DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION PROJECTS
The Ventura County Resource Conservation District (VCRCD), partnered with Atmore & Sons; a private landowner in Ventura County, to plant and monitor 400 Quercus agrifolia (Coast Live Oaks) and Platanus racemosa (Western Sycamore) for the next 25 years. This restoration project spans approximately 15 acres of actively grazed ranchland owned by Atmore & Sons. The 15 acres are broken into five distinct tree planting sites (Figure 1), each site was chosen due to their ease of access, planting suitability, and operational value. The sites are all contiguous with open, foothill lands north of San Buenaventura (Ventura) and the adjacent Los Padres National Forest, which offers open space and wildlife corridor access for local species. The Ventura foothills supported many oak woodlands in the past but historic anthropogenic activities (overgrazing, logging, and clear cutting) eliminated the trees and their associated vegetative communities, which promoted the landscape’s succession from costal sage scrub to annual and non-native grasses which adversely affect soil stability and equality.
The Atmore property has an intermittent stream that drains north-south, through the mouth of the canyon and into Ventura, ultimately discharging in Ventura Harbor. While certain sections of the stream’s bank and channel within the canyon support riparian vegetation, it is largely denuded due to fires, rapid flows, and cattle. Since there is the lack of shade, cattle congregate in the stream channel where it is cooler, which exacerbates erosion and stops native revegetation in the stream banks and channels. Cattle also seek shelter by disbursing into the gorges that drain into the stream along the length of the canyon, which destabilizes the soil and makes it difficult to collect the herd. This project will enhance the Atmore & Sons site by establishing Coast Live Oaks and Western Sycamores which will provide shade for cattle, resources for wildlife, and keystone species to support both the ecological functionality of upland habitat and stability of the riparian zone.
Figure 1: Figure illustrating the Oak & Sycamore Restoration Sites (Pilot Expansion Site, Mid-Barlow Site, Barlow Corral Site, and Hayfield Site) on actively grazed private ranchland in and adjacent to Barlow Canyon, north of San Buenaventura (Ventura), in Ventura County.
A major goal for this project is to establish a healthy and functional oak woodland habitat and restore upland and riparian ecosystems to provide long-term wildlife and regional watershed benefits while not compromising the ranch’s operations.
A second major goal is to offer experientially based educational opportunities to both the public and restoration communities and demonstrate the role private working landscapes can play in helping California mitigate against habitat loss and climate disruptions.
To support these goals, the project’s objectives are to 1) plant Coast Live Oaks and Western Sycamores in specified deforested sites on the ranch upland of the riparian zone; 2) monitor site restoration success and track wildlife, ecosystem, and watershed benefits; 3) demonstrate oak woodland restoration techniques to multiple and diverse stakeholder and community groups; and 4) generate and assess data to inform the efficacy of oak woodland restoration efforts, locally and regionally.
Currently, VCRCD and Atmore & Sons are planning on planting more Coast Live Oaks and Western Sycamores at Expansion and will be monitoring the restoration site throughout the year.
Monitoring will be conducted to collect data for three purposes 1) to ensure the health of the vegetative community; 2) to determine the presence and changes in population of wildlife; and 3) to evaluate environmental conditions. These results, as well as practical insights gleaned during implementation, will be used to ascertain project success metrics and to inform future oak restoration projects.
Vegetation Monitoring
Surveys of the restored vegetation, i.e., Coast Live Oaks and Western Sycamores, as well of the surrounding vegetation will be conducted to ensure the health of the restoration project and to identify changes in the existing vegetative communities.
For planted seedlings, tree heights will be measured and canopy cover growth estimated on an annual basis. Once sufficient growth is obtained, tree trunk diameters at breast height (DBH) will be measured and recorded. For planted acorns, germination success will be recorded. Thereafter, they will be monitored as seedlings. Trees will also be monitored for signs of disease such as root rot, fusiform rust, and bacterial leaf scorch, among others.
For existing vegetation, transects will be established to delineate baseline conditions and annual surveys will be conducted to determine changes in species density and composition. Transects will be established both within and outside of restoration plots. Depending on the bloom times of the species that are present, surveys may occur anytime between March through September.
