menu and set Scaling to 80% (you may have to adjust the scaling depending on your configuration). Table and HTML pages prepared by Matt Jalbert. All errors or misinterpretations of the lectures are solely my responsibility. Thanks Don Bain, director of the U.C. Berkeley Geography Computing Facility, and the University of California at Berkeley Department of Geography for making this web server space available, and to Rudi Schmid for allowing me to make this table available to the Internet community.
| Abbreviations: | |
|
FF = frost-free
gen = generally grow szn = growing season m = meters mos = months NoCal = Northern California |
PPT = precipitation
s = south SoCal = Southern California sum max = summer maxima wint min = winter minima |
| Community Name/ Vegetation Type | Distribution/ Elevation | Precipitation/Temperature Wind/Climate Growing Season/Frost Free Day | Edaphic Properties | Important Influences and Adaptions | Diversity | Cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intertidal/ Subtidal (IS) (marine) | coastal marine NoCal, SoCal, Baja; high tide to 260m deep | maritime; when exposed, climate is as CB&D | splash zone = rocks; also, sandy beach | wave action (surfweed = violent zone vs. marine meadow = calm zone) | ||
| Coastal Beach &Dune (CB&D) (strand) | sandy coast NoCal, SoCal, Baja; 0-10' | maritime; rarely freezes; PPT 10" in SoCal, to 40" in NoCal; little daily temp flux; sum max 61-72oF; wint min 39-47oF; sand ± 150o F in summer; grow szn 12 mos, 350-365 FF days; much fog, wind, salt | soils mostly sand, some large particles; fast draining; salty; slightly alkaline; high oxygen content; unstable, shifting; wind causes sand-blasting and shifting | perennial, prostrate, succulent and fleshy; many plants have rhizomes and deep roots for anchorage | mainly herbs, few shrubs, no trees; iceplant has taken over | native cover: 20%. iceplant cover: 100% |
| Coastal Salt Marsh (CSM) (salt marsh) | coastal NoCal, SoCal, Baja; bays, estuaries, protected areas; 0-10' | maritime, much as CB&D; PPT 15-40"; T as CB&D; grow szn 12 mos.; 330-365 FF days; much fog, wind, salt | like CB&D in having much salt; ph is slightly alkaline. Unlike CB&D, soil is clayey (fine); nutrient-rich, with much organic matter; permanently wet; little temp flux; low oxygen levels; anaerobic bacterial levels high, thus stinky. Stable relative to CB&D. | main adaptations are to salt and wind; most plants are halophytes: i.e., they excrete salt, store salt, have aerenchymae, succulence, reduced leaf size; rhizomes, wind pollination | low species diversity, with only a few aliens | nearly 100% cover |
| Northern Coastal Prairie (NCP) (grassland) | coastal NoCal, from Monterey Bay to SW Oregon; near sea level to 3000 (5000)' | maritime, as CB&D except for wind and salt; PPT 25-40"; sum max 80-94oF; wint min 31-38oF; grow szn 6-9 mos; 180-265 FF days; fog and strong winds may be present | soils not very saline; slightly acid; deep and rich; clayey--high water capacity; very stable.; high nutrient content; good agricultural soils | fire adapted; not many adaptations to climate; this is a climax community; fire suppression and grazing are bad influences | high species diversity | 100% cover |
| Coastal Scrub (CS) (scrub) | coastal NoCal, SoCal, Baja; mostly <500'. NoCal, >3000' | maritime; divided into Northern Coastal Scrub, Southern Coastal Scrub, and Maritime Desert Scrub. | soils rocky, nutrient poor, somewhat unstable | succulence in SoCal, reduced leaf size, increased leaf hardness, spinyness of stems, deciduousness: adapted to water stress | species-rich | higher cover in NoCal than SoCal; up to 100%, often less. |
| Northern Coastal Scrub | NoCal, from San Luis Obispo Co. n. to SW Oregon; mostly <500'; sandwiched between CP and CCCF | PPT 25-75"; sum max 63-75oF; wint min 35-40oF; grow szn 10-12 mos; 300-350 FF days; much wind, summer fog; long winter rain | see CS | see CS | species-rich | up to 100%, often less |
