Historical landscape ecology of an urbanized California valley: wetlands and woodlands in the Santa Clara Valley

Grossinger, Robin M.; Striplen, Charles J.; Askevold, Ruth A.; Brewster, E.; Beller, Erin E.

doi:10.1007/s10980-007-9122-6

Cited by 62 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The survey established townships of 36 mi 2 (94 km 2 ) divided into square mile (2.6 km 2 ) sections, ideally forming a square grid at a resolution as fine as the quarter-section (0.8 km). However, many areas in California, including the study area, lack a complete network of inner township section lines due to private Mexican land grant holdings (White 1991;Grossinger et al 2007). To establish section corners and quarter-section points (mile and one-half mile points), surveyors recorded the species, diameter, azimuth, and distance from the survey points for up to four "bearing" trees, ideally one tree per quadrant (White 1991).…”

Section: Glo Witness Tree Recordsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Oaks re-introduced in an urban setting could increase genetic connectivity among relict populations, improve habitat quality and connectivity for a number of oakassociated wildlife species, particularly birds (Manning et al 2006), and provide shade, nutrient and water retention and other ecosystem services associated with urban street trees (Grossinger et al 2007). Such benefits could support local populations' resiliency to Although simply increasing oak density would not restore all oak woodland and savanna functions, bringing back historical densities into the contemporary setting could reestablish valuable components of a functioning ecosystem for a much larger area, including many formerly oak dominated valleys in central and southern California.…”

Section: Changes In Valley Oak Stand Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Historical reconstruction of long-term land use history and associated ecological change is essential to understanding modern ecological patterns and processes MacDougall et al 2004) and for developing realistic conservation and restoration targets (Swetnam et al 1999;Eberhardt et al 2003;Grossinger et al 2007). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shifting Baselines in a California Oak Savanna: Nineteenth Century Data to Inform Restoration Scenarios

Whipple

Grossinger

Davis

2011

Restoration Ecology

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For centuries humans have reduced and transformed Mediterranean-climate oak woodland and savanna ecosystems, making it difficult to establish credible baselines for ecosystem structure and composition that can guide ecological restoration efforts. We combined historical data sources, with particular attention to mid-1800s General Land Office witness tree records and maps and twentieth century air photos, to reconstruct 150 years of decline in extent and stand density of Valley oak (Quercus lobata Neé) woodlands and savannas in the Santa Clara Valley of central coastal California.Nineteenth century Valley oak woodlands here were far more extensive and densely stocked than early twentieth century air photos would suggest, although reconstructed basal areas (7.5 m 2 /ha) and densities (48.9 trees/ha) were not outside the modern range reported for this ecosystem type. Tree densities and size distribution varied across the landscape in relation to soil and topography, and trees in open savannas were systematically larger than those in denser woodlands. For the largest woodland stand, we estimated a 99% decline in population from the mid-1800s to the 1930s. Although most

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Section: Glo Witness Tree Recordsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Changes In Valley Oak Stand Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shifting Baselines in a California Oak Savanna: Nineteenth Century Data to Inform Restoration Scenarios

Whipple

Grossinger

Davis

2011

Restoration Ecology

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“…Historical ecologists have reconstructed historical distributions and landscapes by extracting mapped and textual data from archives using these products in planning urban and working landscapes (Beller, Downs, Grossinger, Orr, & Salomon, 2015;Grossinger, Striplen, Askevold, Brewster, & Beller, 2007). For example, photographs, maps, and data originally captured for purposes such as taxation or land surveying have become useful data sources in reconstructing historical vegetation conditions (Grossinger et al, 2007;Stein et al, 2010;Whipple, Grossinger, & Davis, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, photographs, maps, and data originally captured for purposes such as taxation or land surveying have become useful data sources in reconstructing historical vegetation conditions (Grossinger et al, 2007;Stein et al, 2010;Whipple, Grossinger, & Davis, 2011). In addition to mining historical archives, detailed distribution maps of past vegetation conditions are predicted using species distribution modeling (Schussman, Geiger, Mau-Crimmins, & Ward, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Threats and Conservation Status of Historical Centers of Oak Richness in California

