DOCSLIB.ORG

Initial Study with Mitigated Negative Declaration

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Initial Study with Mitigated Negative Declaration Merced 140 Roadside Safety Improvements On State Route 140 in Merced County 10-MER-140-2.3/49.0 EA 10-0Y130 and Project ID 1013000243 SCH Number 2019059129 Initial Study with Mitigated Negative Declaration Prepared by the State of California Department of Transportation April 2020 General Information About This Document The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) prepared this Initial Study with Mitigated Negative Declaration for the proposed project in Merced County. Caltrans is the lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The document tells you why the project is being proposed, what alternatives have been considered for the project, how the existing environment could be affected by the project, the potential impacts of each of the alternatives, and the proposed avoidance, minimization, and/or mitigation measures. The Initial Study with Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration circulated to the public for 30 days between May 31, 2019, and June 29, 2019. Comments received during this period are included in Appendix C. If you would like a printed version or CD of this document, contact Cassidy Ellis by phone at 559-445-6481 or by email at [email protected]. The document can also be downloaded at the following website: https://dot.ca.gov/d10/projects.html Printing this document: To save paper, this document has been set up for two- sided printing (to print the front and back of a page). Blank pages occur where needed throughout the document to maintain proper layout of the chapters and appendices. For individuals with sensory disabilities, this document can be made available in Braille, in large print, on audiocassette, or on computer disk. To obtain a copy in one of these alternate formats, please call or write to Caltrans, Attention: Jennifer Lugo, Environmental Planning, 855 M Street, Suite 200, Fresno, California 93720; 559-445-6172 (Voice), or use the California Relay Service 1-800-735- 2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2929 (Voice), or 711. SCH Number 2019059129 10-MER-140-2.3/49.0 EA 10-0Y130 and Project ID Number 1013000243 Extend culverts, install guardrail, and reconstruct headwalls at 12 locations on State Route 140 from post miles 2.3 to 49.0 in Merced County INITIAL STUDY with Mitigated Negative Declaration Submitted Pursuant to: (State) Division 13, California Public Resources Code THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA Department of Transportation and Responsible Agencies: California Transportation Commission The following individual may be contacted for more information about this document: Jennifer Lugo, Senior Environmental Planner Northern San Joaquin Valley Management Branch 1 855 M Street, Suite 200 Fresno, California 93721 559-445-6172 Merced 140 Roadside Safety Improvements i SCH Number 2019059129 Mitigated Negative Declaration Pursuant to: Division 13, Public Resources Code Project Description The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will extend culverts, build headwalls, and install guardrail systems at 12 locations on State Route 140 from post miles 2.3 to 49.0 in Merced County. Determination Caltrans has prepared an Initial Study for this project and, following public review, has determined from this study that the project would not have a significant effect on the environment for the following reasons. The project would have no effect on air quality, cultural resources, energy, geology and soils, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, land use and planning, mineral resources, noise, population and housing, public services, recreation, transportation/traffic, tribal cultural resources, or wildfire. The project would have less than significant effects to aesthetics, agriculture, greenhouse gas emissions, relocations and real property acquisition, utilities and emergency services, and invasive species. With the following mitigation measures incorporated, the project would have less than significant effects to biological resources. · For Threatened and Endangered Species—conduct pre-construction surveys, biological monitoring during construction, worker environmental awareness training for construction staff, purchase conservation bank credits for the giant garter snake and fairy shrimp and install environmentally sensitive area fencing. · For Wetlands and Other Waters—purchase bank credits, establish new habitat by purchasing mitigation land, require Best Management Practices, require an emergency spill plan, and conduct pre-construction worker environmental awareness training. · For Natural Communities—Replant 10 oak trees on-site at locations 6 and 4 for every tree removed. The trees would be maintained and monitored. · Conduct pre-construction botanical surveys. · Conduct pre-construction migratory bird surveys. Merced 140 Roadside Safety Improvements iii Table of Contents Mitigated Negative Declaration ............................................................................. iii Chapter 1 Proposed Project ............................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 1.2 Purpose and Need .................................................................................... 1 1.2.1 Purpose .............................................................................................. 