California is Special

How Topography, Geology & Climate Combine…

…to Create California’s Remarkable Biological

Diversity

Land forms

•Coastal forests•N. Coast Ranges•Klamath Mtns.•Interior Coast Ranges•Foothills•Central Valley (Great Valley, Sacramento and San Joaquin)•Cascade & Sierra Nevada Mountains•Modoc Plateau•Southern Deserts

The California Floristic Province

The California Floristic Province is essentially the area in which a Mediterranean climate prevails.It includes some of southwestern Oregon and northwestern BajaCalifornia

Rainfall

Winter storms come in from the PacificWinter storms bring rainMountains capture the rain

First the Coast RangesNext the western slopes of the Cascade/Sierra

Not much left for the eastern edge of CaliforniaSummers are dry, even on coast, although there is fog

More native plants than any other state

•One quarter of native plants of North America are found in California•About 6000 kinds --species and varieties•2000+ endemics --found nowhere else, only in California•All groups of vascular plants: conifers, flowering plants, ferns

Plants: largest, smallest, oldest

Coast redwood: tallest tree at 369 ft plusGiant sequoia: most massive treeSmallest plants: duckweeds, dime-sized poppyLongest-living tree: 4,500-year-old bristleconesShortest-living plants: spring puddle (vernal pool) species with life cycle of a few weeks

Most varied plants of anywhere on earthWhy?

Varied landforms (mountains, valleys)Complex geology (different soil types)Varied climate

varied across the statevaried through time

California Geology—

It’s Complicate

d

Mediterranean or Dry Summer Subtropical Climate

The Dry Summer Subtropical climate is also known as the "Mediterranean" climate because the land that borders the Mediterranean Sea is a type locality for this climate. The wet winter/dry summer seasonality of precipitation is the defining characteristic of this climate. Summer drought places a great deal of stress on the local vegetation, but plant structures have evolved to adapt to it.

Mediterranean Climate zones of the World

Precipitation & Temperature in Mediterranean Climates

What do different Mediterranean climates share? Wildfires,

vineyards, vacationers, retirees, and plant diversity

Photosynthesis—how it relates to California

vegetation and climate

Water Carbon Dioxide

Oxygen

Sugar

What Factors Affect Photosynthesis?

• Temperature—the Goldilocks Effect• Light• Water Availability

Summer drought +Heat = dormancy

Varied ClimateRain: 160 inches at Monterey

0 inches in Death Valley20-80 inches depending where in Whiskeytown NRA

Temp: -45 degrees F in Boca (near Truckee)+134 degrees F in Death Valley

Growing Season: 365 days along the central coastless than 100 days in mountains

Each area has different plants!

•Conifer forests of coast •Conifer forests of coastal mountains •Oak woodlands of foothills•Grasslands of valley•Streamside trees along rivers•Conifer forests of interior mountains•Deserts

California Climate Thru Time

•When North America was flatter, the west coast of North America used to have a climate more like today’s east coast.

•With the gradual rise of the mountain ranges, west slopes got wetter, interior valleys got drier, and summer rain decreased.

Topography, Geology & Climate Combine…

…to Create California’s Remarkable Botanical

Diversity