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5. STEWARDSHIP AND MANAGEMENT STATUS OF PLANT COMMUNITIES AND WILDLIFE HABITAT TYPES
Introduction
Land Cover Analysis
Wildlife Habitat Types Analysis
IntroductionAs described in the general introduction to this report, the primary objective of Gap Analysis is to provide information on the distribution, stewardship and management status of several elements of biological diversity. This is accomplished by producing and then intersecting maps of land cover types or predicted distributions for selected animal species with a map of land stewardship and management status. The results are results are summarized by tabulating the area and percent of total mapped distribution of each element in different land stewardship and management categories.
Although GAP "seeks to identify habitat types and species not adequately represented in the current network of biodiversity management areas," (GAP Handbook, Version 1, Preface, pg. i) it is unrealistic to create a standard definition of "adequate representation" for either land-cover types or individual species (Noss et al. 1995). A practical solution to this problem is to report both percentages and absolute area of each cover type in biodiversity management areas (as described above) and allow the user to determine which types are adequately represented in natural areas. Clearly, opinions will differ among users, but this is an issue of policy, not scientific analysis.
Land-Cover Analysis
Anthropogenic cover types including irrigated cropland, dryland cropland, orchards and vineyards, conifer plantations, eucalyptus groves, and urban or built-up lands, and bare ground were mapped over approximately 21% of the state, but their conservation is not discussed in our gap analysis because they are not natural plant communities. Conservation of open water habitat is not emphasized in this analysis either, even though it provides habitat for vertebrate species, because water resources will be addressed in more detail in a future Aquatic Gap Analysis. Non-vegetated (bare) ground is also not treated here.
Land-Cover and Stewardship
As could be expected, management responsibility for plant communities follows the pattern of land ownership in California (Table 5-1). Non-military federal land management agencies share the major responsibility for plant communities of the montane forests, meadows, some chaparral types, and many of the desert and Great Basin scrub and woodland types. The Department of Defense military bases contain a significant proportion of several coastal scrub, desert scrub, and riparian communities. Most notable of these are Central Dune Scrub (21320, 45%), Central Maritime Chaparral (37C20, 40% on DoD lands), Central Coast Arroyo Willow Riparian Forest (61230, 38%), and Sycamore Alluvial Woodland (62100, 35%). Communities found in relatively large proportion on state of California lands include desert scrub, native grasslands, wetlands and riparian types, and redwood forests. State lands contain the majority of the remaining Valley Sacaton Grassland (42120, 63%). Communities of the lower elevation regions and coastal areas are often primarily located on privately-owned lands. These types include most of the coastal scrub types (ranging from 61-88% on private lands), the valley scrub types, several of the chaparral types, coastal prairie (41000, 87%), Valley Needlegrass Grassland (42110, 78%), non-native grassland (42200, 87%), most riparian woodlands, most hardwood woodlands and forest types (except those of the higher mountains such as Canyon Love Oak Forest), conifer types of the northern coast including redwoods, and many of the closed-cone pine or cypress forests. The miscellaneous category in Table 5-1 includes lands administered by non-profit organizations, Native American tribes, counties, and utility districts. Collectively, these constitute a very small proportion of the total area in the state but include relatively significant fractions of several community types. The most noteworthy of these are Alkali Meadow (45310, 71%) and Northern Maritime Chaparral (37C10, 38%).
Table 5-1. Area and percentage of each CNDDB community type in major land stewardship categories in California. The Miscellaneous category includes non-governmental conservation groups, Native American lands, and city/county/regional lands. * indicates community types added to the standard CNDDB classification (Holland 1986).
Federal (other than DoD)
DoD
State
Private
Misc.
