Botanical Research at the Mc Laughlin
Reserve
The
Donald and Sylvia McLaughlin Reserve, located in the inner
coast ranges of California approximately 90
miles north of San Francisco (as the crow flies), is part
of the University of California's Natural Reserve System. The McLaughlin Reserve
provides a research and teaching site which is used heavily by plant
evolutionary ecologists and botanists because of its unique botanical
attributes. The Reserve spans a mosaic of soil types which support
a mosaic of plant communities, typified by the intermingling of plant
communities on serpentine soils with other communities on sandstone,
siltstones, and volcanics. Protection of serpentine
flora and the mosaic pattern of the plant communities in
this part
of the coast
ranges has made the McLaughlin Reserve a important destination
for botanical field trips, researchers,
and classes
from across the nation.
For more information on the Reserve, please visit the Reserve's
website,
http://nrs.ucdavis.edu/mclaughlin.html
If you would like more information on visiting
the Reserve for research, teaching, or a field trip for a botanical
group, please contact the resident directors Cathy Koehler and
Paul Aigner at
(707) 995 9005,
or mclaughlin@ucdavis.edu. In driving time, the Reserve
is about 2.5 hours from San Francisco, 2 hours from Chico, and
2 hours
from Sacramento.
