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

[Craig Dremann]

Dear Rick and All,

Thanks for your email.  

You asked about the former native perennial grass understory in the
coastal southern California "chaparral".  

The 100 species of California native grasses that I mentioned
previously, used to cover the lower elevations of the whole State, and
each portion of the state usually has about 15-20 local species within a
100 mile radius.    

Most of our California native grasses grow in clumps or as individual
bunches--they're called "bunchgrasses", and you can see them on our
state flag, under the bear.

FORMERLY PRESENT, NOW GONE -  When you look at Dr. Humphrey's photos at
http://www.ecoseeds.com/desertgrass.html there were areas of solid
native perennial grasslands from the 1890s, with few or no shrubs to the
horizon in the photo.

When Dr. Humphrey took his photos in the 1980s of the same areas, only a
shrub ecosystem was present.  

After the grasses were grazed out, and shrubs took the place of the
native grasses, Dr. Humphrey could not find any evidence that the
perennial grasses had ever even grown in some areas, because the grasses
had been completely grazed out.

MUCH OF COASTAL CAL GRAZED OUT - That's what I'm suggesting  happened to
the coastal areas from San Diego northward to Los Angeles, which were
the first ecosystems of California to be attacked by intense exotic
animal grazing, starting in 1769.  

The coastal California shrub communities that burned in the fires this
summer, lost most of its grass understory between 1769 and the 1880s. 
And the EXTREME drought in the 1860s probably producing the heaviest
impact.

EXTREME DROUGHTS - Southern California is experiencing another EXTREME
drought this year, that you can see at 
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html (plus you can see some of my
central California drought photos and my wife's so. Cal. fire photos  at
http://www.drought.unl.edu/gallery/2007/California/California.htm ).

HOLD THE SOILS AFTER BURNS - A most excellent ecological quality is
added by the perennial native bunchgrass understory and the herbaceous
perennials, to the coastal shrub community.  It's the fire resistance of
the roots and their soil-holding properties.

If the shrubs do burn, the bunchgrass roots and some of the herbaceous
perennials are usually spared, and they resprout very quickly after
fires.  The living bunchgrass roots hold the soils on the hillsides
during the rainy season, keeping the hills from sliding into the ocean.

RELICS OF BUNCHGRASS UNDERSTORY, RESPROUTING IN BURN? - If you go out
hiking between now and the end of the year in the burned areas around
San Diego, relic evidences of those native bunchgrasses can probably
still be found.  

2007 ECOLOGICAL SURVEY FOR BUNCHGRASSES IN BURN AREAS? - It might be
useful in the next few months, for an ecological vegetation survey to be
done, to survey as much of the burned areas in Southern California for
evidence of bunchgrasses.

When a good native bunchgrass area is found, if we could get data on
what species exist at what density of cover, then we could start
building an ecological model for future restoration.

LESSION FROM ANOTHER MALIBU FIRE - That's what I saw after another
Malibu fires, several years ago.

In the completely blackened and burned hills above Malibu, I saw the
green leaves of a tiny relic of the bunchgrass understory starting to
resprout, and thought, "If we hadn't grazed out all these good native
bunchgrasses, then these hills wouldn't slide every time there's a fire;
and we might not have had such a such a huge fire to begin with!"

Anyone is free to reprint, pass along, or use either of my two emails
that I've written so far on the subject, as long as it is attributed. 

Sincerely,  Craig Dremann, The Reveg Edge,
Inventing Ecological Restoration technologies, since 1972.
Box 609, Redwood City, CA (650) 325-7333