| Abstract Detail
Recent Topics Posters Soza, Valerie [1], Gross, LeRoy [2], Boyd, Steve [2], Fraga, Naomi S. [2]. The Vascular Flora of the Verdugo Mountains and San Rafael Hills, Los Angeles County, California. THE Verdugo Mountains and San Rafael Hills are an island of wildlands, surrounded by the growing urbanization of the greater Los Angeles area. The region is situated near the cities of Burbank (to the south), Glendale (to the east), and Los Angeles (to the north and west). The study site is bounded by US Highway 210 to the north, California Highway 2 to the east, and US Interstate 5 to the south. The region is a northwest to southeast tending range and is situated between the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains, range in elevation from ca. 600 to 3100 feet, and is comprised of mostly metamorphic and granitic rock, interspersed with small patches of volcanic and marine sedimentary rock. The Verdugo Mountains and San Rafael Hills are under the jurisdiction of the three above-mentioned cities, along with private in-holdings, and a portion belonging to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, with approximately 4,000 publicly-owned acres. Past agricultural and ongoing urbanization development has radically altered the landscape in much of the surrounding area, but significant portions of the Verdugo Mountains and San Rafael Hills remain intact. A floristic study of the Verdugo Mountains and San Rafael Hills was undertaken from 2000 to 2003 to provide the needed baseline inventory. Few herbarium collections have been made in the region and most of those in the earlier part of the 20th century. Plant communities of the area are chaparral, coastal sage scrub, riparian, oak woodland, and valley grassland. Several fires occurred between 1999 and 2002 allowing extensive documentation of fire followers for the area. A survey of historical collections from 6 herbaria combined with field work was undertaken to complete the floristic study. To date 724 taxa have been documented, including 5 taxa considered rare or endangered by the California Native Plant Society.
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Related Links:
Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
1 - University of Washington, Department of Biology, Po Box 35-1800, Seattle, Washington, 98195-1800, USA
2 - Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, 1500 North College Avenue, Claremont, California, 91711, USA
Keywords:
California
San Raphael Hills
Chaparral
Verdugo Mountains
Los Angeles County
flora
floristics.
Presentation Type: Recent Topics Poster
Session: 48a-15
Location: Auditorium/Bell Memorial Union
Date: Tuesday, August 1st, 2006
Time: 12:30 PM
Abstract ID:1092 |
