[PCA] FW: RE: RE: Reduce Western fires -- replant the native understory!

Thu Nov 1 18:07:59 CDT 2007

Rob (Smithsonian) is a co-author of the "Catalogue of New World Grasses."  LEM
Larry Morse
Washington, D.C.
larry.morse.dc at earthlink.net
(Larry.E.Morse at LEM-Natural-Diversity.com)
(202)-543-2488
< http://www.lem-natural-diversity.com/ >

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Soreng, Robert 
To:
Sent: 11/1/2007 6:48:11 PM 
Subject: RE: RE: Reduce Western fires -- replant the native understory!

For more on California grasslands see the recently published:

Stromberg, M.R., J.D. Corbin, and C.M. D’Antonio 2007. Ecology and management of California grasslands. University of California Press, Berkeley. 

There, in chapter 2,  the San Diego area is classified within Valley/South Coastal Grassland, and the map provided shows the San Diego portion as almost entirely urban today.

Regarding the grasses:

Among the major native grasses are the perennials: Nassella puchra, N. cernua, Aristida hamulosa, Elymus glaucus, Koeleria pyramidata (as K. cristata), Melica species, and  Poa secunda. 

However, these species have mostly been replaced by Mediterranean annual grasses, species of Bromus, Hordeum, Avena, Brachypodium, Cynosurus, Taeniatherum, etc.

These annuals, in a year with good moisture, provide a lot of fuel for fires.

Good luck restoring the native perennials. 

Rob

Robert J. Soreng, Research Associate
Botany, NHB MRC-166
National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, DC USA  20013-7012

sorengr at si.edu, 202-633-0981, 202-786-2563 (fax)

Catalogue of New World Grasses
http://mobot.mobot.org/W3T/Search/nwgc.html

From: Larry Morse [mailto:larry.morse.dc at earthlink.net] 
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 6:03 PM
To: Alan Whittemore; Ann Johnson; Chris Lea; Diana Morse; Doug Ripley; Jamie Whitacre; Jane Gorbaty; Jennifer Swenson; John Kartesz; John Randall; Kimberly Tyler; Liz Benjamin; Mary Pfaffko; Peterson, Paul; Peter Whitney; Rhonda Stewart; Rod Simmons; Sally Claggett; Sherry Adams; Soreng, Robert
Subject: FW: RE: Reduce Western fires -- replant the native understory!

And the debate is on!  [Bold added LEM] 
Larry

Larry Morse
Washington, D.C.
larry.morse.dc at earthlink.net
(Larry.E.Morse at LEM-Natural-Diversity.com)
(202)-543-2488
< http://www.lem-natural-diversity.com/ >

> [Original Message]
> From: Richard Halsey <rwh at californiachaparral.org>
> To: Craig Dremann <craig at astreet.com>; <larry.morse.dc at earthlink.net>
> Cc: PCA Native Plants List <native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org>; NS Botany List <botany at lists.natureserve.org>; NS Ecology List <ecology at lists.natureserve.org>; <cnpssd-l at ucsd.edu>
> Date: 11/1/2007 4:54:55 PM
> Subject: RE: Reduce Western fires -- replant the native understory!
>
> I don't know how to respond to this other than to say there is no basis in
> fact for what you are saying. First of all, chaparral systems do NOT have a
> grass understory and there has never been evidence for one. Secondly ,
> chaparral canopy cover typically becomes 100% within 10-20 years post fire.
> There has never been any evidence to the contrary.
>
> Could you offer any papers or research that would support any of the claims
> you are making?
>
> Rick Halsey
>
> The California Chaparral Institute
> ...the voice of the chaparral
> www.californiachaparral.org
>  
> P.O. Box 545
> Escondido, CA  92033
> 760-822-0029
> *******************************************************************
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Craig Dremann [mailto:craig at astreet.com] 
> Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 1:02 PM
> To: larry.morse.dc at earthlink.net
> Cc: PCA Native Plants List; NS Botany List; NS Ecology List;
> rwh at californiachaparral.org
> Subject: Reduce Western fires -- replant the native understory!
>
> Dear Lar ry and All,
>
> Thanks for your note on the southern California fires.  
>
> The removal of the perennial native grasses in southern California,
> starting in 1769, has greatly increased the densities of the shrubs in
> the "chaparral" areas, so that they are able to carry fire better.  
>
> This is an issue that I haven't seen discussed yet, about the fires.  
>
> Originally the Southern California coastal "chaparral" ecosystem was
> only about a 30-40% shrub cover.  The other 60-70% of the ecosystem were
> low-growing (about 6"-15" tall) perennial grasses and perennial
> herbaceous plants between the shrubs, that stayed green all year long,
> and were very fire-resistant.
>
> You can see a photo of California's originally most widespread native
> grasses, the Purple Needlegrass, "Stipa" or Nassella pulchra, that is
> also pictured on the Californi a flag below the Grizzly Bear, at
> http://www.ecoseeds.com/stipa.1.JPG
>
> Unfortunately the 100-200 years of grazing in California, has almost
> completely removed the 100 species of native grasses and hundreds of
> species of herbaceous native perennials that formerly grew, as our
> understory below 3,000 ft. elevation.
>
> Removal of the native understory helped to greatly increase fire danger,
> since in most places, either annual exotic grasses filled in those
> spaces, or the flammable shrubs have grown together as a solid mass.
>
> You can see Dr. Humphrey's photos of the conversion within less than 100
> years, of perennial native western grasslands to shrublands at
> http://www.ecoseeds.com/desertgrass.html 
>
> A good place to start, might be a Native Vegetation Understory Inventory
> every 10 years, to see what we have left of our perennial native
> underst ory.  
>
> You can see the beginnings of an inventory for 1997, a measuring of the
> native understory that is left of several of the Western states, at
> http://www.ecoseeds.com/megatransect.html
>
> As long as our lands in the Western States are missing their original
> native understory, that land is extremely vulnerable to both weed
> infestations and abnormal fires.
>
> Sincerely,  Craig Dremann, Redwood City, CA (650) 325-7333
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