Ancient Blue Project

Year 1.5 Briefing

Mature blue oak trees dominate this grassy knoll at the Wright Mountain site in the southern near New Idria, .

R.D. Griffin, D.W. Stahle, J.R. Edmondson, and M.D. Therrell University of Arkansas Tree-Ring Laboratory August 4, 2005 www.uark.edu/blueoak

Figure 1. This map illustrates the current status of the blue oak tree-ring collections. The northern study area has been sampled in year two (2005), and gaps in the network of sites will be filled in year three (2006).

Table 1. Blue oak (Quercus douglasii) tree-ring chronologies under development for California. Each blue oak collection is listed with the three letter code, county, lat.-long. coordinates and elevation. We also list the mean inter- series correlation and mean sensitivity for the fully replicated chronologies at each site. The number of dated/measured radii and the inner and outermost dates are also listed for the randomly sampled and fully replicated chronologies.

Mean sensitivity

Series Full # radii DATING: DATING: Elev. interc Random Full

Site Name County Latitude Longitude (m) orr. radiiRandom # Sample Sample

Coast Ranges

*1535- Eel River (EEL) Mendocino 39.82140 -123.07726 610 0.638 0.233 42 1996

Dibble Creek (DIB) Tehama 40.25389 -122.37697 218 S. F. Cottonwood Creek (COT) Tehama 40.27938 -122.45211 213

Murphy Ranch (MUR) Tehama 39.83523 -122.60781 342

Bear Valley (BVB) Colusa 39.21028 -122.44128 468 *1642- Clear Lake (CLR) Lake 39.01132 -122.81276 427 0.693 0.255 71 1996

Putah Creek (PUT) Napa 38.67350 -122.27440 180

Smittles Creek (PUT) Napa 38.57336 -122.23905 152 *1645- (DIA) Contra Costa 37.87920 -121.96580 182 0.774 0.449 56 1997 1823- 1697- Marys Ranch (B24) Santa Clara 37.39546 -121.77755 475 0.642 0.320 37 42 2003 2003 1763- 1510- (PP2) Merced 37.03683 -121.20917 434 0.792 0.479 34 140 2003 2003 1676- 1379- Rock Springs Ranch (B27) San Benito 36.48966 -120.87765 1067 0.861 0.555 35 89 2003 2003 1678- 1577- Pinnacles (PN2) San Benito 36.47948 -121.17927 487 0.797 0.458 27 100 2003 2003 1770- 1460- Hastings Reserve (HAS) Monterey 36.39475 -121.54715 755 0.707 0.326 30 87 2004 2004 1625- 1409- Wright Mountain (B32) Fresno 36.33613 -120.51533 1219 0.814 0.494 25 61 2003 2003

Indians (IND) Monterey 36.11681 -121.46189 646 San Luis 1751- 1538- Palo Prieto Canyon (PPC) Obispo 35.68547 -120.25572 558 0.847 0.582 31 47 2004 2004 San Luis 1840- 1577- American Canyon (AC2) Obispo 35.27694 -120.26893 561 0.768 0.433 36 147 2004 2004 1629- 1333- Los Lobos (LOB) Kern 34.92226 -119.24326 1051 0.850 0.569 34 84 2004 2004 Santa 1800- 1293- Figueroa Mountain (FIG) Barbara 34.73524 -119.99709 1036 0.827 0.477 29 86 2003 2003

Sierra

Bear Creek Canyon (BCC) Shasta 40.52731 -122.02342 396 *1515- Finley Lake (FIN) Tehama 40.26828 -121.86393 853 0.543 0.218 93 1996

Dye Creek (DYE) Tehama 40.09279 -122.02915 143 1755- 1572- Feather River (FE2) Butte 39.52391 -121.44773 305 0.588 0.254 38 120 2004 2004

Sutter Buttes (SUT) Sutter 39.24900 -121.80450 121 1778- 1603- American River (AR2) El Dorado 38.75652 -121.11288 167 0.666 0.311 40 128 2003 2003 1695- 1695- Empire Creek (EMP) Calaveras 38.00115 -120.61200 457 0.601 0.283 32 34 2004 2004 *1669- Don Pedro (DPR) Tuolumne 37.70640 -120.43320 274 0.639 0.312 28 1992 1727- 1557- San Joaquin Range (SJR) Madera 37.09017 -119.74664 345 0.791 0.396 35 75 2004 2004 *1710- (JOA) Madera 37.02984 -119.67536 137 0.811 0.438 28 1996 1676- 1494- Kaweah River (KAW) Tulare 36.54925 -118.89348 701 0.752 0.364 35 65 2004 2004 1650- 1596- Dennsion Peak (DEN) Tulare 36.28572 -118.77582 1132 0.644 0.290 38 84 2003 2003 1669- 1448- Dead Mule Saddle (DMS) Tulare 35.90800 -118.66680 1237 0.714 0.318 39 91 2003 2003 1783- 1585- Kern River (KR2) Kern 35.53226 -118.62754 715 0.841 0.501 38 86 2003 2003

* to be updated

Figure 2. This flowchart documents the steps performed in a Geographic Information System to arrive at the Ancient Blue Oak Predictive Model. Two primary source digital map datasets were utilized in this model development. The alphanumeric code in the bottom right corner of each box represents the file name prefix assigned to each of the datasets generated during this process.

Figure 3. (A) The blue oak woodlands greater than 40 acres in size from the 40-100% canopy closure classes from the PMR classification were clipped to the extents of the Pillsbury blue oak distribution map. This map represents the dataset ‘D3’. (B) The ancient blue oak woodland predictive model consists of areas mapped in ‘D3’ greater than 640 acres in size. 196 discrete polygons are mapped, totaling 1,038 square miles (dataset ‘D3a’). (C) The 640 acre blue oak predictive model is being assessed at 30 randomly selected sample points. (D) Roughly 15% (156 square miles) of the blue oak woodlands mapped in the 640 acre predictive model lie on public conservation lands in California.

Figure 4. Six new blue oak tree-ring chronologies from central and southern California.

Figure 5. Winter season Salinas River streamflow at Paso Robles, California from 1940 – 2003 (mean = 1059 ft3/second). This timeseries correlates with nearby blue oak chronologies between 0.64 to 0.77.

Figure 6. Old-growth blue oak savanna at in the Diablo Mountains of the central Coast Ranges.

Figure 7. Ancient wind sculpted blue oak trees near the pass at Pacheco State Park.

Figure 8. A colossal blue oak on Red Hill at the University of California Hastings Natural History Reserve in Monterey County, California.

Figure 9. A stately blue oak tree at Rock Springs Ranch in the Central Diablo Range, San Benito County, California

Figure 10. David Stahle extracts a cross section sample from a standing dead blue oak tree at Rock Springs Ranch. Dead wood was used to extend the Rock Springs Ranch chronology (still in progress) 300 years back in time (1378-2003).

Figure 11. A blue oak savanna at Figueroa Mountain in the Los Padres National Forest in Santa Barbara County, California.

Figure 12. An overage blue oak tree graces the landscape at Figueroa Mountain.

Figure 13. Blue at Folsom Lake State Recreation Area (American River) in the foothills of the north-central , El Dorado County, California.

Figure 14. Undergraduate research assistants Jesse Edmondson and Justin Pollan sample randomly selected blue oak trees at Dennison Peak in , Tulare County, California.

Figure 15. A savanna opening in the blue oak woodlands below Dennison Peak in the Sequoia National Forest.