Wildlife Monitoring
Wildlife monitoring will be conducted to ascertain the impact of the restored vegetation on the existing wildlife community in terms of their general use of the restoration areas and diversity of species visiting.
Monitoring will include the use of wildlife cameras as well as monthly surveys for wildlife observations and detection of signs (burrows, nests, scat, tracks, etc.).
Avian surveys will be conducted four times during bird breeding and migratory season, starting in Spring, to determine the diversity of bird species present and those species breeding in the area.
Environmental Monitoring
Monitoring of environmental conditions will be conducted to understand ecologically relevant changes at planting sites, including temperature, hydrology, and landscape conditions.
Soil temperature will be monitored to develop correlations to changes in soil organic matter, soil water retention, and shading.
Soil moisture will be monitored to refine irrigation and enhance seedling survivorship as well as to understand the effect of oak woodland restoration on local hydrologic cycles.
Overall visual site conditions will be captured at established photo points to document landscape changes through time.
The Ventura County Resource Conservation District (VCRCD), partnered with King & King Ranch; a private landowner in Ventura County, to plant for two 0.25-acres agricultural hedgerows. This project will purchase a well filter, a variable frequency drive, and a soil moisture sensor system. These components will complement ongoing and planned efforts, specifically the current planting of a native plant windrow and an ongoing 32-acre conversion of row crops to organic avocado.
• providing connectivity in lands adjacent to wildlife corridors
• restoration of endangered species habitat
• wildlife conservation through projects on private land
• efficient use and conservation of water
• capture of storm-water to recharge groundwater
Figure 1: Figure illustrating King & King Farm hedgerow project and property.
Hedgerows will enhance habitat for local wildlife with the specific goal of providing resources for two endangered bird species, the least Bell’s vireo and the southwestern willow flycatcher. The hedgerows will also provide shelter for wildlife trying to access the Santa Clara River riparian corridor via the adjacent Santa Monica-Sierra Madre wildlife corridor.
The hedgerows will also provide shelter to native pollinators and beneficial insects while providing alternative forage for honeybees, the farms primary pollinator. As the hedgerows grow, they will sequester atmospheric carbon as woody biomass and soil organic matter, restocking soil organic matter and restoring soil structure. These soil-based benefits will contribute to the farm’s resiliency by increasing water storage and soil health and fertility.
The agricultural water-use efficiency improvements include a filter, variable frequency drive (VFD), and soil moisture sensor system. These improvements will support both the hedgerow and the planned row crop to avocado conversion. Drip irrigation will be used for hedgerow establishment and a filter will ensure the drip emitters do not clog. A VFD will allow the well pump to match power use with load, reducing electrical demand and operational costs. A soil moisture sensor system will allow for accurate irrigation scheduling, reducing power use and groundwater withdrawals.
The goal of this project is to establish a hedgerow to provide ecological services to the adjacent wildlife corridor and agricultural operation. The area where the hedgerow will be established is currently devoid of vegetation because it is part of a cultivated agricultural parcel. Monitoring will begin around the same time that the hedgerow vegetation is planted which is expected to occur around mid-May 2021. Once baseline monitoring has been established, and the hedgerows have been planted, both floral and faunal monitoring will occur.
Agriculture has many negative lasting effects for pollinating – species and birds. Some of the more obvious ones are the habitat degradation, lack of food resources, and lack of shelter. There are also other effects such as a reduction of abundance of the litter-dwelling arthropods which are prey items for many birds. Birds will typically nest where there is an abundance of resources and shelter and may perch in windrows and use hedgerow for foraging if seeds or fruit are present. Other vertebrates will also use the hedgerows and windrows as an additional shelter and food resource, so their presence will be monitored as well. This monitoring plan will assess the increase of vertebrates and invertebrates that the hedgerows and windrows attract which will, in return, provide ecological services to the neighboring agricultural fields.
Floral Monitoring
Floral monitoring will assess the survivability and success rate of the newly planted hedgerows. Hedgerow plants were chosen to have different flowering periods and floral diversity. This will in return attract a diverse pollinator population that will help the success of the organic avocado crop and will strengthen the population of natural enemies to crop pests. We will track the success of these plants with the expectation that their success will provide habitat, resources, and shelter for local wildlife.
