Chapter 3 - Natural Resources - Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

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MCB Camp Pendleton, California 3.2.2.1. Vegetation Communities on Camp Pendleton Vegetation distribution is primarily determined by climate, available moisture and soil nutrients. Thus rainfall, temperature, soil type, topographic position, and elevation are all important predictors of vegetation. All of these vary substantially on Base because of its coastal location, diverse geology, and pronounced topography. Elevation on Base ranges from sea level to 3,189 ft. Precipitation is lowest at the coast, around 10 inches average, increasing to the east to a high of 24 inches near Case Springs. Most rain, 70%, falls from February to March. Temperature varies from the low 100’s ◦ F in summer to just below freezing in some areas during the winter, with mean temperature decreasing with elevation (Zedler et al. 1997). The coastal communities receive the lowest average rainfall, however, they benefit from frequent fog and the moderating influence of the ocean, which reduces heat and moisture stress during the summer. Along the immediate beach a unique set of species making up the southern foredune community occupies the actively moving sand dunes (two locations). Salt marsh is found where low topography combines with freshwater inflow and tidal influence to support salt marsh and brackish marsh. On the stable drier soils along the coast there are CSS-covered foothills, and a mixture of native and non-native grasslands in the central valleys. Chaparral is found in the higher foothills, back ranges and open woodlands along the peaks (Zedler et al. 1997). 3.2.2.2. Rare and Sensitive Plants The first comprehensive botanical survey on Camp Pendleton was completed in 1986. Since then, more than 10 surveys for rare and endangered plants have been conducted on Base. Some of these surveys were conducted basewide, while others focused on selected portions of the Base or specific plants. Surveys focusing on rare and sensitive plants were conducted in: 1987 (PSBS 1987), 1988 (PSBS 1988), 1990 (PSBS 1990), 1993-1996 (Dudek & Associates 1994, 1996; Zedler & Bliss 1993), 1997 (RECON 1999) and 2000 (Tierra Data Systems 2000a). Since 2001, rare plant surveys have become more speciesspecific, with as many as three separate surveys conducted in any one year. RECON, AMEC, EDAW, North State Resources, and Dudek have completed rare plant surveys; San Diego State University students working for SDSU’s Soil Ecology Restoration Group (SERG), under professor guidance, have also supported some of these survey efforts. The number and intensity of rare plant surveys are dependent upon annual funding (Lucas pers. comm. 2008). As a result of these surveys, a total of 39 sensitive plant species have been located on Camp Pendleton including one new species, Camp Pendleton button-celery (Eryngium pendletonense), and two species whose locations represented a 45-mile (Brand’s phacelia, Phacelia stellaris) and a 300-mile (La Purisima viguiera, aka Viguiera purissimae Brandegee) extension of their known range. Also these surveys specifically looked for other federal and State listed plant species that were known to occur in the region, including Encinitas baccharis (Baccharis vanessae), San Diego ambrosia (Ambrosia pumila) and San Diego thorn-mint (Acanthomintha ilicifolia), but to date have not been identified on Camp Pendleton. The Base continues to look for and document occurrences of rare plants through basewide and project-level survey efforts. 3-22 Chapter 3 – Natural Resources
Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan [March 2012 - Update] First identified on 13 June 1992, Camp Pendleton button-celery (Eryngium pendletonense) was described as a new species in 1999 and is only known to occur on Camp Pendleton (Marsden and Simpson 1999). Camp Pendleton button-celery was distinguished from the more widespread San Diego button-celery (Eryngium aristulatum), a federally endangered listed species that also occurs on Camp Pendleton. Camp Pendleton uses the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) inventory and assessment to identify rare and sensitive plants that may require special surveys and/or management. The heart of the CNPS Inventory is their assessment of the current conservation status of each of California’s rare, threatened, and endangered plants, with an emphasis on plants that are rare in California. Table 3-5 below identifies rare and sensitive plants mapped on Base along with their State and federal listing status, which CNPS list they are on, the threat code, the habitat it is typically found in, and comments. TABLE 3-5. RARE AND SENSITIVE PLANT SPECIES FOUND ON CAMP PENDLETON Species Ambronia maritima Red sand-verbena Arctostaphylos rainbowensis Rainbow manzanita Brodiaea filifolia Thread-leaved brodiaea Brodiaea orcuttii Orcutt’s brodiaea Calandrinia maritima Seaside calandrinia Caulanthus simulans Payson’s jewelflower Chamaebatia australis Southern mountain misery Comarostaphylis diversifolia ssp. diversifolia Summer holly Coreopsis maritima Sea dahlia Corethrogyne filaginifolia var. incana San Diego sand aster State/ Federal Status CNPS List a CNPS Threat Code b Voucher Specimen --/-- 4 2 Yes Coastal dunes --/-- 1B 1 Yes Chaparral CE/FT 1B 1 Yes --/-- 1B 1 No --/-- 4 2 Yes --/-- 4 2 Yes --/-- 4 2 Yes Chaparral --/-- 1B 2 Yes Typical Habitat/Comments Chaparral, cismontane woodland, CSS, playas, Valley and foothill grassland, and vernal pools Closed-cone coniferous forest, chaparral, cismontane woodland, meadows and seeps, valley and foothill grassland, and vernal pools Coastal bluff scrub, coastal scrub, and valley and foothill grassland Chaparral and CSS/sandy, granitic Chaparral, and cismontane woodland --/-- 2 2 Yes Coastal bluff scrub and CSS --/-- 1B 1 Coastal bluff scrub, chaparral, and CSS Chapter 3 – Natural Resources 3-23
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Chapter 3 - Natural Resources - Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

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