FINAL 2010 HABITAT RESTORATION PLAN FOR THE PORTUGUESE BEND RESERVE IN THE PALOS VERDES NATURE PRESERVE Prepared for Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy 916 Silver Spur Road, Suite 207 Rolling Hills Estates, California 90274 Prepared by 2116 Arlington Avenue, Suite 301 Los Angeles, California 90018 JULY 2010 FINAL 2010 HABITAT RESTORATION PLAN FOR THE PORTUGUESE BEND RESERVE IN THE PALOS VERDES NATURE PRESERVE Prepared for Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy 916 Silver Spur Road, Suite 207 Rolling Hills Estates, California 90274 Contact: Lily Verdone (310) 541‐7613 Prepared by 2116 Arlington Avenue, Suite 301 Los Angeles, California 90018 Contact: Melissa Riedel‐Lehrke (323) 735‐0810 JULY 2010 Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy 2010 Habitat Restoration Plan for the Portuguese Bend Reserve TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Overview and Existing Conditions .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Existing Conditions ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.2.1 Disturbance Factors .................................................................................................................. 3 1.2.2 Pre‐Fire Vegetation Communities ............................................................................................ 5 1.2.3 Existing Vegetation ................................................................................................................... 7 1.2.4 Geology ..................................................................................................................................... 9 1.2.5 Recent Management ................................................................................................................ 9 1.3 Restoration Site Selection ........................................................................................................... 10 2 Restoration Areas Soil Description and Analysis........................................................................... 13 2.1 Soil Associations .......................................................................................................................... 13 2.1.1 Diablo Altamont Association .................................................................................................. 13 2.1.2 Altamont‐Diablo Association .................................................................................................. 14 2.2 Soil Survey Classification ............................................................................................................. 14 2.2.1 Vertisols .................................................................................................................................. 14 2.2.2 Mollisols .................................................................................................................................. 15 2.3 Soil Sample Analysis .................................................................................................................... 16 2.3.1 Soil Sample Descriptions ......................................................................................................... 16 2.3.2 Soil Sample Analysis Results ................................................................................................... 19 2.4 Summary of Soils and Restoration Areas .................................................................................... 20 3 Restoration Specifications ........................................................................................................... 23 3.1 Project Goals ............................................................................................................................... 23 3.2 Restoration Guidelines ................................................................................................................ 24 3.2.1 Climate Change ....................................................................................................................... 24 3.2.2 Adaptive Management ........................................................................................................... 29 3.2.3 Ecological Succession Model .................................................................................................. 30 3.3 Recommended Methods for Habitat Restoration ...................................................................... 31 3.3.1 Site Preparation ...................................................................................................................... 31 3.3.2 Plant Palettes .......................................................................................................................... 38 3.3.3 Sources of Plant Material ....................................................................................................... 45 3.3.4 Seeding and Planting Specifications ....................................................................................... 45 3.3.5 Site Maintenance .................................................................................................................... 46 ii Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy 2010 Habitat Restoration Plan for the Portuguese Bend Reserve 3.3.6 Summary of Implementation, Maintenance, and Monitoring ............................................... 48 4 Restoration Monitoring ............................................................................................................... 50 4.1 Restoration Goals ........................................................................................................................ 50 4.2 Quantitative Monitoring Methodology ...................................................................................... 51 4.2.1 Coastal Sage Scrub and Cactus Scrub Quantitative Vegetation Sampling .............................. 51 5 References .................................................................................................................................. 53 Appendix............................................................................................................................................. 56 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Regional Location ..................................................................................................................... 2 Figure 2 Project Location ....................................................................................................................... 4 Figure 3 Pre‐Fire Vegetation Communities ............................................................................................. 6 Figure 4 Existing Conditions ................................................................................................................... 8 Figure 5 Restoration Priority Ranking ................................................................................................... 11 Figure 6 Soil Sample Locations ............................................................................................................. 17 Figure 7 Restoration Areas................................................................................................................... 21 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Coastal Sage Scrub Northerly Facing Slopes Seed Mix .............................................................. 40 Table 2 Coastal Sage Scrub Northerly Facing Slopes Container Plant Palette ......................................... 41 Table 3 Coastal Sage Scrub Southerly and Westerly Facing Slopes Seed Mix ......................................... 42 Table 4 Coastal Sage Scrub Southerly and Westerly Facing Slopes Container Plant Palette ................... 43 Table 5 Cactus Scrub Seed Mix ............................................................................................................. 44 Table 6 Cactus Scrub Container Plant Palette ....................................................................................... 45 Table 7 Summary of Implementation and Maintenance Schedule ........................................................ 49 LIST OF GRAPHS Graph A Average Annual Temperature ................................................................................................ 26 Graph B Average Annual Minimum and Maximum Temperature ......................................................... 27 Graph C Annual Precipitation............................................................................................................... 28 iii Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy 2010 Habitat Restoration Plan for the Portuguese Bend Reserve 1 OVERVIEW AND EXISTING CONDITIONS 1.1 INTRODUCTION This Habitat Restoration Plan (HRP) has been prepared for the Portuguese Bend Reserve located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in southern Los Angeles County, California. The Portuguese Bend Reserve, owned by the city of Rancho Palos Verdes and managed by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy (PVPLC), is approximately 399 acres. The Reserve is one of 10 Reserves that comprise the newly created 1,400 acre Palos Verdes Nature Preserve. The Palos Verdes Nature Preserve was designated as part of the Rancho Palos Verde Draft Natural Communities Conservation Plan (NCCP). The Draft NCCP was prepared to “maximize benefits to wildlife and vegetation communities while accommodating appropriate economic development within the City of Rancho