Floral monitoring will involve establishing photo points to track the growth of the hedgerow over the lifetime of the grant. Initial, pre-project photo points will be established early May 2021 prior to planting. Subsequent photo documentation will occur twice a year using these same locations and vantage points.
Survivorship will be noted when conducting the photo monitoring. These photo points will help to visualize the change over time while the other monitoring will help to look at other metrics. Other observational questions will be on the photo monitoring sheet such as physical evidence for the presence of mammalian species, phenotype variability and any other notable differences of the photo location.
In order to capture the cover of these newly planted wind rows and hedge rows, monitoring will be conducted using the quadrat method. This will happen at fixed points and will be replicated once in the spring and once in the fall. There will be 4 points on each hedge row, with 8 points in total. This will measure both the growth and survivorship of the hedgerows over time.
Faunal Monitoring
Faunal monitoring for birds and other vertebrates will involve surveys for direct observations or indirect evidence for the use of the hedgerow by wildlife.
Bird and nest presence will be measured to understand the value of the hedge rows in terms of providing resources and habitat for avian species. To reduce disruptions to avian species, monitoring for birds and nests will be conducted prior to other monitoring activities. Observations or evidence of the presence of other vertebrates will be collected as the surveys for birds and nests is conducted. These surveys will consist of walking the length of both hedge rows observing and noting activity.
Invertebrates will be measured using two different techniques; transects and quadrats. Transects will be used to count invertebrates while walking down the transect lines. This will provide an assessment for diversity of pollinators at the site. Quadrats will be used to measure the pollinator-plant associations, in this method flowering plants species will be noted and the number of invertebrate visit’s will be counted.
| Common Name | Scientific Name |
| California Buckwheat | Eriogonum fasciculatum |
| California Glory Flannel Bush | Fremontodendron californicum |
| California Sagebush | Artemisia californica |
| Coast Sunflower | Encelia californica |
| Deer Grass | Muhlenbergia rigens |
| Elderberry | Sambucus nigra |
| Goldenrod | Solidago veluntia |
| Gumplant | Grindelia camporum |
| Holly Leaf Cherry | Prunus ilicifolia |
| Narrowleaf Milkweed | Asclepias fascicularis |
| Oregon Grape | Mahonia aquifolium |
| Pink-flowering Currant | Ribes sanguineum var. glutinosum |
| Purple Sage | Salvia leucophylla |
| Toyon | Heteromeles arbutifolia |
| White Sage | Salvia apiana |
| Yarrow | Achillea milleforlium |
The Ventura County Resource Conservation District (VCRCD), partnered with King & King Ranch; a private agricultural landowner in Ventura County, to restore oak woodlands in two drainage areas of the parcel’s upland zone and remove invasive reed, Arundo donax, from 3 acres within the parcels’ riparian zone. Where there are two parcels (APN’s) encompassed by the project’s cope, both parcels are wholly own by the same landowner, the King & King Ranch. The land-use designation for the two parcels included in this project is “agriculture,” specifically irrigated orchards and row crops.
To the south, both parcels are contiguous with upland foothills that provide wildlife open access to the Santa Monica-Sierra Madre wildlife corridor. While the majority of the parcels’ area is used to grow avocados and lemons, there are many section which are unplanted. It is in the unplanted areas, in two shallow natural drainages along this King & King Ranch agricultural-open space border, where oak woodland restoration will occur. The goals are to sequester carbon as woody tissue, enhance the soil, climate, and ecological health of the upland area, mitigate invasive plant and wildlife risks, and provide shelter and forage wildlife.
To the north, King & King Ranch opens to the riparian forests of the Santa Clara River, home to native vegetation and a multitude of wildlife, many whom are endangered. Unfortunately, these riparian forests are intermixed with invasive plants. This reduces the existing habitat’s value to wildlife while also limiting the riparian forest’s capacity to expand and diversify. Chief among the invasive plants is Arundo donax which uses relatively high amounts of water. In shallow groundwater systems such as the King & Kings Ranch, this lowers the groundwater table which decreases the vigor of riparian vegetation, makes the landscape more fire-prone, and increase pumping coasts for the landowner. The goals associated with Arundo donax removal include mitigating these issues as well as restoring and enhancing riparian habitat and groundwater supplies.
Figure 1: Figure illustrates the Arundo donax removal and the oak woodland restoration project on the King & King Ranch.