1 1.2.2 Need ................................................................................................... 1 1.2.3 Project Description ............................................................................. 4 1.3 Project Alternatives ................................................................................... 4 1.3.1 Build Alternative ................................................................................. 4 1.3.2 No-Build (No-Action) Alternative ......................................................... 6 1.3.3 Identification of a Preferred Alternative ............................................... 6 1.4 Alternatives Considered but Eliminated from Further Discussion Prior to Draft Environmental Document ........................................................................... 7 1.5 Permits and Approvals Needed ................................................................ 7 Chapter 2 Affected Environment, Environmental Consequences, and Avoidance, Minimization, and/or Mitigation Measures ........................................... 9 2.1 Human Environment ............................................................................... 12 2.1.1 Farmland .......................................................................................... 12 2.1.2 Relocations and Real Property Acquisition ....................................... 15 2.1.3 Utilities and Emergency Services ..................................................... 17 2.1.4 Visual/Aesthetics .............................................................................. 18 2.2 Biological Environment............................................................................ 19 2.2.1 Natural Communities ........................................................................ 20 2.2.2 Wetlands and Other Waters ............................................................. 21 2.2.3 Plant Species ................................................................................... 26 2.2.4 Threatened and Endangered Species .............................................. 31 2.2.5 Invasive Species............................................................................... 53 Chapter 3 CEQA Evaluation .......................................................................... 55 3.1 Determining Significance under CEQA ................................................... 55 3.2 CEQA Environmental Checklist .............................................................. 56 3.2.1 Aesthetics ......................................................................................... 56 3.2.2 Agriculture and Forest Resources .................................................... 57 3.2.3 Air Quality ......................................................................................... 59 3.2.4 Biological Resources ........................................................................ 60 3.2.5 Cultural Resources ........................................................................... 61 3.2.6 Energy .............................................................................................. 63 3.2.7 Geology and Soils ............................................................................ 63 3.2.8 Greenhouse Gas Emissions ............................................................. 64 3.2.9 Hazards and Hazardous Materials ................................................... 65 3.2.10 Hydrology and Water Quality ........................................................ 66 3.2.11 Land Use and Planning ................................................................. 68 3.2.12 Mineral Resources ........................................................................ 68 3.2.13 Noise ............................................................................................. 69 3.2.14 Population and Housing ................................................................ 70 Merced 140 Roadside Safety Improvements iv 3.2.15 Public Services ............................................................................. 70 3.2.16 Recreation .................................................................................... 71 3.2.17 Transportation ..............................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Revised Survey for Special-Status Vascular Plant Species
    REVISED SURVEY FOR SPECIAL-STATUS VASCULAR PLANT SPECIES For the proposed Deer Creek Irrigation District Fish Passage Improvement Project Tehama County, California Prepared for: Tehama Environmental Solutions 910 Main Street, Suite D Red Bluff, California 96080 Prepared by: Dittes & Guardino Consulting P.O. Box 6 Los Molinos, California 96055 (530) 384-1774 [email protected] Deer Creek DCID Dam Fish Passage Project - Botany Report January 22, 2019 Prepared by: Dittes & Guardino Consulting 1 REVISED SURVEY FOR SPECIAL-STATUS VASCULAR PLANT SPECIES Deer Creek DCID Dam Fish Passage Project Tehama County, California T25N, R1W, NW1/4 Sec. 23, NE1/4 Sec. 22 of the Acorn Hollow 7.5’ USGS Topographic Quadrangle & T25N, R1W, E1/2 Sec. 27 of the Richardson Springs NW 7.5’ USGS Topographic Quadrangle TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 4 II. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 4 III. Project Description ............................................................................................................................................... 5 IV. Location .................................................................................................................................................................. 5 V. Methods ..................................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • A Molecular Phylogeny and Classification of the Cynodonteae
