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Land management practices often directly alter vegetation structure and composition, but the degree to which ecological processes such as herbivory interact with management to influence biodiversity is less well understood. We hypothesized that intensive forest management and large herbivores have compounding effects on early-seral plant communities and plantation establishment (i.e., tree survival and growth), and the degree of such effects is dependent on the intensity of management practices. We established 225 m2 wild ungulate (deer and elk) exclosures nested within a manipulated gradient of management intensity (no-spray Control, Light herbicide, Moderate herbicide and Intensive herbicide treatments), replicated at the scale of whole harvest units (10-19 ha). Herbivory and herbicide applications interacted to drive vegetation structure, composition and crop-tree establishment, with herbivory effects most evident at intermediate herbicide treatments. Control stands were too forage-rich and Intensive stands too forage-poor to be substantially affected by herbivory. However, with Moderate herbicide treatment – which approximates treatments applied to > 2.5 million hectares in Pacific Northwest U.S.A. – foraging by deer and elk exacerbated the effect of the herbicides, resulting in simplified, low-cover plant communities resembling the Intensive herbicide treatment. In the Light herbicide treatment, herbivory suppressed shrub growth following herbicide treatment, improving planted conifer seedling survival, likely via competitive release from shrubs. Minor reductions in management intensity from the Moderate to Light herbicide treatments therefore facilitated the capacity of wild ungulates to benefit seedling survival – which constitutes early evidence of an ecosystem service. However, this ‘service’ may be to the detriment of native early-seral plant communities. These results demonstrate that by changing community composition and vegetation structure, intensive forest management alters foraging selectivity and subsequent plant-herbivore interactions; such shifts in early-seral communities are likely to influence understory plant communities and tree growth in later stages of forest development.

Land management practices often directly alter vegetation structure and composition, but the degree to which ecological processes such as herbivory interact with management to influence biodiversity is less well understood. We hypothesized that intensive forest management and large herbivores have compounding effects on early-seral plant communities and plantation establishment (i.e., tree survival and growth), and the degree of such effects is dependent on the intensity of management practices. We established 225 m2 wild ungulate (deer and elk) exclosures nested within a manipulated gradient of management intensity (no-spray Control, Light herbicide, Moderate herbicide and Intensive herbicide treatments), replicated at the scale of whole harvest units (10-19 ha). Herbivory and herbicide applications interacted to drive vegetation structure, composition and crop-tree establishment, with herbivory effects most evident at intermediate herbicide treatments. Control stands were too forage-rich and Intensive stands too forage-poor to be substantially affected by herbivory. However, with Moderate herbicide treatment – which approximates treatments applied to > 2.5 million hectares in Pacific Northwest U.S.A. – foraging by deer and elk exacerbated the effect of the herbicides, resulting in simplified, low-cover plant communities resembling the Intensive herbicide treatment. In the Light herbicide treatment, herbivory suppressed shrub growth following herbicide treatment, improving planted conifer seedling survival, likely via competitive release from shrubs. Minor reductions in management intensity from the Moderate to Light herbicide treatments therefore facilitated the capacity of wild ungulates to benefit seedling survival – which constitutes early evidence of an ecosystem service. However, this ‘service’ may be to the detriment of native early-seral plant communities. These results demonstrate that by changing community composition and vegetation structure, intensive forest management alters foraging selectivity and subsequent plant-herbivore interactions; such shifts in early-seral communities are likely to influence understory plant communities and tree growth in later stages of forest development.

Land management practices often directly alter vegetation structure and composition, but the degree to which ecological processes such as herbivory interact with management to influence biodiversity is less well understood. We hypothesized that intensive forest management and large herbivores have compounding effects on early-seral plant communities and plantation establishment (i.e., tree survival and growth), and the degree of such effects is dependent on the intensity of management practices. We established 225 m2 wild ungulate (deer and elk) exclosures nested within a manipulated gradient of management intensity (no-spray Control, Light herbicide, Moderate herbicide and Intensive herbicide treatments), replicated at the scale of whole harvest units (10-19 ha). Herbivory and herbicide applications interacted to drive vegetation structure, composition and crop-tree establishment, with herbivory effects most evident at intermediate herbicide treatments. Control stands were too forage-rich and Intensive stands too forage-poor to be substantially affected by herbivory. However, with Moderate herbicide treatment – which approximates treatments applied to > 2.5 million hectares in Pacific Northwest U.S.A. – foraging by deer and elk exacerbated the effect of the herbicides, resulting in simplified, low-cover plant communities resembling the Intensive herbicide treatment. In the Light herbicide treatment, herbivory suppressed shrub growth following herbicide treatment, improving planted conifer seedling survival, likely via competitive release from shrubs. Minor reductions in management intensity from the Moderate to Light herbicide treatments therefore facilitated the capacity of wild ungulates to benefit seedling survival – which constitutes early evidence of an ecosystem service. However, this ‘service’ may be to the detriment of native early-seral plant communities. These results demonstrate that by changing community composition and vegetation structure, intensive forest management alters foraging selectivity and subsequent plant-herbivore interactions; such shifts in early-seral communities are likely to influence understory plant communities and tree growth in later stages of forest development.

