Date of Award

Fall 2022

Degree Type

Restricted to Claremont Colleges Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Botany, MS

Program

Botany

Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair

Naomi Fraga

Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member

Mare Nazaire

Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member

J. Travis Columbus

Terms of Use & License Information

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Rights Information

© 2022 Nina M House

Keywords

botany, California, flora, floristic study, plants, Sierra Nevada

Subject Categories

Botany

Abstract

The Manter and Salmon Creek watersheds occur in the southern Sierra Nevada, Tulare County, CA. The study area encompasses 132 sq. km. (51 sq. mi.) on the Kern Plateau. There are several aspects of this region that make it worthy of botanical exploration, including the presence of numerous endemic (e.g., Pinus balfouriana subsp. austrina, Eriogonum polypodum ) and rare taxa (e.g., Eriogonum breedlovei var. shevockii, Carlquistia muirii ). In addition, the Domeland Wilderness, which makes up 65 sq. km. (25 sq. mi.) or ca. 50% of the study area, has had little formal documentation of plant diversity. Documenting this diversity in the present time is vital because there are several impacts to the flora from land use and climate change. Cattle grazing, off highway vehicle use, logging, long-term drought, and the impacts from a changing fire regime were all documented at the area. These disturbances may have a lasting impact on the flora. As a part of this study, I completed a total of 24 field trips, totaling 86 field days, that resulted in the collection of 1,412 plant specimens. A total of 590 minimum-rank taxa were documented in the study area, representing 78 families and 270 genera. Of the minimum-ranked taxa, 34 are non-native and 28 have conservation status. Angelica callii , a California endemic with a California Rare Plant Ranking of 4.3, was newly documented in the study area, representing an eastward range extension of 26 km (16 mi). The results include a complete description of vegetation and habitats, as well as an annotated checklist with descriptions of local abundance, habitat types, and a voucher citation for each taxon documented.

ISBN

9798351410784

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