    TAXON 65 (6) • December 2016: 1263–1287 Peterson & al. • Phylogeny and classification of the Cynodonteae A molecular phylogeny and classification of the Cynodonteae (Poaceae: Chloridoideae) with four new genera: Orthacanthus, Triplasiella, Tripogonella, and Zaqiqah; three new subtribes: Dactylocteniinae, Orininae, and Zaqiqahinae; and a subgeneric classification of Distichlis Paul M. Peterson,1 Konstantin Romaschenko,1,2 & Yolanda Herrera Arrieta3 1 Smithsonian Institution, Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, U.S.A. 2 M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany, National Academy of Sciences, Kiev 01601, Ukraine 3 Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CIIDIR Unidad Durango-COFAA, Durango, C.P. 34220, Mexico Author for correspondence: Paul M. Peterson, [email protected] ORCID PMP, http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9405-5528; KR, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7248-4193 DOI https://doi.org/10.12705/656.4 Abstract Morphologically, the tribe Cynodonteae is a diverse group of grasses containing about 839 species in 96 genera and 18 subtribes, found primarily in Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. Because the classification of these genera and spe­ cies has been poorly understood, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis on 213 species (389 samples) in the Cynodonteae using sequence data from seven plastid regions (rps16-trnK spacer, rps16 intron, rpoC2, rpl32-trnL spacer, ndhF, ndhA intron, ccsA) and the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS 1 & 2) to infer evolutionary relationships and refine the
    [Show full text]
  • Vernal Pool Ecology and Vernal Pool Landscape Management As
    ,° Vernal Pool Ecology and Vernal Pool Landscape Management as Illustrated by Rare Macroinvertebrates and Vascular Plants at Vina Plains Preserve, Tehama County, California Douglas G. Alexander Robert A. Schlising Department of Biological Sciences California State University Chico. CA 95929-0515 Prepared for Dr. Richard Lis California Department of Fish and Game, Region 1 601 Locust Street Redding, CA 96001 Funded by U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Section 6 Funds Contract Number FG 4506-R1 April 1997 ABSTRACT California Nature Conservancy's Vina Plains Preserve, in southern Tehama County, was used to develop an ecosystem approach to the study of vernal pools. Spring-aquatic observations (starting in March 1995) of select macroinvertebrates, were combined with summer-dry pool observations (extending through August 1995) of select plants from the same vernal pools. Rainfall, temperatures and pool conditions were recorded for this area. A standard aquatic invertebrate collection technique was developed to determine a density index for macroinvertebrates, including the two special status species (Lepidurus packardi or vernal pool tadpole shrimp and Branchinecta conservatio or the Conservancy fairy shrimp). The Lepidurus packardi density index that included juveniles and adults ranged from 20 to 85 individuals per m 2 of pool floor. Collections that had adults only displayed an index of 10 individuals per m 2. Different life history patterns observed in different pools are illustrated by the number of generations (one or two), time of total adult mortality (April to June) and the maximum first generation carapace size (24 to 39 ram). The Branchinecta conservatio density index ranged from 3 to 99 individuals per m 3 of water sampled.
    [Show full text]
  • 14338 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 58 / Wednesday, March 26, 1997 / Rules and Regulations
    14338 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 58 / Wednesday, March 26, 1997 / Rules and Regulations ``Magnesium powder or Magnesium DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: alloys, powder'' in PG I, in column 8A, Background the entry ``151'' is revised to read Fish and Wildlife Service ``None''. Vernal pools in the Central Valley of 50 CFR Part 17 California were a common and PART 173ÐSHIPPERSÐGENERAL widespread feature in pre-European REQUIREMENTS FOR SHIPMENTS RIN 1018±AC00 times (Holland and Jain 1977). Although AND PACKAGINGS historic amounts of vernal pool habitat Endangered and Threatened Wildlife losses and annual loss rates have been 4. The authority citation for Part 173 and Plants; Determination of disputed, Holland estimated that continues to read as follows: Endangered Status for Three Plants urbanization and other factors had and Threatened Status for Five Plants eliminated 67 to 88 percent of the vernal Authority: 49 U.S.C. 5102±5127; 49 CFR From Vernal Pools in the Central Valley pools in the Central Valley by 1973 1.53. of California (Holland 1978, and Robert Holland, consultant, in litt. 1992). Public 5. In § 173.28, in the table in AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, comments and additional work paragraph (b)(4)(i), the footnote is Interior. regarding the number of remaining acres revised to read as follows: ACTION: Final rule. of vernal pool habitat in the Central § 173.28 Reuse, reconditioning and Valley indicate the loss of vernal pool remanufacture of packagings. SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service habitat is closer to 50 percent than 67 (Service) determines endangered status to 88 percent (59 FR 48139; R.
