SR 06:208 - Laserfiche WebLink

occurs along rid!,es to the west and in the Southeast Hills. 'I1,e eastern slopes of the Pleasanton and Main Ridges contain the greatest concentration of native plant life in the Plannin!' Area. Grassland. Grasslands arc the dominant vegetative community found in hilly areas. Due to livestock grazing, non-native annual species - barnyard !!,rass bromes goat grass. nit grass Italian rye wild rye. wild oats. ripgut grass barley. soft chess. fescue oatgrass and Kentucky blue!!,rass - have mostly replaced native grasses. Native grasses still growing in the Planning Area arc perennial native bunchgrasses. including purple needlegrass and nodding needlegrass. Common non-native herbaceous plants in grassland habitats include bur clover, fennel, filaree, a variety of thistles prickly lettuce. mustards and white clover. After winter rains. the blossoms of indigenous plants - the California buttercup, California poppy. lupine common chickweed. miner's lettuce. clovers. wild violet and fuchsia - dot the grasslands. Cattle graze on many grasslands in the Planning A rea. The Californi.~ Department of Fish and Game has identified purple needle grass~i:t-a native species found within the Planning Area, ..hieh l.aj been idcntified b) DFc as a Special Status Plant Community. The Department also considers the following plant species~are-known to occur in or near the Planning Area, "hieh are eonjidered b) DFc to be as Sensitive Plant Species: San Joa'luin saltbrnsh, Diablo hclianthella, ltfltI-Congdon's tarplant, and a few others. Bmshland. 'I1,ese consist of chaparral and scrnb vegetation i.. fotllltl growing in patches on the sides and crests of ridges and near the bottoms of ravines and creeks. Common shrubs found in these areas include coyote brnsh, Califomia toyon, bush monkey flower, poison oak, California sagebrnsh, California buckwheat. silver bush lupine. and coffee berry. I.ower profile plants - purple needlegrass. brome rrasses. annual fescues. and haiJ;y coyote mint - sprout among the shrubs. More brnshland plants arc indigenous to California than_arc plant' in grassland-area~. The Planning Area docs not contain any areas of predominant brnshland that arc not subsumed witlun another ecosystem such as woodland or grassland. Woodland. Oak woodland covers nearly the entire upper half of the ridges and extends along stream channels and into the lower slope of grassland areasof the le..er ..Iope... 'l1,ese arc visible from many parts of Pleasanton. Trees in woodland areas arc predominantly oaks, including coast live oak, valley oak, black oak, and blue oak. Scattered among tlle oaks. Califonua laurel, big-leaf maple, and California buckeye are-commonly growf0und..eattered alfi0ng the oal". Other shrubs, herbs, and grasses also~thrive in woodland areas. On steep north-fadn!, slopes herbaceous ground cover under tree canopies and never exposed to sunlirht include miner's lettuce. common chickweed. a variety of ferns. and California polypody. Transitions between the edges of woodlands and grasslands in the Planning Area contain hi!!,hly variable clitnax woodlands" of blue oak valley oak. coast live oak. and California buckeye intcnnixcd .. If an ecosystem is not disturbed. climax vegetation is the final stage of mature amI stable vegetation that the ecosystem will achieve under prevailing environmental conditions over a long period of time. C..on os I :kmc:nl. CC ()82')06, rnDinc VII-6