Sunday, June 18, 2000
Botanical Field Trips
Please join us for one of the following Bay Area field trips.
Transportation and a box lunch will be provided. All field trips
will leave from UC Berkeley's West Gate Circle at 8:30 am and will
return at approximately 5:30 pm. Trips cost $35 for members / $40 for
non-members and space is limited. Please indicate on the registration
form above if you have special needs or dietary requirements.
Most trips will include short hikes. We recommend that
you wear comfortable walking shoes and bring: water, sunscreen, a
hat, and an extra layer of clothing. Please come prepared for a variety
of weather.
- Point Reyes: Robert Ornduff and Bruce G. Baldwin
The natural beauty and diversity of Point Reyes National
Seashore has long made this area a popular destination, with moderate
temperatures and an abundance to see year round. Robert Ornduff, author
of "Introduction to California Plant Life," and Bruce Baldwin,
Jepson Curator, will lead this special field trip to Point Reyes, with stops
at points of interest along the way. We will explore bishop pine
forest, including areas that are recovering from the 1995 Vision Fire,
coastal salt marshes, coastal prairie, as well as beach and dune areas.
- A Day on Mount Diablo: Barbara Ertter
Rising nearly 4000 feet above the valley floor, Mount Diablo
forms the centerpiece for the East Bay's natural history. The mountain's
complex geology and topography has created a diversity of habitats
that harbor a rich selection of wildflowers, including several that
grow nowhere else. Barbara Ertter, co-author of a recent revision
of Bowerman's "The Flowering Plants and Ferns of Mount Diablo,
California" (in press), will lead a series of short walks and introduce
participants to a seasonal selection of Mount Diablo's floristic treasures.
- Santa Cruz Sandhills: Roy Buck and Jodi McGraw
The Ben Lomond Sand Hills in the Santa Cruz Mountains
represent one of the most remarkable examples of soil-related endemism
in California. Nutrient-poor soils derived from uplifted Miocene
marine sand deposits support a flora (and fauna) that are sharply distinct
from those of the surrounding coastal mountains. The Sand Hills'
flora includes several local endemics and many other disjunct or
otherwise regionally uncommon species. Plant communities in the Sand
Hills range from chaparral dominated by the endemic Bonny Doon
manzanita to disjunct stands of ponderosa pine to the unique and
threatened sand parkland community in which many of the distinctive Sand
Hills species occur. On this field trip, we will see some of the most
outstanding remaining examples of the Sand Hills habitat and
discuss issues related to Sand Hills conservation. The trip may involve
some short stretches of strenuous uphill hiking.
- Cryptogams of the East Bay Redwoods: Brent D. Mishler
Tucked away in the Oakland Hills is the East Bay's very own forest
of native redwoods, replete with a rich understory of shade and
moisture-loving plants and fungi. During an all-day field trip to
Redwood Park, we will focus on California's lesser known (but by no
means less important!) cryptogamic flora: mosses, liverworts, ferns,
fungi, and lichens. Led by Brent Mishler, Director, University &
Jepson Herbaria, our search for these often overlooked gems will take
us through a wide diversity of habitat, ranging from dense redwood
forests, through oak/bay/madrone woods, to open fields, streams,
and rocks. Although past their spring peak, we can also expect to find a
selection of flowering plants.
- Habitat Restoration in Solano County: Pamela C. Muick
As an exciting counterpoint to the dismal mood that so often
characterizes the prognosis of our natural heritage, the burgeoning
science of habitat restoration has come into its own in recent years.
Many aspects are still largely experimental, but success stories also abound.
Join Pamela Muick of the Solano Farmlands & Open Space
Foundation to visit a selection of sites illustrating different examples of
habitat restoration in action and to learn what techniques have been
developed to address a diversity of restoration challenges.
|
