Closed-cone conifer forest

Last updated
A forest of Monterey pines Pine tree forest02.jpg
A forest of Monterey pines

A Closed-cone conifer forest or woodland is a plant community occurring in coastal California and several offshore islands. The forests typically have a single-aged single-species conifer overstory with dense ladder fuels. Overstory species include coulter pine, monterey pine, bishop pine, shore pine, and several endemic cypresses, species which generally rely on fire to open their cones and release seeds. Closed-cone forests often grow in low nutrient and/or stressed soils, which can lead to slow growth. [1]

Contents

Closed-cone conifers

The most widespread naturally of the closed-cone pines is bishop pine (Pinus muricata), which can be found along the coast from Humboldt County, California in the north to the northwestern corner of Baja California in the south. Knobcone pine (Pinus attenuata) forests can occur further inland, on dry, rocky soils. Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) was once limited to the Monterey Peninsula, two other sites in central California, and Guadalupe and Cedros Islands off the coast of Baja California, but has now been introduced elsewhere in California and around the world. Most of these trees have an average life-span of around 50–90 years [2]

Climate

The weather of these forests is quite mild in both winter and summer. Temperatures rarely go below freezing or grow uncomfortably warm. Closed-cone pine forests of California are located in cool-summer Mediterranean climate regions along the coast with cool wet winters and hot, dry summers. Despite the fact that the summers are dry, the air is consistently humid due to frequent coastal fog brought in by interior heat. The fog also supplies irrigation when it passes through the conifer needles of the pines. The moisture is caught this way and drips to the forest floor. Thus, drought is avoided by up to 40%. [3] In the autumn, fog is less frequent and it is during this season when occasional heat waves are possible. This is when fires are most likely. Precipitation ranges from 20 to 60 inches a year, depending on the locale.

Ecology

The conifers are serotinous, releasing seeds in response to an environmental trigger, such as fire or shoot death. One family commonly having serotiny due to shoot death is Cupressaceae, while the genus Pinus generally has seritony to fire/heat. Sargent cypress, Gowan cypress, McNabb cypress, Monterrey Pine, Torrey Pine, bishop pine, coulter pine, knob-cone pine, and lodgepole pine are all California endemic serotinous conifer species.

Closed-cone forests rely on regular but infrequent fires, often stand-replacing crown fires. Fire opens up space in the canopy or clears away litter on the ground, so there is less competition for germinating seeds. Thus, the fire is an advantageous time for trees to drop their seeds.

Other flora and fauna

Black-tailed deer OregonBlacktail.jpg
Black-tailed deer

While the pines or cypresses are by far, the most common tree in these forests, coast live oaks often accompany them. Due to the relatively short lifespan of closed-cone pines, many dead trunks and snags are available and attract a whole host of wildlife ranging from woodpeckers, titmice, chickadees, warblers, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, mountain lions, deer and many others. The lush undergrowth, typical of the forests, are excellent habitat as well. Blackberries, wild roses, wood mints, California honeysuckle, currants, and others are common. The flora and fauna varies from area to areas, especially the southern and northern closed-cone pine regions. Soils have low nutrients and are stressed due to a lack of nitrogen. This promotes slow growth.

Lichens and mosses in these forests are diverse and can be abundant.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Pinus radiata</i> Species of conifer

Pinus radiata, the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California and Mexico. It is an evergreen conifer in the family Pinaceae.

<i>Pinus sabiniana</i> Pine tree found in North America

Pinus sabiniana, with vernacular names including towani pine, foothill pine, gray pine, bull pine, and digger pine, is a pine endemic to California in the United States. Some sources discourage using the name "digger pine," considering it pejorative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torrey pine</span> Species of pine tree, Torrey pine

The Torrey pine is a rare pine species in California, United States. It is a critically endangered species growing only in coastal San Diego County, and on Santa Rosa Island, offshore from Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara County. The Torrey pine is endemic to the California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion.

<i>Pinus contorta</i> Species of plant

Pinus contorta, with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpine, but is rare in lowland rain forests. Like all pines, it is an evergreen conifer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California chaparral and woodlands</span> Ecoregion in the western United States and Mexico

The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of southwestern Oregon, northern, central, and southern California and northwestern Baja California (Mexico), located on the west coast of North America. It is an ecoregion of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, and part of the Nearctic realm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coulter pine</span> Pine tree found in North America

The Coulter pine or big-cone pine, Pinus coulteri,(family Pinaceae) is a native of the coastal mountains of Southern California in the United States and northern Baja California in Mexico. Isolated groves are found as far north as Clearlake, California on the flanks of Mt. Konocti and Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve. It is named after Thomas Coulter, an Irish botanist and physician. The Coulter pine produces the heaviest cone of any pine tree, up to 5 kg (11 lb) and among conifers is exceeded only by the cones of Araucaria bidwillii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecology of California</span> Environments and natural history of California

The ecology of California can be understood by dividing the state into a number of ecoregions, which contain distinct ecological communities of plants and animals in a contiguous region. The ecoregions of California can be grouped into four major groups: desert ecoregions, Mediterranean ecoregions, forested mountains, and coastal forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern California coastal forests</span> Temperate coniferous forests ecoregion in northern California and southwestern Oregon

The Northern California coastal forests are a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of coastal Northern California and southwestern Oregon.