Altogether, the two parcels combined are about 62 acres. Establishing oak woodland habitat will restore upland ecosystem function and provide long-term wildlife and regional watershed benefits while not compromising the rancher’s operations. This will also provide experientially-based educational opportunities to both the general and restoration communities regarding the role private, working landscapes can play in helping California mitigate against habitat loss and climate disruptions. The objectives of the upland enhancement effort are to 1) plant oaks and associated natives in specified deforested sites on the ranch upland of the existing agricultural orchards; 2) monitor site restoration success and track wildlife, ecosystem, and watershed benefits; 3) demonstrate oak woodland restoration techniques to multiple and diverse stakeholder and community groups; and 4) generate and assess data to inform the efficacy of oak woodland restoration efforts, locally and regionally.
The goal of this project is to restore oak woodlands that can provide ecological services to the surrounding landscape and region. Performance measures to determine project effectiveness will include annual vegetation transects, and quarterly tree planting surveys, wildlife surveys and photo-monitoring points. The wildlife surveys will include avian, wildlife tracking and herpetofauna monitoring methods as well as wildlife camera monitoring.
Yearly Monitoring
Vegetation Transects
To evaluate the existing and subsequent developing vegetation community, for 50 feet transects will be established, three within each of the two respective oak planting areas and one outside the planting areas, to be used as a continued baseline to compare any shifts in vegetation in the surrounding area. The transects will be conducted annually, using both the releve method and quadrats, to assess for foliar and basal cover and species composition (CNPS 2023)
While it is expected that vegetation transects will occur between March and September, the specific timing of the survey will be determined based on flowering of the predominant species at each site since this will greatly enhance accurate plant identification.
Quarterly Monitoring
Tree Plant Surveys
To evaluate survivorship and to collect metrics regarding the vigor of the planted oaks, tree heights and canopy cover estimates will be measured at each planting area. Once measurable, Diameter at Breast Height (DBHs) will be taken. Additional observation will be collected, including observation pest damage (mildew, insects, rodents, etc.) and environmental stressors (chlorosis, sudden oak death, sunburn, etc.) among others.
Wildlife Survey
To evaluate the use of the oaks by wildlife, monitors will survey the area to look for evidence of habitat usage once a quarter by conducting avian, tracking and coverboard surveys within the work areas. As this project is located within the Santa Monica-Sierra Madre wildlife corridor, any wildlife usage observed demonstrates that this project helps to extend the wildlife range of the corridor, increasing the biodiversity in the farm, and ultimately increasing pests. All of these methodologies combined will be used to assess any changes in biodiversity for wildlife within the project area. These methodologies are further discussed below.
Avian Surveys
Avian surveys will be conducted within the project areas to assess how much avian species respond to the increased habitat complexity, food availability and habitat refugia. Bird species and activity/activities observed will be documented (incubation, feeding chicks, no activity). If any indication of a nest or nest cavity is noted, monitors will observe the nest until nesting activity is confirmed. The number of nests found as well as the location and species will be consolidated into an Excel sheet so that the nesting density can be compared across years.
Wildlife Tracking Surveys
In addition to avian surveys, biological monitors will survey the work areas for wildlife tracks, scat and other sign such as indications of browsing, which in total indicate that an individual animal was present within the work area. Biological monitors will note species and any indication of activity exhibited by the animal or animals. These signs, including tracks, scat and signs of herbivory or predation, will help to illustrate the capacity of the newly planted oaks to provide habitat for wildlife.
Coverboard Surveys
Coverboard surveys will be used to assess the herpetofauna population of the oak woodland restoration effort. To conduct the coverboard surveys biological monitors will pull up one side of the coverboard, and will take a photo of whatever is underneath the coverboard, even if no fauna of any taxa are observed under the coverboard. Coverboard surveys are cost-efficient and time-efficient methodologies of assessing herpetofauna species richness that are commonly used by herpetological researchers (Hutchens & DePerno 2009a, Hutchens & DePerno 2009b).
Wildlife Cameras
Wildlife cameras will be installed on the perimeter of the two areas planted with oaks. These cameras will help to extend the data gathering capabilities beyond which can be gleaned through avian surveys, track and sign surveys and coverboard surveys.
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