0305201

CA coast: 1,100 mi

Hyposaline Adaptations

Plants tend to be
- Creeping vs. erect
- Short vs tall
- Flexible vs rigid
- To adapt to wind and wave shock
Sea water contains various water-borne minerals brought onshore by tides, wind, fog, storm waves
- ~3.4% dissolved minerals
- NaCl, calcium sulphate, KNO₃, magensium carbonate, iron phosphate, etc.
  - Nitrate, Potassium, Phosphate: Plant metabolism in nutrient-poor sandy soil
    - Proteins and survival
  - Sodium and chloride can prohibit plant growth
    - Soil salinity above 0.5%
    - Plasmolysis; “physiological drought”
      - Salicornia virginica (Perennial pickleweed); salt accumulated in turgid, succulent tissues with enlarged, swollen vacuole plant cells containing salt water
        
        Succulent tolerance
      - Distichlis spicata (Saltgrass); excretes excess salt as concentrated liquid that crystallizes
      - Atriplex leucophylla (Scurfy saltbush); excretes salt through hairy glands on leaf surface

Beach and Dune Communities

Winter storm wave overwash
Overwash, salt spray, tumbling seafoam
Oceanic swash and drying winds with salt spray
Most native vegetation has been destroyed by urban development, sand mining, vehicle off-road recreation, livestock grazing
- Damming and sand supplements
Difficult restoration
- Marine State Beach and Erysimum menziesii (Menzies’ wallflower)
Wild beaches: Humboldt Bay, Point Reyes, Monterey Bay

Supertidal

Dunes: Sculpted mounds made from unstabilized beach sands affected by strong wind force
- Low parabolic dunes before 1850
- European beachgrass created tall, immobile dunes
  - No invasion from low-growing perennial plants and loss of sand
Beach vegetation on mean high tideline to end of foredune (foot of first dune)
- Low-growing, open, trailing plants
- Plants only cover ~10-20% of ground
- Single canopy layer
- ~7-8 species maximum

High beach

Sand verbena: Abronia latifolia (yellow) and A. maritima (purple)
- Yellow is north of Morro Bay, purple south of
- Long stems
- Fleshy taproot
- Thick succulent leaves; vertical
Calystegia soldanella (Beach morningglory)
Fragaria chiloensis (Coast strawberry)
Camissonia cheiranthifolia (Beach evening primrose)
Carpobrotus aequilaterus (Sea fig)
Lathyrus japonicus (Beach pea)
Poa douglasii (Douglas blue grass)
Artemisia pycnocephala (Beach Sagewort)
Beachgrass
Ammophila arenaria (exotic European beachgrass, 1869)
- Sand stabilizer
- Erect leaves and stems
- Competitive
- Big Sur to Oregon coast
- Elymus mollis (Pacific beachgrass)
  - Rye relative
  - Rhizomes
  - Sand stabilizer
  - Widely spaced clumps
  - Point Reyes National Seashore, Lanphere-Christensen Dunes Reserve near Arcata
Chile sea fig
- Single-species landscape
- Dense mats with radial spread
Caprobrotus edulis (South Africa hottentot fig)
- Ground cover on freeway banks/interchanges
- Dense mats with radial spread
Woody shrubs passively stabilize via 2-4’ overstory with 40-80% cover
- Lupinus arboreus (Bush lupine)
- Eriophyllum staechadifolium (Lizardtail)
- Eriogonum latifolium (Coast buckwheat)
- Haplopappus ericoides (Dune heather)
- Understory of Dudleya sp. (Succulent live-forever) and introduced sea fig
  - Bodega Bay and Point Conception
Succulent layer
- Douglas bluegrass, beach sagewwort, sand verbena, coast strawberry
- Eschscholzia californica (California poppy)
- Baccharis pilularis (Coyotebrush)
- Lotus scoparius (Deerweed)
Depressions of swale vegetation
- Alnus rhombifolia (White alder)
- Salix lasiolepis (Arroyo willow)
- Juncus phaeocephalus (Brownheaded rush)
- Mimulus guttatus (Miner’s monkeyflower)
- Coast forest, riparian forest, freshwater marsh, moist meadow vegetation
- Depressions may develop into outposts of coastal scrub or forest

