Skip to content Skip to navigation

Sikes K, Buck-Diaz J, Evens JM (2021) Vegetation Classification of Alliances and Associations in San Mateo County, California.  California Native Plant Society.

Year Published: 2021
Abstract: 

This report describes approximately 90 alliances and 200 associations that occur in San Mateo County, California, comprising the most comprehensive local vegetation classification to date. The vegetation types were defined using a standardized classification approach consistent with the Survey of California Vegetation (SCV) and the United States National Vegetation Classification (USNVC) system. This floristic classification forms the basis for an integrated, countywide vegetation map supported through a collaboration by Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, National Park Service, Tukman Geospatial LLC, and other partners of the San Mateo Countywide Vegetation Map and Landscape Database Project. Vegetation ecologists from the California Native Plant Society analyzed species data from 6,425 field surveys collected between 1992 and 2019. The data included 394 new surveys collected in 2019 through funding provided specifically for this classification effort. Additional surveys were compiled for the analysis from previous sampling efforts in San Mateo (746), San Francisco (6), and from nearby counties (5,279) to provide a broader, regional understanding. A total of 27 tree-overstory, 24 shrubland, and 37 herbaceous alliances are described, with 64 tree-overstory, 54 shrubland, and 78 herbaceous associations. The report results include summary tables of county-wide classification results including a count of surveys by alliance. Appendices include a floristic field key of vegetation types, a table of vegetation types nested within the USNVC hierarchy, and descriptions of each vegetation alliance and association. The descriptions contain stand tables which summarize structural and plant species cover data for each type; stand tables serve as a reference for the county-wide expression of vegetation, as well as plant palettes for future restoration efforts. [link to publication]

Article Title: 
Vegetation Classification of Alliances and Associations in San Mateo County, California.