Fire and maritime chaparral in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties Dennis Odion & Claudia Tyler maritime chaparral Fire and the maritime chaparral of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties Dennis C. Odion and Claudia M. Tyler* *Research Collaborators: Diana Hickson, Carla D’Antonio, Frank Davis, Mark Borchert and Max Moritz. Maritime Chaparral in S.B. and SLO. Counties • Evergreen, leathery-leaved shrub vegetation. • Dominated by locally endemic Ceanothus and manzanita. • Eolian sands. • Regionally low precipitation augmented by fog, otherwise coastal sage scrub would occur. San Antonio Terrace Santa Burton East Burton Barbara Mesa Mesa County Source: Odion, Hickson, South and D’Antonio. 1992. TNC. Vandenberg Elkhorn Slough Coastal Training Progrm Workshop January 17, 2003 1 Fire and maritime chaparral in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties Dennis Odion & Claudia Tyler Burton Mesa Chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum) Purisima manzanita (Arctostaphylos purissima) obligate seeder Local endemic Photo by David Graber Shagbark manzanita(Arctostaphylos rudis) Buckbrush (Ceanothus cuneatus var. fascicularis) local endemic obligate-seeder local Endemic © Br. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary's College Ceanothus impressus obligate-seeder Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) Local endemic © 2000 Joseph Dougherty Elkhorn Slough Coastal Training Progrm Workshop January 17, 2003 2 Fire and maritime chaparral in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties Dennis Odion & Claudia Tyler Post-burn regeneration Immediate post-burn Santa Cruz Island Oak (Quercus parvula var. parvula) late fall 1987 ~80 yr. old stand © 2000 Dean Wm. Taylor Early spring 1988 2-3 years after fire Pacific Ocean 5-6 years after fire 10 miles Species Richness 1938-1985 burn chronosequence (D. Hickson) O = plot under live oak * = plot in shrub vegetation No. of Vascular Plants/ 100m2 plot Source: Davis, Hickson and Odion. 1988 Madrono Source: Davis, Hickson and Odion. 1988 Madrono. Elkhorn Slough Coastal Training Progrm Workshop January 17, 2003 3 Fire and maritime chaparral in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties Dennis Odion & Claudia Tyler Stand Dynamics 70 Collecting samples Adenostoma fasciculatum for estimating seed 60 Populations. Percent 50 cover 40 Ceanothus cuneatus 30 Quercus agrifolia 20 Arctostaphylos rudis A. purissima C. impressus 10 Estimate Helianthemum scoparium Seed populations by tallying 10 20 30 40 50 germination Years since fire Seeds and Seedlings/m2 pre-burn post-burn field 25,000 Shrubs 0-2.5 2.5-7.5 0-2.5 2.5-7.5 Adenostoma fasciculatum 240.1 52.92 53.9 8.8 5.4 Seeds/m2 Arctostaphylos purissima 44.1 141.1 36.8 26.5 10.6 Subshrubs 15,000 Helianthemum scoparium 411.6 582.6 88.2 145.6 47.0 Annual herbs 10,000 Apiastrum angustifolium 245.0 26.5 0 17.6 0.8 Centaurium davyi 1396.5 608.6 558.6 185.2 0 5,000 Crassula connata 6056.4 1525.9 1166.2 493.9 1.6 Cryptantha clevelandii 78.4 17.6 0 0 0.1 Lotus strigosus 83.3 88.2 19.6 79.4 11.0 Navarettia atractyloides 3013.5 299.9 274.4 61.7 29.7 Source: Odion. 2000 Madrono Iceplant (Carpobrotus edulis) Santa Barbara County Maritime Chaparral Threats -Exotic species invasion following fire or land clearing. © 1998 California Academy of Sciences Elkhorn Slough Coastal Training Progrm Workshop January 17, 2003 4 Fire and maritime chaparral in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties Dennis Odion & Claudia Tyler Iceplant invasion Iceplant invasion Preburn gaps Post-burn Expansion and establishment False iceplant Pampas grass (Cortaderia spp.) (Conicosia pugioniformis) © 2002 California Academy of Sciences © 2001 CDFA Eucalyptus Santa Barbara County Maritime Chaparral Threats -Exotic species invasion following fire or clearing. -Successive or too frequent burning. © 2001 Tony Morosco Elkhorn Slough Coastal Training Progrm Workshop January 17, 2003 5 Fire and maritime chaparral in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties Dennis Odion & Claudia Tyler Fires burn through young stands Santa Barbara County Maritime Chaparral Threats -Exotic species invasion following fire or clearing. -Successive or too frequent burning. -Fuel management. Protecting Homes From Wildfires Chaparral Fire -Homes do not ignite from severe fire beyond 100’ (Jack Cohen, USFS). -Efforts need to focus on home and 100’ zone surrounding it, the home ignition zone. -Non-combustible roof and 30’ clearance alone eliminates cause of virtually all ignitions, firebrands. -Focus on wildlands around urban areas directs managers away from the problem, which is home ignitability. Morro manzanita (Arctostaphylos morroensis) obligate-seeder Santa Barbara County Maritime Chaparral Threats -Successive or too frequent burning. -Fuel management. -Exotic species invasion following fire or clearing. Not Presently Threats -Absence of fire. -Intensive development leading to further habitat loss and fragmentation. © Lyda Edge 1978 California Native Plant Society Elkhorn Slough Coastal Training Progrm Workshop January 17, 2003 6 Fire and maritime chaparral in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties Dennis Odion & Claudia Tyler Morro manzanita chaparral chaparral Morro manzanita (Arctostaphylos morroensis) Morro Bay Distribution and Density of Morro Manzanita Morro Bay Species Richness mixed chaparral Avg =14 Streams pure Morro Manzanita Avg = 4 Roads 30 Morro Manzanita density classes 75-100% Morro 25 50-75% Bay 25-50% 5-25% 1-5% 20 < 1% Species/ 100m 2 15 N 10 5 0 0 20406080100 1000 0 1000 Meters Evergreen Shrub Cover (%) Source: Tyler and Odion, 1996 CDFG Prescribed burn Factors Controlling Germination 5 ------------------------------------------------estimated % viability 4 3 2 1 percent germination 0 control heat + heat only charate wet, charate only heat+char 40 year old stand Source: Tyler, Odion, and Meade, 1998 CDFG Elkhorn Slough Coastal Training Progrm Workshop January 17, 2003 7 Fire and maritime chaparral in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties Dennis Odion & Claudia Tyler top 2.5 cm 400 0-5cm depth lower 2.5 cm Morro Manzanita 300 per square 200 meter 100 5-10 cm depth 0 # viable seeds per 2 m 2 sq seeds per viable # preburn postburn Source: Tyler et al. 2000, CDFG Source: Odion and Tyler, 2002 Conservation Ecology Pre burn 3 years after fire 2-3 years after fire mean % mean % shrubs % cover frequency % cover frequency Arctostaphylos morroensis 99.5 100 <1 30 Artemisia californica 0.4 8 7 61 Baccharis pilularis 00438 Ceanothus cuneatus 00<12 subshrubs Ericameria ericoides 00<11 Eriophyllum confertiflorum <1 8 1 1 Lotus scoparius 00523 Mimulus aurantiacus <1 8 2 2 Solanum umbelliferum 00346 herbs and grasses Amsinkia spectabilis 00238 Chorizanthe angustifolia 0012 Claytonia perfoliata 00146 Conocosia pugioniformis* 00<115 Conyza canadensis 0011 Cryptantha spp. 0012 Ehrharta calycina* 00223 Gnaphalium bicolor 00223 Gnaphalium ramosissimum 00323 Source: Odion and Tyler, 2002 Conservation Ecology False iceplant Morro Bay Manzanita Chaparral Conicosia pugioniformis Threats -Stands may be too young to regenerate after fire. -Exotic species invasion following fire or clearing. © 2002 California Academy of Sciences Elkhorn Slough Coastal Training Progrm Workshop January 17, 2003 8 Fire and maritime chaparral in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties Dennis Odion & Claudia Tyler Veldt grass (Ehrharta calycina) Morro Bay Manzanita Chaparral Threats -Stands may be too young to regenerate after fire. -Exotic species invasion following fire or clearing. Not Presently Threats -Absence of fire. -Intensive development leading to further habitat loss and fragmentation. © 1999 California Academy of Sciences Conclusions Management actions in maritime chaparral in Santa Barbara and San LuisObispo Counties need to focus on: -Preventing fire with non-intrusive suppression. -Eradicating non-native pest plants. -Protecting homes by treating the cause of structure ignitions. Elkhorn Slough Coastal Training Progrm Workshop January 17, 2003 9.