Intertidal

Barren zone between low beach and foredune
- Driftwood and kelp
Low beach
- Sparse vegetation
- Introduced species: sprawling annual, Cakile maritima (Sea rocket)
  - Rapid-growing floating fruits; two kinds
    - Bisected cork containers shaped like 1” rockets
    - Produced on long flowering branches
    - Top half contains one seed and delicate
      - Germinates from rainwater
    - Bottom half: Parent plant embryo buries in strand
  - Rapid maturation
  - Reproduction between major storms on polished sands
- Native: scurfy saltbrush
  - Related to desert saltbrushes
  - C₄ photosynthesis
Sand hummocks
- Low-growing herbaceous perennials
  - Beach grasses
  - Beach evening primrose
- Lower salt tolerance in lees
  - Ambrosia chamissonis (Silver beachweed)
  - Rhizomes and stolons

Coastal Prairie

Continental plate collisions, crustal heaving/uplifting, sea level
Cliffs, terraces, rolling hills
Coastal prairie
- Grassland
- Moist maritime climate
- Uplifted marine terrace
- 2-3’ canopy of Perennial grass and showy broadleaved herbs
  - Deschampsia caespitosa ssp. holciformis (Oregon hairgrass)
  - Festuca idahoensis (Idaho fescue)
  - Danthonia californica (California oatgrass)
  - Blue wild rye
  - “bunchgrasses”
    - non-spreading rhizomes
    - clumped growth
    - erect grasses branch from a single rootstock
    - separation by other species
- Herbs blooming between late April to May
  - Iris douglasiana (Douglas iris)
  - Lasthenia spp. (Goldfields)
  - Ramunculus californicus (California buttercup)
  - Nemophila menziesii (Baby blue-eyes)
  - Layia platyglossa ssp. platyglossa (Tidy tips)
- Rocky outcrops
  - Lichens
  - Succulent live-forevers
  - No soil
- Shallow soils
  - Central valley grassland appearance
  - Stipa pulchra (purple needlegrass)
  - Poa scabrella (pine bluegrass)
  - Annual grasses and herbs
Coastal prairie seaward bluffs
- Armeria maritima var. californica (Sea–pink)
- Lizardtail
- Beach sagewort
- Coast buckwheat
- Erigeron glaucus (seaside daisy)
- Low, tangled, wind-beat, saline canopy with shallow soil and high saalt spray
- Temporary poppies in spring and annuals
Sonoma County (Russian River lower valley)
- Light animal grazing
- Yunok, Mattole, Pomo, Coast Miwok, Costanoan
- Wildfire practices
  - Favor perennial grasses and herbs
  - Disfavor exposed woody plants
- Introduced species and fire suppression
  - Holcus lanatus (velvet grass)
  - Anthoxanthum odoratum (Sweet vernal grass)
  - Bromus mollis (soft chess)
  - Lolium multiflorum (Italian ryegrass)
  - Hordeum spp. (Barley)
  - Weedy herbs not predated by cattle
    - Silybum marianum (Milk thistle)
    - Cynara scolymus (Wild artichoke)
    - Hypericum perforatum (Klamath weed)
      - Toxin; unpigmented skin sores; weeight loss and death
      - Klamath weed beetles

Coastal Scrub

Adjacent to dunes and prairies
Evergreen species north of Big Sur
- Big Sur into Oregon
  - Two-storied shrubs, vines, herbs, grasses
  - Dominated by coyotebrush
  - Others
    - Toxicodendron diversilobum (Poison oak)
    - Gaultheria shallon (Salal)
    - Rhamnus californica (California coffeeberry)
    - Heracleum lanatum (Cow parsnip)
    - Shrubby llupine, bush lupine
    - L. chamissonis (Chamisso lupine)
      - silver foliage and blue flowers
      - only south of Sonoma County
    - Diplacus aurantiacus syn. Mimulus aurantiacus (Bush monkeyflower)
      - resin leaves and salmon flowers
  - Easily invaded by introduced plants after habitat disruption
    - Cortaderia jubata (Pampas grass, South America)
      - Difficult to eradicate
      - Monterey, Big Sur, Cambria
Drought-deciduous species south of Big Sur
- Big Sur into Baja California
- Dominated by S. mellifera (Black sage), S. apiana (White sage), California sagebrush, Eriogonum fasciculatum (California buckwheat), Eriophyllum confertiflorum (Golden yarrow)
  - S. mellifera large absorption; no cuticle and loose stomata, confined photosynthesis
    - Grows from Nov–March and reproduces by April
  - Showy flowers and grey-green foliage; pollination
- Succulent species
  - Agave spp. (Century plant)
  - D. variegata (Striped live-forever)
  - Cacti
  - Blends with Sonoran desert past border
Invades coastal margins: community succession
- Chaparral, evergreen forest, oak woodland
- Mosaics of above and grassland-scrub in coastal California
Rapid conversion into urban development, suburbs

