2008 Annual Monitoring Report (pdf 10.9MB) - Bolsa Chica ...

Bolsa Chica Lowlands Restoration Monitoring
2008 Annual Report
within the plant canopy often resulted in the total percent cover exceeding 100%. The percent cover
excluding overlap was determined by considering only the dominant plant species for each transect.
Results
Habitat Mapping
Ten vegetated and seven non-vegetated habitats were mapped within the 402-ha (994-acre) study area
in 2008. Vegetated habitats included southern coastal salt marsh, disturbed coastal salt marsh,
cordgrass, mule fat scrub, coastal sage scrub, coastal and valley freshwater marsh, southern arroyo
willow riparian forest, eelgrass, decaying/transitional vegetation, and non-native vegetation. Although
cordgrass is a component of southern coastal salt marsh, it was mapped separately to track its spread
throughout the site. Non-vegetated habitats included: salt panne, disturbed salt panne, intertidal sand
shoal, intertidal mudflat, open water, unvegetated nest site, and urban/developed. Figure 1-3 presents
the habitats mapped on-site, and Table 1-1 summarizes the acreage of each. The following text
describes each habitat in detail.
Table 1-1. Area of habitats within the Bolsa Chica study area (May 2008).
Habitat Hectares Acres
Southern coastal salt marsh 92.0 227.2
Disturbed southern coastal salt marsh* 7.1 17.5
Cordgrass*