    [Show full text]
  • Ocellochloa Andreana (Mez) Zuloaga & Morrone
    Ocellochloa andreana (Mez) Zuloaga & Morrone. Syst. Bot . 34: 689 (2009). Accepted by: R.J.Soreng et al., Catalogue of New World Grasses (2000–2003) and online, W.D.Clayton & K.Harman, GrassBase (2008) and online, U.Quattrocchi, CRC World Dictionary of Grasses (2006). TYPE from Colombia & Venezuela. Basionym or Replaced Name : Panicum andreanum Mez, Engl. Jahrb. 56, Beibl. 125, 5 (1921). T:<Type of Basionym>: fide TROPICOS and Kew Synonomy Database: LT: J.W.K. Moritz 1538 , Venezuela: Trujillo: Escuque (B; ILT: US-80458 (fragm. ex B)). LT designated by Zuloaga & Sendulsky, Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75: 429 (1988). ST: Karsten s.n. , Venezuela: Escuque (B). ST: Andre 871 , Colombia. Illustrations: None found. Derivation (Clifford & Bostock 2007): L. -anum , indicating connection. In honor of Andri who collected in Colombia. Classification . Subfamily Panicoideae. Tribe: Paspaleae. Subtribe Paspalinae. Habit, Vegetative Morphology . Perennial. Culms rambling, 30–90 cm long, wiry, rooting from lower nodes. Ligule a ciliolate membrane, truncate. Leaf-blades lanceolate, 3–8 cm long, 3–12 mm wide. Leaf- blade surface glabrous. Leaf-blade apex acute. Inflorescence . Inflorescence composed of racemes. Racemes 7–20, borne along a central axis, unilateral, 0.5–2 cm long. Central inflorescence axis 4–18 cm long. Rhachis angular. Spikelets in pairs. Fertile spikelets sessile. Fertile Spikelets . Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets, 1 fertile florets, without rhachilla extension. Spikelets of 1 fertile floret with or without additional sterile florets. Spikelets two-flowered - the lower floret male or barren, the upper fertile. Spikelets elliptic, dorsally compressed, acute, 3 mm long, falling entire. Glumes . Glumes reaching apex of florets, thinner than fertile lemma.
    [Show full text]
  • BLM Special Status Plants Under the Jurisdiction of the California State Office As of May 28, 2015 SCIENTIFIC NAME COMMON NAME T
    BLM Special Status Plants under the jurisdiction of the California State Office as of May 28, 2015 KNOWN OR SUSPECTED SCIENTIFIC NAME COMMON NAME TYPE OF PLANT FAMILY STATUS ON BLM LANDS? Abronia umbellata var. breviflora pink sand-verbena Vascular Plant Nyctaginaceae BLM Sensitive Known on BLM lands Abronia villosa var. aurita chaparral sand-verbena Vascular Plant Nyctaginaceae BLM Sensitive Known on BLM lands Acanthomintha ilicifolia San Diego thornmint Vascular Plant Lamiaceae Federal Threatened Suspected on BLM lands Acanthoscyphus parishii var. goodmaniana Cushenberry oxytheca Vascular Plant Polygonaceae Federal Endangered Known on BLM lands Acmispon argyraeus var. multicaulis scrub lotus Vascular Plant Fabaceae BLM Sensitive Known on BLM lands Acmispon rubriflorus red-flowered lotus Vascular Plant Fabaceae BLM Sensitive Suspected on BLM lands Agave utahensis var. eborispina ivory-spined agave Vascular Plant Agavaceae BLM Sensitive Known on BLM lands Agrostis blasdalei Blasdale's bent grass Vascular Plant Poaceae BLM Sensitive Known on BLM lands Agrostis hooveri Hoover's bent grass Vascular Plant Poaceae BLM Sensitive Known on BLM lands Agrostis lacuna-vernalis vernal pool bent grass Vascular Plant Poaceae BLM Sensitive Known on BLM lands Albatrellus caeruleoporus blue-pored polypore Fungus Albatrellaceae BLM Sensitive Suspected on BLM lands Albatrellus ellisii greening goat's foot Fungus Albatrellaceae BLM Sensitive Suspected on BLM lands Albatrellus flettii blue-capped polypore Fungus Albatrellaceae BLM Sensitive Suspected on BLM
    [Show full text]
  • Field Release of the Arundo Wasp, Tetramesa Romana
    Field Release of the Arundo Wasp, Tetramesa romana (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae), an Insect for Biological Control of Arundo donax (Poaceae), in the Continental United States Environmental Assessment, April 2009 Field Release of the Arundo Wasp, Tetramesa romana (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae), an Insect for Biological Control of Arundo donax (Poaceae), in the Continental United States Environmental Assessment, April 2009 Agency Contact: Shirley Wager-Page, Branch Chief Pest Permitting Plant Protection and Quarantine Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service U.S. Department of Agriculture 4700 River Road, Unit 133 Riverdale, MD 20737–1236 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326–W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call (202) 720–5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. This publication reports research involving pesticides. All uses of pesticides must be registered by appropriate State and/or Federal agencies before they can be recommended. Mention of companies or commercial products does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over others not mentioned. USDA neither guarantees or warrants the standard of any product mentioned.