Total
CNDDB Code
CNDDB Community Name (Holland 1986)
kmē
%
kmē
%
kmē
%
kmē
%
kmē
%
kmē
21210
Northern Foredunes
0
13.1
0
8.1
0
0.2
2
68.7
0
9.9
3
21310
Northern Dune Scrub
5
4.3
0
0
8
7.2
94
87.6
1
0.9
107
21320
Central Dune Scrub
0
0
6
44.8
6
42.5
2
12.5
0
0.2
14
22000
Desert Dunes
1,641
76.2
111
5.2
82
3.8
317
14.7
3
0.1
2,155
23300
Monvero Residual Dunes
1
31.1
0
0
0
0
2
68.9
0
0
3
31100
Northern Coastal Bluff Scrub
39
100
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
39
31200
Southern Coastal Bluff Scrub
0
0.1
0
0
3
12.7
19
85.6
0
1.6
23
32100
Northern (Franciscan) Coastal Scrub
90
19.1
4
0.8
20
4.4
339
72.3
16
3.5
469
32200
Central (Lucian) Coastal Scrub
30
4.4
135
19.9
28
4.2
454
66.7
33
4.9
681
32300
Venturan Coastal Sage Scrub
306
14.6
47
2.2
68
3.2
1,645
78.2
36
1.7
2,102
32500
Diegan Coastal Sage Scrub
184
13.9
230
17.4
24
1.8
807
61.3
73
5.5
1,317
32600
Diablan Sage Scrub
153
13.8
9
0.8
5
0.4
939
84.8
1
0.1
1,107
32700
Riversidian Sage Scrub
188
25.2
3
0.4
9
1.2
516
69.3
29
3.9
744
33100
Sonoran Creosote Bush Scrub
8,759
69.4
1,071
8.5
658
5.2
1,929
15.3
209
1.7
12,625
33200
Sonoran Desert Mixed Scrub
3,131
49.5
508
8
1,571
24.8
1,021
16.1
92
1.5
6,324
34100
Mojave Creosote Bush Scrub
26,559
60.8
7,137
16.3
1,195
2.7
8,781
20.1
39
0.1
43,712
34210
Mojave Mixed Woody Scrub
7,804
74
1,180
11.2
251
2.4
1,202
11.4
105
1
10,542
34220
Mojave Mixed Steppe
503
78.1
0
0
9
1.4
132
20.5
0
0
644
34240
Mojave Mixed Woody and Succulent Scrub
449
78.2
0
0
35
6.1
83
14.4
7
1.3
575
34300
Blackbush Scrub
1,468
81.7
100
5.5
23
1.3
158
8.8
48
2.7
1,797
35100
Great Basin Mixed Scrub
4,871
76.2
26
0.4
125
2
1,271
19.9
99
1.5
6,391
35110
Salvia dorri/ Chamaebatiaria scrub *
30
99.2
0
0
0
0
0
0.8
0
0
30
35210
Big Sagebrush Scrub
3,253
74.9
5
0.1
45
1
986
22.7
53
1.2
4,341
35211
Low Sagebrush Scrub *
1,160
71.4
3
0.2
23
1.4
432
26.6
7
0.4
1,624
35212
Silver Sagebrush Scrub *
234
54.2
0
0
16
3.6
181
42
1
0.2
431
35213
Black Sagebrush Scrub *
18
100
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
18
35220
Subalpine Sagebrush Scrub
142
82.8
0
0
3
1.7
26
15.4
0
0.1
171
35400
Rabbitbrush Scrub
216
51.6
0
0
2
0.5
194
46.2
7
1.6
419
35500
Cercocarpus ledifolius Woodland *
747
90.2
0
0
3
0.4
70
8.4
8
1
828
36110
Desert Saltbush Scrub
2,280
48.3
573
12.1
62
1.3
1,744
36.9
64
1.3
4,723
36120
Desert Sink Scrub
540
77.4
49
7.1
19
2.7
49
7
40
5.8
697
36130
Desert Greasewood Scrub
354
42.7
61
7.4
100
12
296
35.6
18
2.2
830
36140
Shadscale Scrub
2,984
85.5
7
0.2
31
0.9
102
2.9
369
10.6
3,492
36150
Desert Holly Scrub *
1,362
94.1
34
2.4
36
2.5
16
1.1
0
0
1,448
36210
Valley Sink Scrub
18
7.4
0
0
6
2.2
222
88.7
4
1.7
250
36220
Valley Saltbush Scrub
336
17.5
191
10
23
1.2
1,355
70.8
10
0.5
1,916
36320
Interior Coast Range Saltbush Scrub
6
23
0
0
1
2
20
73.5
0
1.5
28
37110
Northern Mixed Chaparral
829
50.2
28
1.7
17
1
683
41.3
96
5.8
1,652
37120
Southern Mixed Chaparral
40
18.3
24
11
3
1.5
134
61
18
8.2
219
37200
Chamise Chaparral
2,005
37.3
105
1.9
125
2.3
2,966
55.1
181
3.4
5,381
37300
Red Shank Chaparral
409
42.4
0
0
53
5.4
406
42.1
97
10.1
966
37400
Semi-Desert Chaparral
1,296
52.6
2
0.1
105
4.3
981
39.8
80
3.2
2,462
37510
Mixed Montane Chaparral
1,427
77.1
0
0
19
1
403
21.7
3
0.2
1,852
37520
Montane Manzanita Chaparral
753
56.7
3
0.2
12
0.9
560
42.1
1
0.1
1,329
37530
Montane Ceanothus Chaparral
683
63
3
0.2
20
1.9
371
34.3
7
0.6
1,084
37541
Shin Oak Brush
121
59.7
0
0
8
4.1
73
36.2
0
0
203
37542
Huckleberry Oak Chaparral