| Southern Coastal Scrub | SoCal, s. of above to San Diego Co.; <3000'; adjacent to ocean, CHAP, and Valley Grassland | PPT 10-20"; sum max 68-90oF; wint min 37-48oF; grow szn 8-12 mos; 230-350 FF days | see CS | see CS; also, succulence | species-rich | less dense than in north |
| Maritime Desert Scrub | SoCal, Baja, mostly s. of above, from San Diego Co. s. to s. of El Rosario (200 miles into Baja); also on San Clemente and Santa Catalina Islands | arid, desert-like | see CS | dominated by spiny and succulent plants | ||
| Closed-Cone Coniferous Forest (CCCF) (coniferous forest) | coastal NoCal, spotty from Mendocino to Baja; near sea level to 1200' | maritime; PPT 20-60"; sum max 68-84oF; wint min 33-40oF; grow szn 9-12 mos; 270-360 FF days; much fog, fog drip, wind in NoCal. | soils variable ; tend toward poor, sandy, granitic to volcanic, serpentine | fire adapted for reproduction; wind important in wind-shaping of trees; affected by logging, fire suppression, gravel mining, urbanizaton | dominated by conifers; very narrow endemics | dense, with grasses or shrubs |
| Coastal Closed-Cone Coniferous Forest (CCCCF) and Pygmy Forest (PF) (coniferous forest) | insular or on mailand, close to coast, NoCal, SoCal, Baja; low elevations; Pygmy Forest in Mendocino County only | see CCCF | soils poor, often sandy, porous, granitic; in PF, soils are highly degraded, heavily leached of minerals and nutrients, sterile, extremeley acidic, and shallow; a harpan exists; heavy metal toxicity | soil waterlogged in winter and dried out in summer | in Pygmy Forest, diversity is low; mostly endemic | very open |
| Inland Closed-Cone Coniferous Forest (ICCCF) (coniferous forest) | away from immediate coast, NoCal, SoCal, Baja; higher elevations, on poor, often volcanic or serpentine soils | see CCCF | soils poor, often volcanic or serpentine | see CCCF | see CCCF | see CCCF |
| Chaparral (CHAP) (scrub, specifically chaparral) (compare to Coastal Scrub> | esp. inland NoCal, SoCal, Baja; near sea level up; spotty; on hot, steep, dry sites | lowland: maritime or continental; PPT 14-25"; sum max 82-94oF; wint min 29-45oF; grow szn 8-12 mos; 250-360 FF days; hot dry summers, cool winters | soils poor, rocky, low fertility; ground litter can be much; soils are hydrophobic (water resistant); there may also be toxic chemicals leached from the plants (allelopathy) | heat and fire adapted; have a lignotuber/burl; root nodules and mycorrhizae; leaf adaptations are like those found in desert plants (leaves sclerophyllous: thick cuticle, sunken stomata, smallish, hard); branches stiff, dense, often U-shaped | many species, almost all shrubs in old chaparral; many herbs in burnt chaparral | nearly 100% cover in old chaparral; very open in burnt chaparral |
| Lowland Chaparral (LC) | esp. inland NoCal, SoCal, Baja; near sea level to 6000' | see CHAP | see CHAP | see CHAP | see CHAP | see CHAP |
| Montane Chaparral (MC) | inland NoCal, SoCal, Baja, very scattered; above 6000' | see Montane Forest and Subalpine Forest | see CHAP | see CHAP | see CHAP | see CHAP |
| Oak Woodland (OW) (woodland, savanna) | inland NoCal, SoCal, Baja, insular SoCal, Baja; 100-5000', the higher in SoCal and Baja | maritime or esp. continental; grow szn 6-10 mos; 175-350 FF days | soils better than chaparral; thinner and water is closer to the surface than in Valley Grassland | oak is being lost to people cutting it for firewood; they are not regenerating because predation has been reduced by humans on foraging populations: squirrel/etc. populations exploded, eating all the acorns | many species, mainly herbs, esp grasses, some shrubs, scattered trees | <30% for trees, nearly 100% for herbs, esp grasses |
| Northern Oak Woodland (NOW) (woodland, savanna) | NoCal, north of San Francisco Bay; 3000-5000'; oft adjacent to CHAP | not as extreme as CHAP; summers fairly hot; PPT 25-40"; sum max 80-94oF; wint min 31-38oF; grow szn 6-9 mos; 180-265 FF days | see OW | see OW | see OW | see OW |