    [Show full text]
  • Patterns of Freshwater Species Richness, Endemism, and Vulnerability in California
    RESEARCH ARTICLE Patterns of Freshwater Species Richness, Endemism, and Vulnerability in California Jeanette K. Howard1☯*, Kirk R. Klausmeyer1☯, Kurt A. Fesenmyer2☯, Joseph Furnish3, Thomas Gardali4, Ted Grantham5, Jacob V. E. Katz5, Sarah Kupferberg6, Patrick McIntyre7, Peter B. Moyle5, Peter R. Ode8, Ryan Peek5, Rebecca M. Quiñones5, Andrew C. Rehn7, Nick Santos5, Steve Schoenig7, Larry Serpa1, Jackson D. Shedd1, Joe Slusark7, Joshua H. Viers9, Amber Wright10, Scott A. Morrison1 1 The Nature Conservancy, San Francisco, California, United States of America, 2 Trout Unlimited, Boise, Idaho, United States of America, 3 USDA Forest Service, Vallejo, California, United States of America, 4 Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, California, United States of America, 5 Center for Watershed Sciences and Department of Wildlife Fish and Conservation Biology, University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America, 6 Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America, 7 Biogeographic Data Branch, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Sacramento, California, United States of America, 8 Aquatic Bioassessment Laboratory, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Rancho Cordova, California, United States of America, 9 School of Engineering, University of California Merced, Merced, California, United States of America, 10 Department of Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States of America ☯ OPEN ACCESS These authors contributed equally to this work. * [email protected] Citation: Howard JK, Klausmeyer KR, Fesenmyer KA, Furnish J, Gardali T, Grantham T, et al. (2015) Patterns of Freshwater Species Richness, Abstract Endemism, and Vulnerability in California. PLoS ONE 10(7): e0130710. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0130710 The ranges and abundances of species that depend on freshwater habitats are declining Editor: Brian Gratwicke, Smithsonian's National worldwide.
    [Show full text]
  • San Joaquin Valley Orcutt Grass)
    Base 2003). The other five pools are on the Flying M Ranch conservation easement in eastern Merced County (Stone et al. 1988). Three additional occurrences of Neostapfia colusana are on Federal land, which offers more options for conservation, but does not in itself constitute protection. Two are on a U.S. Department of Defense facility in Yolo County (Davis Communications Annex), which is in the process of being transferred to the ownership of Yolo County Parks (K. Fuller in litt. 2000). This site is the subject of a nonnative invasive plant management effort, particularly for Lepidium latifolium (pepperweed), and vernal pool restoration under a CalFed grant to benefit N. colusana and Tuctoria mucronata, another federally-listed plant included in this plan (N. McCarten in litt. 2004). The third occurrence on Federal land is on the Arena Plains Unit of the Merced National Wildlife Refuge in Merced County. Our National Wildlife Refuge system acquired the Arena Plains in 1992, and refuge personnel have been monitoring the N. colusana population annually since 1993. Although the refuge allowed grazing to continue on the Arena Plains after it was purchased, temporary electric fencing was placed around the N. colusana pool to exclude cattle in one year when the plant population was deemed to be particularly vulnerable (D. Woolington pers. comm. 1997, J. Silveira in litt. 2000). 9. ORCUTTIA INAEQUALIS (SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY ORCUTT GRASS) a. Description and Taxonomy Taxonomy.—Hoover (1936b) first published the scientific name Orcuttia inaequalis for San Joaquin Valley Orcutt grass. A 1935 collection from “Montpellier [sic], Stanislaus County” was cited as the type specimen (Hoover 1936b).