Coastal Wetlands

Alternate wet/dry land, fresh/saline water
Legally: Habitats where soil is saturated with water within 18” of surface for at least one week per year
Periodic waterlog and low levels of oxygen; flood-tolerant species
Seagrass beds, coastal salt marshes/tidal marshes, interior salt marshes, brackish water marshes, freshwater marshes, vernal pools, riparian forests, montane wet meadows, desert oases, playas
4-5 million acres of wetlands before 1900; now only ~450,000
- Decline of shellfish, fish, waterfowl
- Water development: dams, levees, drainage, water transport
- Remaining wetlands in poor conditions; 62% severely damaged
- ~60-70% water in wetlands now diverted for urban use
- Salmon populations
- Muzzi Marsh (Marin County)
Endangered species
- Salt marsh bird’s beak
- Cirsium hydrophilum var. hydrophilum (Suisun thistle)
- Lathrys jepsonii spp. jepsonii (Delta tule pea)
- Salt marsh harvest mouse
- California clapper rail
- ~25% plants and 55% animals designated threatened/endangered by state

Seagrass Beds

Perennial plants
Zostera marina (Common eel-grass) and Phyllospadix spp. (Surf-grass)
- Cordgrass, pickleweed, gumplant
Mudflats
Microscopic algae, diatoms; biofilm
- Enteromorpha
Ulva

Coastal Salt Marshes

River, bay mouths; periodically flooding shallow depressions
Fine-grain sediments; clayrich
Detritus
- Decomposition produces black organic rich soil with hydrogen sulfide (marsh gas)
Mixed, semi-diurnal tides in California
- Moderate tides, meager change/averages
Sloping ground marshes; elevation increases inland
- Differences between lower and upper marsh
  - Lower marsh: Algal mat
  - Middle: Spartina foliosa and introduced S. densiflora (Cordgrass)
    - Decaying leaves release nutrients for offshore bacteria and small animals
    - Cordgrass: not between Morro Bay and San Francisco Bay or from Bodega Head north to Oregon
      - exotic populations in Humboldt Bay, S. densiflora from Chile
  - Mid-marsh: Perennial pickweed (60-80% mid-marsh cover)
    - Salicornia bigelovii (Annual pickleweed)
    - Jaumea carnosa (Jaumea)
    - Triglochiin concinnum, T. maritima (Arrowgrass)
    - Batis maritima (Saltwort)
  - Upper marsh/High-marsh
    - Frankenia grandifolia (Alkali heath)
    - Salicornia subterminalis (Tall pickleweed)
    - Limonium californcum (Sea lavender/Western marsh-rosemary)
    - Grindelia stricta (Gumplant)
    - Suaeda californica (Sea blite)
    - C₄ perennials
      - Saltgrass
      - Monanthochloe littoralis (Shoregrass)
        
        Only in southern California
    - Rare annuals
      - Cuscuta salina (Salt dodder)
      - Cordylanthus maritimus ssp. maritimus (Salt marsh bird’s beak)
      - Parasitize perennial marsh plants
Poor competition of halophytic plants with upland non-halophytic plants; slower, not rapid growth

Brackish and Freshwater Marshes

Some of the most productive ecosystems on earth
Shellfish, fish, waterfowl
Waterlogging
Different salinities
- Brackish: moderately saline at parts of the year
- Freshwater: low salt year-round
Brackish does not have low and high zones

Brackish Marshes

Variation in species composition based on salinity
- Slightly saline dominated by Scirpus acutus (Great bulrush)
  - S. robustus (Alkali bulrush)
  - S. olneyi (Olney bulrush)
- Lower salinity
  - Typha latifolia
  - J. balticus (Baltic rush)
  - Phragmites communis (Common reed)
  - Tules: S. acutus, californicus, validus
    - Tall tule marsh
Tule marshes: 900 square miles on Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in central California around 1811; delta islands with tule, swampy
- Water diversion, filling, nearby development

Freshwater marshes

Restricted by variance in water depth and current swiftness
- Lemna spp.
- Introduced Eichhornia crassipes (Water hyacinth)
- Common cattail
  - Great bulrush, rushes, sedges, common reed
  - S. eurycarpum (Bur-reed)
Shallow areas
- Hydrocotyle spp. (Marsh pennywort)
- Potentilla egedii (Pacific silverweed)
- Polygonum coccineum (Swamp knotweed)
- Mimullus guttatus (Miner’s monkeyflower)
Northern California edges blend with riparian forest]
Southern California are rare