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A  little-known species from the northern Zagros forests of Iran

Maritime Chaparral in Critical Danger

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S.E. Vanderplank, J.T. Burgess and J. Riley

Published May 2024 in International Oaks No. 35: 71–78

Abstract

Colonet Mesa is home to the only significant outcrops of maritime chaparral in all of Baja California (Mexico). Once a more extensive habitat on the western edge of the mesa, maritime chaparral is now restricted to just a handful of small outcrops in sandy soils on the clay mesa. The plant composition is unique and includes species of conservation concern such as Salvia brandegeei. Environmental dwarfism has reduced these shrubs to less than

80 cm in height, and at times less than 50 cm, forming a unique elfin forest of chaparral shrubs. Individuals of the rare scrub oak Quercus dumosa were documented growing in these same conditions in 2015, but by 2021 they had been entirely extirpated. The conservation of these outcrops should be a priority for biodiversity conservation in Baja California and the California Floristic Province in Mexico. A conservation plan for Q. dumosa is urgently needed.

Keywords

Quercus dumosa, Colonet Mesa, range limits, conservation, Baja California

References

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Clark, K.B., M. Dodero, A. Chavez, and J. Snapp-Cook. 2008. The threatened biological riches of Baja California’s Colonet Mesa. Fremontia 36(4): 3-10.

Griffin, J.R. 1978. Maritime chaparral and endemic shrubs of the Monterey Bay region, California. Madro 25(2): 65-81.

Harper, A., S. Vanderplank, M. Dodero, S. Mata, and J. Ochoa. 2010. Plants of the Colonet Region, Baja California, Mexico, and a vegetation map of Colonet Mesa. Aliso 29: 25-42

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Riley, J. 2018. Vernal pools and their plants, Noroeste Baja California, México. Jardín Botánico San Quintín Press.

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Vanderplank, S.E., J.P. Rebman, and E. Ezcurra. 2018. Where to conserve? Plant biodiversity and endemism in mediterranean Mexico. Biodiversity and conservation 27: 109-122.

Vasey, M.C., V.T. Parker, K.D. Holl, M.E. Loik, and S. Hiatt. 2014. Maritime climate influence on chaparral composition and diversity in the coast range of central California. Ecology and evolution 4(18): 3662-3674.