    [Show full text]
  • Microstegium Vimineum)
    BIOLOGICAL AND MECHANICAL CONTROL OF JAPANESE STILTGRASS (MICROSTEGIUM VIMINEUM) by Samantha Nestory A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Entomology Summer 2016 © 2016 Samantha Nestory All Rights Reserved ProQuest Number: 10190879 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ProQuest 10190879 Published by ProQuest LLC ( 2016 ). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 BIOLOGICAL AND MECHANICAL CONTROL OF JAPANESE STILTGRASS (MICROSTEGIUM VIMINEUM) by Samantha Nestory Approved: __________________________________________________________ Judith Hough-Goldstein, Ph.D. Professor in charge of thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee Approved: __________________________________________________________ Jacob Bowman, Ph.D. Chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology Approved: __________________________________________________________ Mark Rieger, Ph.D. Dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Approved:
    [Show full text]
  • LEAF ANATOMY of ORCUTTIEAE (POACEAE: CHLORIDOIDEAE): MORE EVIDENCE of C4 PHOTOSYNTHESIS WITHOUT KRANZ ANATOMY 1 Department of Bi
    MADRON˜ O, Vol. 55, No. 2, pp. 143–150, 2008 LEAF ANATOMY OF ORCUTTIEAE (POACEAE: CHLORIDOIDEAE): MORE EVIDENCE OF C4 PHOTOSYNTHESIS WITHOUT KRANZ ANATOMY LAURA M. BOYKIN1,2,3 ,WILLIAM T. POCKMAN1 AND TIMOTHY K. LOWREY1 1 Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 ABSTRACT C4 photosynthesis without Kranz anatomy (single-cell C4 photosynthesis) occurs in only 0.003% of known species of C4 flowering plants. To add insight into the evolution of C4 photosynthesis, we studied the tribe Orcuttieae (Poaceae: Chloridoideae), which has species that can grow under both aquatic and terrestrial conditions, and utilize single-cell C4 photosynthesis when growing submerged. Carbon isotope ratios from aquatic, floating, and terrestrial leaves were in the range 212.25 to 214.31, suggesting that all species carry out C4 photosynthesis. Using light microscopy, we examined the anatomy of aquatic, floating and terrestrial leaves from eight of the nine species in the tribe to assess the pattern of evolution of C4 photosynthesis and Kranz anatomy among these vernal pool grasses. Kranz anatomy was present in all floating and terrestrial leaves of Orcuttia californica, O. inaequalis, O. pilosa, O. tenuis, O. viscida,Tuctoria greenei, T. mucronata,andNeostapfia colusana. Although carbon isotope data indicated C4 photosynthesis, aquatic leaves of all members of Orcuttia lacked Kranz anatomy, while aquatic leaves of Tuctoria and Neostapfia possessed Kranz anatomy. When considered in a phylogenetic context, these findings support previously proposed hypotheses suggesting that Orcuttieae are derived from a terrestrial ancestor and are now becoming more specialized to an aquatic environment. Key Words: C4 photosynthesis, Chloridoideae, Kranz anatomy, Neostapfia, Orcuttia, Orcuttieae, Poaceae, Tuctoria, single-cell C4 photosynthesis, vernal pool.
    [Show full text]
  • Vernal Pool Associations of the Central Valley
    Barbour et al.: Vernal pools Draft Final Report; Mar/07 1 FINAL REPORT (DRAFT), 19 MARCH 2007: “CLASSIFICATION, ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION, AND PRESENCE OF LISTED PLANT TAXA OF VERNAL POOL ASSOCIATIONS IN CALIFORNIA” UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE AGREEMENT/STUDY NO. 814205G238 and UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS ACCOUNT NO. 3-APSF026 and SUBACCOUNT NO. FMGB2 SUBMITTED BY PROFESSOR MICHAEL G. BARBOUR, PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR, DR. AYZIK I. SOLOMESHCH, AND MS. JENNIFER J. BUCK Barbour et al.: Vernal pools Draft Final Report; Mar/07 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS: Executive summary 3 Chapter 1. Introduction 10 Structure of the report 12 Chapter 2. Classification of vernal pool plant communities 14 Previous classifications 14 Our methods 17 Central Valley communities in a California-wide context: one class 20 Key to Central Valley communities 23 Descriptions of community types 27 Communities of long-inundated pools: Downingia biocornuta-Lasthenia fremontii 27 Communities of short-inundated fresh-water pools: Lasthenia glaberrima 32 Communities of alkaline/saline pools: Myosurus-Lasthenia fremontii 37 Discussion 43 Chapter 3. Persistence of diagnostic species and community types 49 Chapter 4. Presence of listed plants in Central Valley communities 57 Chapter 5. Implications of the findings for conservation, recovery, and management 100 Pools contain more than one community type 100 Most community types are not widespread 101 Chapter 6. Restoration targets should include natural, regional community types 102 Restoration criteria in general need revision 108 Training opportunities in the vernal pool flora, vegetation sampling protocols, and community keying need to be developed 109 Literature cited 111 Large tables Barbour et al.: Vernal pools Draft Final Report; Mar/07 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Chapter 1: Introduction A group of approximately 100 plant taxa more commonly occur in vernal pools than any other habitat.
    [Show full text]