Article Title
A floristic study of Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, Sonoma County, California
Abstract
A ist of 400 vascular plants was compiled for Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, a 1142 hectare (2820 acre) park in the outer North Coast Ranges within Sonoma County and adjacent western Napa County, California. Relatively undisturbed stands of native perennial bunchgrasses occur the understory In portions of both the oakwood land and the mixed evergreen forest. Grasslands on serpentine in the park are typically dominated by Nassella. One of the sttlte's eastentmost coast redwood forests occurs in the park. Nonnative Centaurea solstitialis rapidly invades annual grasslands and other disturbed in the park. The California Oepanment of and Recreation (DPR) maintains an active prescribed burn program in an effort to control Cenrournt solstitialis populations. DPR also prescribed burning to retard Pseudotsuga menziesii in oak woodlands. DPR biologists ms believe that fire suppression in this region results in an unnatural type conversion of oak woodlands to mixed evergreen forest.