Introduction to California Chaparral

Introduction to California Chaparral

Author: Ronald D. Quinn

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2006-09-20

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 052093900X

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The characteristic look of California Chaparral—a soft bluish-green blanket of vegetation gently covering the hills—is known to millions who have seen it as the backdrop in movies and television productions. This complex ecological community of plants and animals is not just a feature of the hills around Hollywood, but is a quintessential part of the entire California landscape. It is a highly resilient community adapted to life with recurring fires and droughts. Written for a wide audience, this concise, engaging, and beautifully illustrated book describes an ancient and exquisitely balanced environment home to wondrous organisms: Fire Beetles that mate only on burning branches, lizards that shoot blood from their eyes when threatened, Kangaroo Rats that never drink water, and seeds that germinate only after a fire, even if that means waiting in the soil for a 100 years or more. Useful both as a field guide and an introductory overview of the ecology of chaparral, it also provides a better understanding of how we might live in harmony, safety, and appreciation of this unique ecological community. * Identifies chaparral’s common plants, animals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects * Features 79 color illustrations, 56 black-and-white photographs, and 3 maps * Examines the role of humans and fire in chaparral, covering the placement and design of homes, landscaping, and public policy


Introduction to the Plant Life of Southern California

Introduction to the Plant Life of Southern California

Author: Philip W. Rundel

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2005-04-29

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 0520241991

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Rundel introduces readers to the plant communities of the Southern California coastal areas and foothills, including color photos of 250 species and additional color habitat photos.


Valuing Chaparral

Valuing Chaparral

Author: Emma C. Underwood

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-04-09

Total Pages: 483

ISBN-13: 3319683039

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Chaparral shrubland ecosystems are an iconic feature of the California landscape, and a highly biodiverse yet highly flammable backdrop to some of the fastest growing urban areas in the United States. Chaparral-type ecosystems are a common element of all of the world’s Mediterranean-type climate regions – of which California is one – yet there is little public appreciation of the intrinsic value and the ecosystem services that these landscapes provide. Valuing Chaparral is a compendium of contributions from experts in chaparral ecology and management, with a focus on the human relationship with chaparral ecosystems. Chapters cover a wide variety of subjects, ranging from biodiversity to ecosystem services like water provision, erosion control, carbon sequestration and recreation; from the history of human interactions with chaparral to current education and conservation efforts; and from chaparral restoration and management to scenarios of the future under changing climate, land use, and human population. Valuing Chaparral will be of interest to resource managers, the research community, policy makers, and the public who live and work in the chaparral dominated landscapes of California and other Mediterranean-type climate regions.


Introduction to California Chaparral

Introduction to California Chaparral

Author: Ronald D. Quinn

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 9780520219731

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This book will introduce general readers to the plants and animals associated with chaparral and review for biologists and land managers its natural history, ecology, and management challenges.


Baja California Plant Field Guide

Baja California Plant Field Guide

Author: Jon Paul Rebman

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780916251185

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The Baja California Plant Field Guide is a manual to native and naturalized plants of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico. It is a useful guide for the entire Sonoran Desert and for Southern California, as over 50% of the species covered also occur in these regions. Over 715 different plants in 111 plant families are identified (most in both English and Spanish), with both scientific and common names and detailed descriptions. Many species are illustrated with color photographs. Descriptions entail plant habit and height; stem, leaf, flower, and fruit morphology; range; elevation; pollination biology; ethnobotanical uses; and discriminating comparisons with close relatives. This book is intended for everyone from the interested novice to the professional botanist.


Ecosystems of California

Ecosystems of California

Author: Harold Mooney

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2016-01-19

Total Pages: 1008

ISBN-13: 0520278801

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This long-anticipated reference and sourcebook for CaliforniaÕs remarkable ecological abundance provides an integrated assessment of each major ecosystem typeÑits distribution, structure, function, and management. A comprehensive synthesis of our knowledge about this biologically diverse state, Ecosystems of California covers the state from oceans to mountaintops using multiple lenses: past and present, flora and fauna, aquatic and terrestrial, natural and managed. Each chapter evaluates natural processes for a specific ecosystem, describes drivers of change, and discusses how that ecosystem may be altered in the future. This book also explores the drivers of CaliforniaÕs ecological patterns and the history of the stateÕs various ecosystems, outlining how the challenges of climate change and invasive species and opportunities for regulation and stewardship could potentially affect the stateÕs ecosystems. The text explicitly incorporates both human impacts and conservation and restoration efforts and shows how ecosystems support human well-being. Edited by two esteemed ecosystem ecologists and with overviews by leading experts on each ecosystem, this definitive work will be indispensable for natural resource management and conservation professionals as well as for undergraduate or graduate students of CaliforniaÕs environment and curious naturalists.


Trees and Shrubs of California

Trees and Shrubs of California

Author: John David Stuart

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 502

ISBN-13: 9780520221093

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"Finally a guide to the woody plants of wildland California! The easy-to-follow vegetative keys, revealing drawings, crisp color photos, and handy range maps combine to make this a beautiful, reader-friendly resource to the novice and the expert alike. Each species has a page of text, including notes on habitat, morphology, and economic importance."--Michael Barbour, editor of California's Changing Landscapes "I love this book. It is warmly welcome as a guide for California's avid public, a public that includes natural history lovers, conservationists, consultants, agencies, and public and private land managers. It is useful, useable, packed with accurate information, and cannot help but assist us in the difficult job of preserving our natural heritage."--Jake Sigg, President, California Native Plant Society


Terrestrial Vegetation of California, 3rd Edition

Terrestrial Vegetation of California, 3rd Edition

Author: Michael Barbour

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2007-07-17

Total Pages: 732

ISBN-13: 0520249550

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"This completely new edition of Terrestrial Vegetation of California clearly documents the extraordinary complexity and richness of the plant communities and of the state and the forces that shape them. This volume is a storehouse of information of value to anyone concerned with meeting the challenge of understanding, managing or conserving these unique plant communities under the growing threats of climate change, biological invasions and development."—Harold Mooney, Professor of Environmental Biology, Stanford University "The plants of California are under threat like never before. Traditional pressures of development and invasive species have been joined by a newly-recognized threat: human-caused climate change. It is essential that we thoroughly understand current plant community dynamics in order to have a hope of conserving them. This book represents an important, well-timed advance in knowledge of the vegetation of this diverse state and is an essential resource for professionals, students, and the general public alike."—Brent Mishler, Director of the University & Jepson Herbaria and Professor of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley


The California Naturalist Handbook

The California Naturalist Handbook

Author: Greg de Nevers

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2013-02-15

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 0520274806

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The California Naturalist Handbook provides a fun, science-based introduction to California’s natural history with an emphasis on observation, discovery, communication, stewardship and conservation. It is a hands-on guide to learning about the natural environment of California. Subjects covered include California natural history and geology, native plants and animals, California’s freshwater resources and ecosystems, forest and rangeland resources, conservation biology, and the effects of global warming on California’s natural communities. The Handbook also discusses how to create and use a field notebook, natural resource interpretation, citizen science, and collaborative conservation and serves as the primary text for the California Naturalist Program.