Plant Community Characterization and Ranking of Fens in the Lake Tahoe Basin, California and Nevada
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Plant Community Characterization and Ranking of Fens in the Lake Tahoe Basin, California and Nevada Kendra Sikes, Danielle Roach, and Julie Evens California Native Plant Society Vegetation Program 2707 K Street, Suite 1 Sacramento, CA 95816 In cooperation with Shana Gross USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit 35 College Drive South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 June 2011 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research was supported by an agreement from the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station using funds provided by the Bureau of Land Management through the sale of public lands as authorized by the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, and the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) provided matching funds. The views in this report are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the USDA Forest Service (USFS) Pacific Southwest Research Station or the USDI Bureau of Land Management. We would also like to thank those who provided input and logistical support for this work. We generously received assistance from Shana Gross, Ecologist at the USFS Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, as well as USFS field staff Blake Engelhardt and Cristina McKernan, who provided invaluable information about fens on USFS lands. Tamara Sasaki, Senior Environmental Scientist of the California State Parks, provided assistance with access to State Park sites. Betsy Harbert, team leader of the CNPS Vegetation Program, provided knowledgeable assistance with field surveys. We also appreciate the expertise of bryologists, David Toren (California Academy of Sciences) and Richard Andrus (Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY), who provided identification for the bryophytes collected from the study sites. Todd Keeler-Wolf, Senior Vegetation Ecologist, California Department of Fish and Game, provided expert knowledge on the rarity of vegetation types. Finally, we would like to thank the anonymous reviewers of our original grant proposal and the reviewers of this report for their help in improving the project and document. We thank report reviewers Tina Carlsen (Environmental Program Manager, California Tahoe Conservancy), Shana Gross, Jonathan Long (Tahoe Science Program Coordinator, USFS Pacific Southwest Research Station), Dan Lubin (Environmental Scientist, California State Parks), Shane Romsos (Department Manager, Measurement Branch, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency), and Tamara Sasaki. i ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................................1 Background................................................................................................2 Figure 1. Study area and existing survey locations in the Lake Tahoe Basin with designations for public lands colored and Fen Regions circled. .................................................................................................................. 4 Methods .....................................................................................................5 Study Area............................................................................................................. 5 Figure 2. Lake Tahoe Basin study area displaying HU-10 watersheds by color blocks and ranked sites with confirmed fens................................... 6 Table 1. Fen sites visited by CNPS in the Lake Tahoe Basin in 2010, including number of individual stand surveys conducted......................... 7 Field Sampling....................................................................................................... 8 Vegetation Classification ....................................................................................... 9 Mapping Methods ................................................................................................ 10 Ranking Criteria and Methods............................................................................. 10 Table 2. Confirmed fen sites in the Lake Tahoe Basin ......................... 11 Results .....................................................................................................18 Species and Vegetation Data.............................................................................. 18 Water Table Change ........................................................................................... 18 Soil Analysis ........................................................................................................ 18 Vegetation Classification and Mapping ............................................................... 19 Site Ranking ........................................................................................................ 19 Table 3. Special status plants found in meadows with confirmed fens in the Lake Tahoe Basin. .......................................................................... 20 Table 4. Vegetation Classification of Alliances and Associations for fens ................................................................................................................ 21 Table 5. Summary of Conservation Significance rankings for confirmed fen sites in the Lake Tahoe Basin .......................................................... 23 Figure 3. Conservation Rankings of fen sites symbolized with graduated circles, and names of subwatersheds displayed. .................................. 25 iii Descriptions and Maps By Site Location..................................................26 General Creek – Frontal Lake Tahoe Subwatershed and Watershed, West Basin Region ................................................................................................................. 26 Figure 4. Fens of the General Creek – Frontal Lake Tahoe Subwatershed and Watershed………………………...……………………27 Figure 5. Vegetation of the Sugar Pine Fen,......................................... 28 Fallen Leaf Lake – Frontal Lake Tahoe Subwatershed, General Creek Watershed, South Basin Region ......................................................................... 29 Figure 6. Fens of Fallen Leaf Lake – Frontal Lake Tahoe Subwatershed, General Creek Watershed, South Basin Region.................................... 29 Angora Creek Subwatershed, Upper Truckee River Watershed, South Basin Region ................................................................................................................. 30 Figure 7. Fens of Angora Creek Subwatershed.................................... 31 Figure 8. Vegetation of the Angora Burn Meesia Fen, Angora Creek Subwatershed…………………………………………………………… ..…32 Figure 9 Vegetation of the Washoe Meadows Fen……........................ 34 Figure 10. Vegetation of the North Upper Truckee Fen, Angora Creek Subwatershed of the Upper Truckee River. ........................................... 35 Figure 11. Vegetation of the Dave Immeker Fen, Angora Creek Subwatershed of the Upper Truckee River. ........................................... 36 Trout Creek Subwatershed, Upper Truckee River Watershed, South Basin Region ................................................................................................................. 37 Figure 12. Fens of the Trout Creek Subwatershed of the Upper Truckee River, South Basin Region, El Dorado County, CA................................ 38 Figure 13a. Vegetation of Hell Hole Fen (northern half), Trout Creek Subwatershed of the Upper Truckee River. ........................................... 39 Figure 13b. Vegetation of Hell Hole Fen (southern half), Trout Creek Subwatershed of the Upper Truckee River. ........................................... 40 Figure 14. Vegetation of Above Hell Hole Fen, Trout Creek Subwatershed of the Upper Truckee River. ........................................... 42 Figure 15. Vegetation of NE of Hell Hole Fen, Trout Creek Subwatershed of the Upper Truckee River. ........................................... 43 Figure 16. Vegetation of the Arikara Street Fen, Trout Creek Subwatershed of the Upper Truckee River. ........................................... 45 Big Meadow Subwatershed, Upper Truckee River Watershed, South Basin and Meiss Country Regions ....................................................................................... 46 Figure 17. Fens of Big Meadow Subwatershed, Upper Truckee River Watershed. ............................................................................................. 47 Figure 18a. Vegetation of Grass Lake West, western end, Grass Lake RNA… ……………………………………………………………………….48 Figure 18b. Vegetation of Grass Lake West, eastern end, Grass Lake RNA……………………………………………………………………………49 Figure 19. Vegetation of Showers Lake Fens, Big Meadow Subwatershed, Upper Truckee River Watershed................................... 51 Zephyr Cove – Frontal Lake Tahoe Subwatershed, Marlette Lake Watershed, East Basin Region ............................................................................................... 52 Figure 20. Fen of Zephyr Cove – Frontal Lake Tahoe Subwatershed, Marlette Lake Watershed, East Basin Region, Douglas County , NV.... 52 iv Incline Lake – Frontal Lake Tahoe Subwatershed, Third Creek Watershed, Incline Village Region.......................................................................................... 53 Figure 21. Fens of Incline Lake – Frontal Lake Tahoe Subwatershed, Third Creek Watershed, Incline Village Region, Washoe County, NV... 54 Figure 22. Vegetation of Ginny Lake Fen,............................................. 55 Figure 23. Vegetation of Below Ginny Lake Fen,.................................. 56 Conclusions..............................................................................................57