Site C

Blue oak woodland, blue oak foothill pine woodland; 40 to 59 percent canopy cover

Oak Cover/Forestry Assessment:
Oak volumes range from 425 to 1200 cubic feet per acre. Ten year growth ranges from 50 to 130 cubic feet per acre. Firewood harvest potential exists, but avoid using equipment on slopes over 30 percent to minimize erosion.. Harvest levels should approximately equal growth to maintain existing oak cover for diverse resource values. Approximately 85 to 250 cubic feet per acre can be harvested every 20 years from these stands. Ensure adequate oak regeneration after harvest.

Recreation Assessment:
These areas are excellent for medium to large populations of mule and black-tailed deer, squirrel, wild pigs, wild turkeys, mourning dove, and band-tailed pigeons. On areas with less than 30 percent slope, the terrain is excellent for hunter access. Careful tree thinning can complement game habitat. Where controlled fire can be used, it can help stimulate palatable shrub browse. Seeding clover and other legumes and maintaining it through grazing will benefit deer, turkey and quail.

Wildlife Diversity Assessment:
These blue oak woodland stands support a large number of wildlife species. The higher tree density makes these areas less desirable for open grassland species such as western meadowlarks and western kingbirds, but very desirable for woodland species such as Pacific-slope flycatchers and wild pigs. The occurrence of more complex habitats, through the presence of habitat elements such riparian zones, snags, trees with cavities, and large woody debris, has an important effect on biodiversity. 19 amphibian species, 28 reptile species, 64 mammal species, and 128 bird species are predicted to occur by CWHR on the most diverse habitats in these stands. If there are no riparian zones or water sources, no snags or cavity trees, and no large woody debris or brush piles on the site, the number of vertebrate wildlife species predicted to occur on these habitats falls to 10 amphibian species, 26 reptiles, 30 mammals, and 95 bird species. This points to the importance of maintaining diversity in the habitat elements present in the stand to provide for the highest possible diversity of wildlife species.

Grazing Assessment:
Average forage production capability is 2,000 pounds per acre with a range from 1,000 to 2,800 pounds. In areas with less than 20 inches of annual rainfall and during drought years on higher average rainfall areas, range productivity and forage nutritional value is often enhanced by the presence of this level of oak cover. In higher rainfall areas, the shading effect of the canopy suppresses total production. Thistles and other undesirable plants may occur under the tree canopy, although this is not typical. Potential for range improvement on slopes less than 30 percent through seeding, fertilization, and grazing management may increase productivity by two- to three-fold where production is currently at the low end of the scale. Tree thinning will increase forage production under the removed canopy in the higher rainfall zones of the state (over 20 inches per year).