| Foothill Woodland (FW) (woodland, savanna) | NoCal and n. SoCal, Trinity Co. to N. Los Angeles Co., e. slopes Outer Coast Ranges e., W. foothills Sierra Nevada, n. Transverse Ranges; 400-3500(5000)' | PPT 15-40"; sum max 75-96oF; wint min 29-42oF; grow szn 6-10 mos; 175-310 FF days; little or no fog; hot dry summers | see OW | see OW | see OW | understory consists of species of AG and occasionally CHAP |
| Southern Oak Woodland (SOW) (woodland, savanna) | SoCal, Baja (insular), San Gabriel Mtns. s.; to 5000' | PPT 15-25", oft torrential with rapid runoff; sum max 84-92oF; wint min 32-44oF; grow szn 7-10 mos; 200-350 FF days | see OW | see OW | see OW | see OW |
| Island Oak Woodland (IOW) (scrub, specifically chaparral) | Insular SoCal, Baja; esp. inland NoCal, SoCal, Baja; near sea level up | see Southern Coastal Scrub | see OW | see OW | see OW | see OW |
| Northern Coastal Coniferous Forest (NCCFss) | outer North Coast Ranges from Mendocino Co. northward, with spotty distribution as far south as Sonoma Co; near sea level to 1000' | PPT 40-110" with frequent dense fogs; fog drip important; temps mild and equable; sum max 62-70oF; wint min 38-42oF; grow szn 8-12 mos; 225-360 FF days | soils deep and rich | fog drip important as water source and nutrient source through leaching of the forest canopy | dominated by conifers | forest, canopy, and understory can be dense |
| Redwood Forest (RF) | seaward slopes of outer Coast Ranges, from Del Norte Co. and adjacent, extreme SW Oregon to S. Cruz County, with outliers along the coast in S. Lucia Mtns; | 10-2000', even to 3000' in S. Lucia Mtns PPT 35-100", with dense dripping fogs in the dry season; temps changing little diurnally and seasonally; sum max 68-84oF; wint min 33-40oF; grow szn 6-12 mos; 200-350 FF days | soils best developed on alluvial flats (floodplains) of silt |
biological: long-lived; resistant to pests & pathogens; contains tannins; heavy shade and litter cover; shallow roots; stump sprouting; produce many seeds
environmental: fog drip; fire resistant via thick bark; flood adapted via new roots into silt seedlings: need nearly constant temp of 65oF; high moisture; high light; clear germination surface limitations: strong wind, dry or hot sites, ocean wind (salt) other: adapted to periodic fire and flood; affected by clearcutting and fire suppression |
low | little understory |
| Northern Mixed Evergreen Forest (NMEF), including Douglas Fir Forest (DFF) | along eastern edge of RF and on higher hills within it, mostly in the NoCoast Ranges, to as far So as S. Cruz Mtns and the north side of S. Lucia Mtns; 200-2500' DFF: NoCoast Ranges from Mendocino Co. northward, spotty southward to Sonoma and Marin Cos; mostly east of RF; sea level to 4500' | (including DFF): PPT 25-65" with some fog; sum max 75-95oF; wint min 29-39oF; grow szn 7-11 mos., 200-300 FF days | high; few herbs | dense to open | ||
| Southern Mixed Evergreen Forest (SMEF) | in SoCal in moist canyons; 1500-5500'; about 6100' on Mt. Palomar | high | ||||
| Annual Grassland (AG) (grassland) Compare to North Coastal Prairie (NCP) | esp. inland NoCal, SoCal, and extreme n. Baja, lining the Central Valley, inner valleys of Coast Ranges, Transverse Ranges, occ. along cental and s. CA coast, and extreme n. Baja; gen low elevations, but to 4000-6000' in SoCal; ecotonal to OW and FM | PPT 6-20", as late fall to spring rain; sum max 88-106oF; wint min 25-38oF; grow szn 7-11 mos; 205-325 FF days; hot dry summers | soils rich for agriculture: deep, rich in organic matter, well-drained; soils are derived from oceanic sediments and alluvium from the Sierra Nevada | heavily invaded by alien spp. due to overgrazing, drought, introduction of exotics, and cultivation | very high: many CA endemics, mostly non-grasses: ann dicots (forbs & herb s) and per forbs or geophytes | very dense, nearly 100% |
| Perennial Grassland--Desert Grassland (DG) (grassland) | small patches of native perennial grassland in foothills of desert mountains, gen as understory in woodlands, spotty northward in transmontaine CA (Great Basin) | as for various desert plant communities | many species, esp. native per herbs, including (in the south) cacti and stem and leaf succulents | more open than Annual Grassland | ||