<i>Cupressus pigmaea</i> Species of conifer

Cupressus pigmaea, the Mendocino cypress or pygmy cypress, is a taxon of disputed status in the genus Cupressus endemic to certain coastal terraces and coastal mountain ranges of Mendocino and Sonoma Counties in northwestern California. It is a highly variable tree, and closely related to Cupressus goveniana, enough to sometimes be considered a subspecies of it.

<i>Cupressus guadalupensis</i> Species of conifer

Cupressus guadalupensis, the Guadalupe cypress, is a species of cypress from Guadalupe Island in the Pacific Ocean off western North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal sage scrub</span> Shrubland plant community of California

Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is within the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California mixed evergreen forest</span>

California mixed evergreen forest is a plant community found in the mountain ranges of California and southwestern Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Floristic Province</span> Region of uniform plant variety in the western United States and Mexico

The California Floristic Province (CFP) is a floristic province with a Mediterranean-type climate located on the Pacific Coast of North America with a distinctive flora similar to other regions with a winter rainfall and summer drought climate like the Mediterranean Basin. This biodiversity hotspot is known for being the home of the Sierran giant sequoia tree and its close relative the coast redwood. In 1996, the Province was designated as a biodiversity hotspot allowing it to join ranks among 33 other areas in the world with many endemic species. To be named a biodiversity hotspot, an area has to contain species and plant life that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The California Floristic Province is home to over 3,000 species of vascular plants, 60% of which are endemic to the province.

<i>Platanthera yadonii</i> Species of orchid

Platanthera yadonii, also known as Yadon's piperia or Yadon's rein orchid, is an endangered orchid endemic to a narrow range of coastal habitat in northern Monterey County, California. In 1998 this plant was designated as an endangered species by the United States government, the major threat to its survival being continuing land development from an expanding human population and associated habitat loss. One of the habitats of Yadon's piperia, the Del Monte Forest near Monterey, California, is the subject of a federal lawsuit, based upon endangerment of this organism along with several other endangered species.

<i>Cupressus macnabiana</i> Species of conifer

Cupressus macnabiana is a species of cypress in western North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klamath Mountains (ecoregion)</span> Temperate coniferous forests ecoregion in northern California and southwestern Oregon

The Klamath Mountains ecoregion of Oregon and California lies inland and north of the Coast Range ecoregion, extending from the Umpqua River in the north to the Sacramento Valley in the south. It encompasses the highly dissected ridges, foothills, and valleys of the Klamath and Siskiyou Mountains. It corresponds to the Level III ecoregion designated by the Environmental Protection Agency and to the Klamath-Siskiyou forests ecoregion designated by the World Wide Fund for Nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California coastal sage and chaparral</span> Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in Mexico and the United States

The California coastal sage and chaparral is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion located in southwestern California and northwestern Baja California (Mexico). It is part of the larger California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California montane chaparral and woodlands</span> Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in California, United States

The California montane chaparral and woodlands is an ecoregion defined by the World Wildlife Fund, spanning 7,900 square miles (20,000 km2) of mountains in the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, and Coast Ranges of southern and central California. The ecoregion is part of the larger California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, and belongs to the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California interior chaparral and woodlands</span> Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in California, United States

The California interior chaparral and woodlands ecoregion covers 24,900 square miles (64,000 km2) in an elliptical ring around the California Central Valley. It occurs on hills and mountains ranging from 300 feet (91 m) to 3,000 feet (910 m). It is part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, with cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Temperatures within the coast can range from 53° to 65 °F and 32° to 60 °F within the mountains. Many plant and animal species in this ecoregion are adapted to periodic fire.

References

  1. ↑ "California Coastal Closed-Cone Conifer Forest and Woodland". Natureserve Explorer. 2014-01-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2011-06-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ↑ Fischer, Douglas T. (2009). "Significance of summer fog and overcast for drought stress and ecological functioning of coastal California endemic plant species". Journal of Biogeography. 36 (4): 783–799. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.02025.x. S2CID   22696742.

California’s Changing Landscapes, by Barbour et al. Ch.3 (1997, California Native Plant Society)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.