A highly variable climax woodland dominated by Quercus douglasii, but usually including individuals of several other oaks as well as Pinus sabiniana. Stands vary from open savannas with grassy understories (usually at lower elevations) to fairly dense woodlands with shrubby understories.
SITE FACTORS:
Well-drained soils in Mediterranean California usually below 3,000-4,000 feet. Frequent fire favors blue oak (a long-lived stump sprouter) over foothill pine. Supplanted at higher elevations and more mesic sites by Black Oak Woodland (71120) or Foothill Pine-Oak Woodlands (71410). Interdigitates on more mesic sites at lower elevations with Valley and Foothill Grasslands (42000), where it is largely confined to north slope and canyons.
DISTRIBUTION:
Valleys and lower slopes of the southern and interior North Coast Ranges, the South Coast Ranges, and the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada, almost completely encircling the Great Valley.
UPDATE: 10/86
Source: Holland, 1986
Digital Text: NatureBase