Vegetation Studies on California
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.fi NASA Technical Memorandum 100985 Vegetation Studies On Vandenberg Air Force Base, California AUG 2 5 1985 March 1988 U~GLEYRESEAijCH CENTER LlbHAftY hk54 HAMPTON, VlHGltilA NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration h NASA Technical Memorandum 100985 Vandenberg Air Force Base, Paul A. Schmalzer, Ph.D., Diana E. Hickson, and C. Ross Hinkle, Ph.D. The Bionetics Corporation, John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida March 1988 National Aeronautics and Space Administration John F. Kennedy Space Center TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE Table of Contents ...............................................................................................................i ... Abstract ..............................................................................................................................III List of Tables ...........; .......................................................................................................... v List of Figures................................................................................................................. xvi ... Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................WIII Product Disclaimer........................................................................................................ xix THE STUDY AREA ...........................................................................................................3 Climate .........................................................................................................................3 Geology....................................................................................................................... -4 Soils ............................................................................................................................14 Hydrology................................................................................................................. -25 PREVIOUS STUDIES OF VEGETATION AND FLORA........................................... 31 Ecological Surveys.................................................................................................. 32 Sensitive Plant Commun~t~es................................................................................. 34 Special Interest Plants............................................................................................ 36 Environmental Impact Statements/Environmental Assessments ....................37 Other Studies.......................................................................................................... 42 Ongoing Studies...................................................................................................... 43 Important Regional Studies ....................................................................................43 Comments................................................................................................................. 44 METHODS....................................................................................................................... 45 Bibliography. of ...Vegetation and Related Topics Relevant to Vandenberg ....45 Prelim~naryFlonst~c Llst .......................................................................................... 46 Special Interest Plants............................................................................................ 47 Serpentine Flora...................................................................................................... 47 Current Vegetation Study ..................................................................................... 48 RESULTS........................................................................................................................ 56 Bibliography of ...Vegetation and Related Topics Relevant to Vandenberg.... 56 Preliminary Florist~cLlst ..........................................................................................56 Special Interest Plants............................................................................................ 56 Serpentine Flora...................................................................................................... 67 Current Vegetation Study................. .. ................................................................72 TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE DISCUSSION............................................................................................................... 122 Preliminary Floristic List........................................................................................ 122 Special Interest Plants........................................................................................... 129 Serpentine Flora.................................................................................................... 135 Current Vegetation Study..................................................................................... 137 Comparison to Regional Vegetation Patterns.................................................. 150 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT AND FURTHER STUDY ............ 186 CONCLUSIONS.......................................................................................................... 190 LITERATURE CITED................................................................................................... 193 Appendix I. Bibliography of Vegetation and Related Topics Relevant to Vandenberg......................................................................................................... 216 Appendix II. Preliminary Plant Species List for Vandenberg Arranged by Genera..................................................................................................................... 265 Appendix Ill. Preliminary Plant Species List for Vandenberg. Arranged by Family....................................................................................................................... 280 Appendix IV. Location of Sample Stands.............................................................. 294 Appendix V . Percent Cover Data from Vegetation Transects and Species Presence in Associated Plots.............................................................................. 323 Appendix VI . Canopy Vegetation Data................................................................... 384 Appendix VII . Cover Class Data for Seasonal Wetlands .................................... 424 Appendix VIII . Environmental Parameters from Vegetation Transects............. 444 Appendix IX. Descriptions of Data Bases and Geographic Information System Files........................................................................................................... 451 ABSTRACT Vandenberg Air Force Base, located in coastal central California with an area of 98,400 ac (39822 ha), contains resources of considerable biological significance. In this report, available information on the vegetation and flora of Vandenberg is summarized and new data collected in this project are presented. A bibliography of 621 references dealing with vegetation and related topics related to Vandenberg was compiled from computer and manual literature searches and a review of past studies of the base. A preliminary floristic list of 624 taxa representing 31 1 genera and 80 families was compiled from past studies and plants identified in the vegetation sampling conducted in this project. The actual flora of the base may be substantially larger than this, since no comprehensive, basewide floristic survey has been conducted. Fifty-two special interest plant species are known to occur or have been suggested to occur on Vandenberg by past studies. Two Category 1 plants and 12 Category 2 plants occur on the base, as well as 23 species listed by the California Native Plant Society. Taxonomic or nomenclatural problems exist with some of these species. Vegetation was sampled using permanent plots and transects in all major plant communities including chaparral, Bishop pine forest, tanbark oak forest, annual grassland, oak woodland, coastal sage scrub, purple sage scrub, coastal dune scrub, coastal dunes, box elder riparian woodland, willow riparian woodland, freshwater marsh, salt marsh, and seasonal wetlands. Twenty-nine stands were sampled; 15 of these had been sampled by San Diego State University (SDSU) in 1974-75. Comparison of the new vegetation data to the composite SDSU data does not indicate major changes in most communities iii since the original study. However, wetlands vegetation on the north side of Barka Slough has deteriorated, dried out, compared to conditions documented in a 1980 survey by the Fish and Wildlife Service. This decline appears to be related to withdrawal of groundwater from the San Antonio aquifer. Certain plant communities are of particular significance. Tanbark oak forest is a relict community restricted to the Tranquillon Mountain area where frequent fog allows it to persist at the southern extreme of its range. Bishop pine forest is also a relict community, south of its general range. Burton Mesa chaparral is a regionally endemic form of maritime chaparral much reduced from its former extent and poorly represented in nature reserves. Coastal dunes and coastal dune scrub are considered regionally rare and declining plant communities whose extent have been reduced due to development, recreational use, and displacement by exotic species. Riparian wetlands, salt marshes, and other wetlands vegetation are of limited extent in an area of low rainfall, are important animal habitats,