This is collection of DWR County Land Use Surveys. You may scroll the list below to download any individual survey of interest. Historic County Land Use Surveys spanning 1986 - 2015 may also be accessed using the CADWR Land Use Data Viewer. For Statewide Crop Mapping follow the link below : https://data.cnra.ca.gov/dataset/statewide-crop-mapping For Region Land Use Surveys follow link below: https://data.cnra.ca.gov/dataset/region-land-use-surveys Questions about the survey data may be directed to Landuse@water.ca.gov.

Countywide Park Districts

California Native Plant Society (CNPS) and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) cooperated to created a detailed vegetation inventory to assist the Bureau of Land Management in the development of long-range management decisions in the area, which has a range of uses from a wilderness study area to grazing, mining, and off-road vehicles. In the spring and summer of 2004 and 2005, a field crew of vegetation ecologists collected 570 vegetation rapid assessments. In the fallwinter of 2004-2005, these data were entered into a database and analyzed using multivariate statistical programs to develop a floristic classification, keys, and descriptions of the vegetation types identified in the area. AIS then did a fine-scale mapping based on the classification which was compared to mapping based on CalVeg methodologies. This provided a test case for the development of vegetation mapping methodologies with recommendations to the California State Vegetation Memorandum of Understanding Committee.

The California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) contracted with the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) and Aerial Information Systems (AIS) to produce an alliance-level, vegetation classification and map of Western Riverside County, California. The resulting classification and map products will be used to help establish a monitoring basis for the vegetation and habitats of the Western Riverside County Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP). The plan aims to conserve over 500,000 acres of land out of the 1.26 million acre total. This area is the largest MSHCP ever attempted and is an integral piece of the network of Southern California Habitat Conservation Plans and Natural Community Conservation Planning (Dudek 2001, Dudek 2003). Riverside County is one of the fastest growing counties in California, as well as one of the most biodiverse counties in the United States. A wide array of habitats are found within the non-developed lands in Western Riverside County, including coastal sage scrub, vernal pools, montane coniferous forest, chaparral, foothill woodland, annual grassland, and desert. In the CNPS contract, vegetation resources were assessed quantitatively through field surveys, data analysis, and final vegetation classification. Field survey data were analyzed statistically to come up with a floristically-based classification. Each vegetation type sampled was classified according to the National Vegetation Classification System to the alliance level (and association level if possible). The vegetation alliances were described floristically and environmentally in standard descriptions, and a final key was produced to differentiate among 101 alliances, 169 associations, and 3 unique stands (for final report, see https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=18245). In a parallel but separate effort by AIS (as reported in this dataset), vegetation mapping was undertaken through interpretation of ortho-rectified, aerial photographs for vegetation signatures in color infrared (CIR) and in natural color (imagery flown in winter or summer). A detailed map has been produced through the following process: 1) hand-delineation of polygons on base CIR imagery, 2) digitization of polygons, and 3) attribution of the vegetation types and overstory cover values. The map was created in a Geographic Information System (GIS) digital format, as was the database of field surveys. The dataset was produced through an on-screen photo interpretation procedure using three sets of geo-referenced imagery. The data is classified to a floristic classification derived through clustering analysis procedures based on species dominance and significance. The classification is based on the MCV (Manual of California Vegetation) in which 103 alliances and 169 floristic associations have been defined for the study area. Over 3300 full plot and reconnaissance points have been used in helping classify the mapped polygons. Mapped polygons are classified to either an association, alliance or mapping unit which may be an aggregation of associations or alliances. The dataset encompasses the western portions of Riverside County from the county boundary on the west eastward to the summit of the San Jacinto Mountains and Anza valley.

In 1995, the Manual of California Vegetation (MCV) introduced a quantitatively based method for classifying and mapping vegetation in California. In 2002 Department of Fish and Wildlife, Information Center for the Environment, and Aerial Information Systems used this method to develop a classification of vegetation types for Napa County, and to attribute the polygons of a new vegetation map. The complete report for this study can be viewed at: http://www.nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=14660.