| Perennial Grassland--Remnant Non-desert Grassland (RG) (grassland) | see AG; remnants that have escaped heavy grazing | see AG | see AG | see AG | see AG | see AG |
| Artificial Grassland | pastures, lawns, golf courses | land cleared of native grassland by burning or plowing | artificially reseeded with annual grasses | |||
| Vernal Pool (VP) (vernal pool) | NoCal, SoCal, Baja, esp. in grassland and foothill communities of the Central Valley, but also Montane Forest, mesas of SoCal and n. Baja, and even in man-made ditches and shallow reservoirs | see AG | soils are 600,000 years old, forming hardpan; the hardpan can be clay, iron, and silica; | edaphic factors are the most important; vernal pools 66-99% extinct | >70% native annuals; <7% exotic; over 100 spp., all herbs; little diversity within a pool, much diversity between pools | 15%-30% to 100% |
| Bristlecone Pine Forest (BC) | White Mountains of eastern CA and western Nevada; 9500-11,500'; also, UT, CO, NM, AZ | PPT 12"-13"; "alpine desert" | quartzitic sandstone and granitic bedrock; outcrops of dolomite (calcareous, nutrient-poor, alkaline) | mostly restricted to dolomitic soils; long needle life; slab growth; drought and cold hardiness; disease and decay resistant; unaffected by fire | less than 7% because of dolo. soils | |
| Riparian Woodland (RW) (woodland) | NoCal, SoCal, and Baja, wherever streams are present; broader at lower elevs, narrower at higher elevs | as for the associated plant communities | soils waterlogged; water table close to surface; many trees have their roots into the water table; coarse sediments; nutrient rich | trees are short-lived; catkin groups well-represented (wind pollinated); high deciduousness frequency (an ancestral trait); tolerant of seasonal flooding; RW is cleared for agriculture; affected by excess nirtrogen from manure, urban and agricultural runoff, invasion by alien Tamarisk, and flood control measures | species-rich: herbs, shrubs, trees | mostly open |
| Valley and Montane Riparian Woodland (VMRW) | as for RW, but esp. at progressively higher elevations n SoCal and Baja because of Desert Riparian Woodland | as for the associated plant communities | many species: herbs, shrubs, trees | variable: sometimes dense (gen in Central Valley), but gen sparser | ||
| Freshwater Marsh (FM) (freshwater marsh) | throughout NoCal, SoCal, and Baja | as for the associated plant communities | soils much like CSM, but not salty; nutrient-rich | plants in water all the time; aerynchyma present; much has been converted to agriculture; much has been poisoned by selenioum, salts, pesticides, fertilizers; rice farming makes artificial FMs | not high; comparable to CSM | very high |
| Lakes and Ponds (L&P) | ecotonal to FM or RW | |||||
| Bogs (B) | gen in elevated montane areas | soils waterlogged, soggy, acid, low nutrient level | many species are carnivorous | |||
| Meadow (M) | montane to valley grassland | soils less waterlogged than bogs | in alpine areas, due to glaciation and natural damming | |||
| Aspen Woodland (AW) | dominated by Populus tremuloides | |||||
| Lower Montane Coniferous Forest (LMCF) (coniferous forest) | throughout NoCal, SoCal, Baja; 1200' or 2000' to 5500' in NoCal, or to 5000-8000' in SoCal; ecotonal at bottom to NCCF in Coast Ranges and to OW in the Sierras; at top to UMCF | PPT 25-80", partly as snow; sum max 80-93oF; wint min 22-34oF; grow szn 4-7 mos.; 90-210 FF days; hot dry summers, somewhat cold winters | soils not too good, not too bad | all spp. are fire adapted; open ground fires are good; fire suppression has allowed Abies concolor and Caleocedrus decurrens to dominate; pollution/ozone mottle very bad for Pinus ponderosa and P. jeffreyii; shade intolerant; fires necessary | many species, woody and herbaceous | dense unless fire is frequent |
