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Ecological Evaluation of Brovelli Woods P.C. Muick <br /> usual valley oak. Although all of these trees have been mapped at <br /> this location, virtually all of the nearby savannas have been cleared <br /> since 1963 . The vegetation types and physical features of the property <br /> are mapped in Figure 3 . I did not evaluate the largely ruderal and <br /> remnant agricultural vegetation associated with the lakebeds, or the <br /> vegetation of the areas the owners plan to keep in agricultural use. <br /> Additionally, I concentrated my efforts in evaluating the forest, and <br /> spent only a few hours examining the savanna or the vernal pools. In <br /> Table 1 acreages for several categories of land use or vegetation have <br /> been estimated. <br /> Table 1 : Estimated acreages for Brovelli Woods by land use or <br /> vegetation type. <br /> ------------------------------------------------------------------ <br /> Type of vegetation Acres Method of Estimation <br /> or Source of Info. <br /> ---------------------------------------------------------------- <br /> Vernal pools 2 Planimeter <br /> Closed canopy oak forest <br /> bordering river 90 Planimeter <br /> (before clearing for <br /> fairways) <br /> Lakes 350 Kjeldsen-Sinnock report <br /> Oak-buckeye savanna & 418 Subtraction from total <br /> lake edge & agricultural <br /> Total Acreage 860 Catwil Group <br /> -------------------------------------------------------------- <br /> Oak - Buckeye Savanna <br /> The oak-buckeye savanna defines the northern edge of Brovelli <br /> Woods and occupies about 300 acres of the property. Oak species <br /> include interior live oak (Quercus wislizenii ) valley oak (Q. lobata) , <br /> and blue oak ( Q. douglasii ) . Coast live oak may occur here and one <br /> tree was found which appears to be Q. agrifolia . Individual buckeye <br /> trees (Aesculus californica ) and clusters of buckeyes are found <br /> adjacent to and underneath oaks as well as in separate groupings. <br /> Using the 1983 air photo, tree densities in the savanna are estimated <br /> at one to two trees per acre. The pattern of tree distribution is <br /> highly variable , including openings with no trees for several to many <br /> acres as well as other areas containing as many as six to eight trees <br /> per acre. Tree density generally increases near the margins of the <br /> lakes . It is difficult to outline the exact boundary where the <br /> savanna vegetation type ends and the lake edge vegetation begins. <br /> This is because both savanna species and other more typical wetland <br /> species such as cottonwood, willow and buttonbrush may line the lake <br /> edge. <br /> 1 6 <br />