Easterday¹,

McIntyre²,

Thorne³

et al. 2016

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Oak trees are emblematic of California landscapes, they serve as keystone cultural and ecological species and as indicators of natural biological diversity. As historically undeveloped landscapes are increasingly converted to urban environments, endemic oak woodland extent is reduced, which underscores the importance of strategic placement and reintroduction of oaks and woodland landscape for the maintenance of biodiversity and reduction of habitat fragmentation. This paper investigated the effects of human urban development on oak species in California by first modeling historical patterns of richness for eight oak tree species using historical map and plot data from the California Vegetation Type Mapping (VTM) collection. We then examined spatial intersections between hot spots of historical oak richness and modern urban and conservation lands and found that impacts from development and conservation vary by both species and richness. Our findings suggest that the impact of urban development on oaks has been small within the areas of highest oak richness but that areas of highest oak richness are also poorly conserved. Third, we argue that current policy measures are inadequate to conserve oak woodlands and suggest regions to prioritize acquisition of conservation lands as well as examine urban regions where previous centers of oak richness were lost as potential frontiers for oak reintroduction. We argue that urban planning could benefit from the adoption of historical data and modern species distribution modelling techniques primarily used in natural resources and conservation fields to better locate hot spots of species richness, understand where habitats and species have been lost historically and use this evidence as incentive to recover what was lost and preserve what still exists. This adoption of historical data and modern techniques would then serve as a paradigm shift in the way Urban Planners recognize, quantify, and use landscape history in modern built environments.

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Persistence of native fishes in small streams of the urbanized San Francisco Estuary, California: acknowledging the role of urban streams in native fish conservation

Leidy

Cervantes-Yoshida

Carlson

2011

Aquatic Conservation

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ABSTRACT1. Urbanization is known to have pernicious consequences for native stream fishes globally. The San Francisco Estuary (SFE), California, is one of the largest, most urbanized estuaries in North America and non-native freshwater fishes are widespread in many of its catchments. Nevertheless, a diverse native and endemic freshwater fish species assemblage remains in this region.2. Historical records were reviewed and sampling conducted throughout SFE catchments to determine the distribution of stream fishes. Native stream fishes were classified by zoogeographic type, habitat preferences, physiological tolerances, and whether native fishes utilized reservoirs during their life cycle.3. From 1993-1999, stream fishes were sampled at 270 sites distributed in 23 SFE catchments to assess the overall status and distribution of native stream fishes, and illuminate drivers of persistence.4. In 2009, stream fishes were sampled at 65 sites within the largest estuary catchment, Alameda Creek, to further explore distributional patterns and drivers of native fish persistence.5. Native stream fishes persist in the urbanized SFE because of several interacting factors, including the existence of extensive undeveloped landscapes in the headwaters of many catchments, the prevalence of saltwater dispersant native stream fishes, the wide physiological tolerances of native species, the presence of saltwater barriers between catchments that presumably reduces the spread of non-native fishes, and the existence of reservoirs that function as habitat for several native species. These results emerged from both the SFE-wide and the Alameda Creek analyses, suggesting they are somewhat general for this region.6. Study results show that streams in spatially complex urban settings retain important conservation benefits to native stream fishes, despite significant perturbations and the establishment of non-native fishes.

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Historical landscape ecology of an urbanized California valley: wetlands and woodlands in the Santa Clara Valley

Cited by 62 publications

References 33 publications

Shifting Baselines in a California Oak Savanna: Nineteenth Century Data to Inform Restoration Scenarios

Shifting Baselines in a California Oak Savanna: Nineteenth Century Data to Inform Restoration Scenarios

Assessing Threats and Conservation Status of Historical Centers of Oak Richness in California

Persistence of native fishes in small streams of the urbanized San Francisco Estuary, California: acknowledging the role of urban streams in native fish conservation

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