Coast redwood ecological types of southern Monterey County, California

Abstract

An ecological classification system has been developed for the Pacific Southwest Region of the Forest Service. As part of this classification effort, coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forests of southern Monterey County in the Los Padres National Forest were classified into six ecological types using vegetation, soils and geomorphology taken from 115, 0.1-acre plots. Four types occur between 100 and 800 ft elevation. The coast redwood/bracken fern-chain fern//streamsides ecological type occupies the narrow flood plains, streambanks and scattered alluvial terraces of large perennial streams. Upslope of this type is the coast redwood/swordfern-western wake robin//Gamboa-Sur ecological type, which covers gentle slopes near ephemeral or perennial streams but is best developed on steep colluvial slopes. Occasional stands of the coast redwood//Gamboa-Sur ecological type are encountered on alluvial- colluvial fans, old stream terraces and lower slope benches. Its upper slope counterpart is the stunted coast redwood/common manroot-common vetch//Gamboa ecological type that occupies steep, ocean-exposed slopes. At elevations above 800 ft there are two types. The rare coast redwood-big leaf maple/California polypody//Gamboa ecological type grows on alluvial terraces of large, open streams. The most xeric and widespread is the coast redwoodtanoak/ round-fruited carex-Douglas's iris//Gamboa ecological type which can be found at elevations up to 2650 ft. These ecological types will serve as a framework for gathering productivity and management information for further refinement.

Citation

Borchert, Mark; Segotta, Daniel; Purser, Michael D. 1988. Coast redwood ecological types of southern Monterey County, California. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-107. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 27 p.