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Maritime coast range ponderosa pine forest

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The maritime coast range ponderosa pine forests, also known as the ponderosa sand parkland and ponderosa pine sandhills are a rare temperate forest assemblage with a very limited range in a portion of the Santa Cruz Mountains of north central coastal California. There are only two known occurrences of this type, located near the towns of Ben Lommond and Bonny Doon in Santa Cruz County, California.

Description

This forest type is restricted to very sandy Zayante soils that are isolated pockets of decomposing sandstone from the Miocene terraces of the coastal range, distinct from the volcanically formed rocks which make up most of the Santa Cruz Range. These soils are deemed to be relicts of once larger expanses found when this region was geologically even younger, and hence had more evidence of the sandstone erosion of the ancient uplifted ocean floor. Estimated to originally cover 6000 acres, 40% of this type has been lost, mostly to sand quarrying and development.

The forests occur on less than 200 acres, consisting of open stands of Ponderosa Pine with occassional Knobcone Pine and Santa Cruz Cypress.

Fire historically played an important role in this habitat.

One of these three forests is located atop a ridge that straddles the Carbonera Creek and Zayante Creek watersheds[1] of Santa Cruz County, California within the western slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

The forests are home to three endemic insects and four endemic plants.[2][3][4][5]

See also

References

  1. ^ USGS Quadrangle Map, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1980).
  2. ^ USFWS. Determination of endangered status for two insects from the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. Federal Register January 24, 1997.
  3. ^ "Plant Communities". Santa Cruz County California Native Plant Society.
  4. ^ "The Santa Cruz Sandhills". Sandhills Alliance for Natural Diversity.
  5. ^ Griffin, James R. (April 1, 1964). "Isolated Pinus Ponderosa Forests on Sandy Soils near Santa Cruz, California". Ecology. 45 (2): 410–412.

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