| Upper Montane Coniferous Forest (UMCF) (coniferous forest) | esp. NoCal, less so in SoCal and Baja; 5500-7500' in NoCal, to 8000-8500' in SoCal | PPT 35-65", mostly as snow; sum max 73-85oF; wint min 16-26oF; grow szn 3-4.5 mos.; 40-70 FF days | soils not too good, not too bad | trees are columnar, to survive snow and resist decay and mildew; shade tolerant; fire not necessary | many woody, rather few herbacious | tree cover dense though substory, ground cover scant |
| Subalpine Coniferous Forest (SCF) (coniferous forest) | NoCal and SoCal; 5500-9500' in NoCal, 8000-11,500' in SoCal | PPT 30-60" (to 15" in transmontane CA), mostly as snow; sum max 65-75oF; wint min 10-18oF or less; grow szn 7-14 weeks; 240 FF days | soils shallow and rocky | "krummholz" (bent wood): low growing; trees and needles are long lived | very high, esp in meadows | open |
| Alpine Fellfield (AF) (alpine) | on shallow rocky soils above timberline (excluding Krummholz); mainly eastern NoCal, barely in SoCal; >8000' in Klamath Mtns., >9500' in Cascades, >10,500' to 11,000' in Sierras, >11,500 in White Mtns., >10,500' in SoCal on San Jacinto and >11,400' on San Gorgonio | PPT 25-35", mostly as snow; sum max 55-60oF; wint min unknown; deep snow drifts; grow szn 4-7 weeks, killing frost nightly | soils rocky, nutrient-poor, except for areas of sedimentation | plants low (prostrate), oft in cusion form; most biomass below ground (4/5's below); perennial (not annual) because of short growing season; much asexual/vegetative reproduction; 80% self-pollinated; buds form 2-3 years before blooming; send shoots thru snow; long lived, 20-50 yrs; desert-like/high sunlight causes silver-gray leaves, succulence; overgrazing causes much erosion | very very high, per herbs and dwarf woody plants, but no trees | low |
| Pine-Juniper Woodland (PJW) | Northern element north of L. Tahoe; moderate/high elevs; | northern: wetter, PPT 10-30", mostly snow, shorter grow szn; southern: PPT 10-20" | soils poor | desert adaptations: silver-gray | moderate; northern: to 60' high; southern: to 30' high | |
| Sagebrush (SAGE) (scrub) | down to 4000'; ecotonal to PJW in north, to desert types in south | continental; PPT 8-15", as snow in north | soils deep and impermeous | many chenopods and compositae (Asteraceae) shrubs | shrubs 2-7' high | |
| Joshua Tree Woodland (JTW) (desert woodland) | Mojave Desert, north to Owens Valley, west to Antelope Valley, east to s. NV, w. AZ, extreme sw. UT; 3460-5000', to 7500' in S. Bernardino Mtns. | PPT 6-15", with summer showers; sum max 95-100oF; wint min 22-32oF; grow szn limited by water, not temp; 200-250 FF days; very high insolation | high | |||
| Creosote Bush Scrub (CBS) (desert scrub) | non-alkaline soils from -270-4600' in extreme southern NoCal and in SoCal and Baja: very widespread | PPT 2-8", some as summer showers; sum max 100-110oF; wint min 30-42oF; seasonal/diurnal temps highly variable; 180-345 FF days; very high insolation | occurs on non-alkaline slopes | many, not trees but many shrubs; in wet years, many annual herbs | woody cover is open; very open in poorer sites | |
| Saltbrush Scrub (SALT) (desert scrub, esp salt-desert scrub) | NoCal and SoCal, s. San Joaquin V., esp Kern Cnty; -260-8040' | PPT 3-7"; temps as in JTW; grow szn limited by water; 150-250 FF days; very high insolation | soils drier, heavy, alkaline, mostly with a shallow hardpan | few species, all herbs and esp shrubs, no trees | woody cover is open | |
| Shadscale Scrub Subcommunity (SHAD) | commonly and widely distributed throughout many communities, in nearly pure stands in the Owens Valley and Mojave Desert; 1475'-8040' | |||||
| Desert-holly Scrub Subcommunity (DHSS) | sporadically but widely distributed from Inyo Co. (Death Valley) to Imperial Co.; -260-4400' | |||||
| Alkali Sink Scrub (ASS) (desert scrub, esp salt-desert scrub) | SoCal about dry lakes and on moist alkaline flats and playas (alkaline sinks/areas of internal drainage); -282-6760'; in NoCal, SoCal, Baja | PPT 1.5-7"; sum max 106-116oF; wint min 28-37oF; seasonal/diurnal temps highly variable; 200-335 FF days; very high insolation | low | very low, to 0% on salt flats | ||