California oak woodland

The headwaters area of Yulupa Creek in Annadel State Park is cited as one of the best examples of California oak woodlands.

An unusual characteristic of this Annadel forest is the high content of undisturbed prehistoric bunch grass understory, testifying to the absence of historic grazing or other agriculture.

[citation needed] The Morro Bay watershed, located in Central California, is an example of a coast live oak ecosystem.

The same cannot be said for Oregon white oak, which populate traditionally wetter, less fire-prone regions, resulting in the trees having little built-up fire resistance.

[9] Among these species, the California quail (Callipepla californicus), Beechey ground squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi), Botta pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae mewa), Audubon cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii vallicola), deer (Odocoileus spp), bobcat (Lynx rufus californicus), coyote (Canis latrans) and the Pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis oreganus) can commonly be found in California oak woodlands.

Habitat corridors provide protection and food for animals that migrate between patches such as deer, mountain lions, bobcats, or gray foxes.

[9] Snags are the standing wood that is left when trees die and are home to wood-eating insects that are food for animals such as birds.

[11] Recent research by the University of Arkansas Tree-Ring Laboratory has studied several unlogged stands of blue oak woodlands, and suggests that the state may harbor over 500,000 acres (2,000 km2) of such old growth forests.

However, most oaks of full tree size are more than one hundred years old, and few saplings are ever produced, because cattle often tear the plants to pieces.

By evaluating this new information against current State of California economic growth projections, the location and extent of oak woodlands most at risk of development are identified.

[14] Due to residential and commercial development, 64% of California counties reported a decrease of greater than 5% in oak woodland area.