PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #17: Restoration using Fire.
Tuesday, August 6. Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC

Implications of landscapes altered from variable management practices: Response of central maritime chaparral to fire versus mechanical clearance methods.

SMYLY, JEFFREY^*,1, CALLAWAY, JOHN¹, MACDONALD, THOMAS¹, ¹ University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

ABSTRACT- Military base closures in the past decade have created many opportunities for the conservation and preservation of unique, endemic, and sensitive habitats. Management practices determine the sustainable long-term integrity of these ecosystems. A substantial component of some military base closures involves the cleanup of unexploded ordnance and explosives (OE). To effectively remove the ordnance, it is necessary to remove the vegetation in the contaminated areas. This research examined vegetation recovery following two methods of vegetation removal in OE areas that are dominated by central maritime chaparral (a common vegetation type in coastal California): fire and mechanical clearance. Results from this study will help develop an understanding of how vegetation management practices can influence landscape coverage for maritime chaparral and can be used to improve ordnance removal methodology in future base cleanup activities. Line transect data were collected beginning in 1994 at Fort Ord, California for the Department of the Army, including baseline measures establishing vegetation composition before removal and monitoring for several years following removal. Post-vegetation monitoring was conducted by measuring the percent cover of shrubs along line transects and using quadrat sampling for herbaceous plants. Both removal methods resulted in substantial loss of shrub cover (over 80%), and recovery ranged from 0 to 20% after 2 years. Herbaceous cover has been relatively quick to recover, with up to 65% cover after 2 years, whereas shrub recovery has been slow. Recovery depends on both the removal method and the particular species affected.

KEY WORDS: Chaparral, Fire, Restoration