Valley Fire Rare Plant Discovery Surveys
A project between the SDMMP and US Forest Service to establish and prioritize survey areas on Conserved Lands within the perimeter of the 2020 Valley Fire to document whether historic occurrences are extant and to discover new occurrences for 18 rare plant species. In 2022, AECOM and Conservation Biology Institute botanists surveyed areas for 18 target rare plant species and mapped the spatial extent of each new occurrence, counted or estimated the occurrence population size, and collected voucher specimens. They also photographed each new occurrence from a georeferenced location that captured a representative view of the occurrence. Botanists created a species list for the areas surveyed within the Valley Fire footprint. These areas included locations where rare plants were detected and mapped and negative data point areas where rare plants were not detected. In 2023, botanists shall again conduct surveys on suitable habitat on USFS lands burned in the 2020 Valley Fire. Results from these surveys should lead to a greater understanding of post-fire rare plant composition. In 2023, botanists may see species that did not emerge in the first year of surveys, and species found in the first year of surveys may have expanded their range. The 18 rare plant species included in the surveys are: San Diego thornmint (Acanthomintha ilicifolia), Marvin's allium (Allium marvinii), Western spleenwort (Asplenium vespertinum), Deane's milkvetch (Astragalus deanei), Encinitas baccharis (Baccharis vanessae), San Diego goldenstar (Bloomeria clevelandii), Orcutt's brodiaea (Brodiaea orcuttii), Lakeside ceanothus (Ceanothus cyaneus), San Miguel savory (Clinopodium chandleri), Variegated dudleya (Dudleya variegata), Mission Canyon bluecup (Githopsis diffusa filicaulis), Ramona horkelia (Horkelia truncata), Heart-leaved pitcher sage (Lepechinia cardiophylla), Felt-leaved pitcher sage (Monardella hypoleuca lanata), Chaparral nolina (Nolina cismontana), Gander's ragwort (Packera ganderi), Moreno currant (Ribes canthariforme), and Parry's tetracoccus (Tetracoccus dioicus).
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File name | Lead Author | Year | Type |
---|---|---|---|
Barnett Ranch Open Space Preserve Biological Resources Report | 2004 | report | |
County of San Diego MSCP Monitoring Summary Report January 1998 - June 2007 | County of San Diego | 2007 | report |
Salvation Army Divisional Camp and Retreat Biological Report | report |
Southwest Peninsular Range in San Diego County and northern Baja California, Mexico [1].
Ten occurrences on Conserved Lands in Mus 3 (Crestridge Ecological Reserve, Otay Mountain Wilderness Area, Otay Ranch Preserve, San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, Sycuan Peak Ecological Reserve), 4 (Boulder Oaks Preserve, El Capitan Open Space Preserve, Iron Mountain), and 5 (Hellhole Canyon Preserve).
None [2].
Rocky, granitic slopes or hilltops in chaparral and cismontane woodland [1,2]. Chaparral understory, beneath mature strands of Chamise in xeric conditions [3]. Elevation range 300-1500 meters [1].
Lamiaceae family [2].
Perennial rhizomatous herb [2].
Bloom period June-August [2].
No pollination studies are known to exist for M. hypoleuca ssp. lanata; however, other Monardella taxa are visited by butterfly and bee species [5].
Short-interval fires remove seed bank [4]. Additional threats from trampling, nonnative plants, edge effects, and vehicles [4,2].
Integrades with Monardella hypoleuca ssp. intermedia in the small zone where adjacent [1].
[1] Sanders, A.C., M. A. Elvin & M. S. Brunell 2016. Monardella hypoleuca subsp. lanata, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=51605, accessed on September 07, 2016.
[2] CNPS, Rare Plant Program. 2016. Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants (online edition, v8-02). California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, CA. http://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 07 September 2016].
[3] San Diego County Water Authority, Sweetwater Authority, Helix Water District, City of Poway Public Works Department, and Santa Fe Irrigation District. 2015. “Final Mitigated Negative Declaration and Initial Study/ Environmental Checklist Application of Copper-Based Algaecides at Five Reservoirs San Diego County California.â€
[4] “Appendix B Covered Species Analysis San Diego County Water Authority NCCP/HCP.†n.d.
[5] California, United States.†Novon 13: 425–32.