Name:
Lotus scoparius - Eriodictyon spp. - Lupinus albifrons Coastal-Foothill Seral Scrub Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This group includes a mixture of coastal and foothill shrublands from southern Oregon and California, south into Baja Norte, Mexico. It is dominated by drought-deciduous and evergreen shrubs that respond favorably and proliferate with natural disturbance including alluvial, colluvial, clearing, grazing, and fire. It occurs below 1500 m (4900 feet) elevation and occurs from coastal to inland sites (e.g., areas with 10-60 cm of annual precipitation). Soils vary from coarse gravels to mineral clays, that usually support plant-available moisture with winter and spring rains. Most predominant shrubs include <i>Cleome isomeris, Diplacus aurantiacus, Dendromecon rigida, Eastwoodia elegans, Ericameria linearifolia, Ericameria palmeri, Eriodictyon californicum, Eriodictyon crassifolium, Eriodictyon trichocalyx, Gutierrezia californica, Hazardia squarrosa, Isocoma menziesii, Lotus scoparius, Lupinus albifrons, Malacothamnus fasciculatus</i>, and other <i>Malacothamnus</i> spp. are dominant. Stands of these shrubs are initiated by natural disturbance conditions, including dry alluvial terraces, steep colluvial slopes, recently burned areas, etc., and occur in a mosaic with other shrubland and grassland types. While the shrubs forming stands may not live longer than 10 to 25 years, their seeds collect in soil and duff as a seed bank, and they are obligate seeders and readily germinate and dominate areas following disturbance. Seeds also can be scarified with disturbance, e.g., heat from fire stimulating germination. Other coastal and chaparral shrubs and trees that are relatively longer lived become dominant over time, including <i>Adenostoma fasciculatum, Artemisia</i> spp., <i>Eriogonum</i> spp., and <i>Quercus</i> spp. However, with increasing fire frequency in recent years, especially in southern California and northern Baja California, due to adjacency to urban and suburban dwellings (e.g., as a result of arson or cigarette ignition), some larger acreages have become dominated by these seral scrub stands or other more ruderal types. Also, as seed-banking species in this group, abnormally high fire frequencies will eliminate seed banks of this and later seral shrub species. Shrubs of this group can be useful for post-fire recovery, erosion control, and habitat restoration in California because they readily germinate and quickly establish in disturbance conditions.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40357-{EE3D3DFB-5608-48E4-9D79-C2857B148D32}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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