Biodiversity and the California floristic province
VIC LEIPZIG AND LOU MURRAY
We live in an internationally famous hotspot, one of incredible
biodiversity. A Harvard biologist named Edward O. Wilson identified
25 of these regions around the globe.
Biodiversity hotspots are remarkable for their wide array of
plants and animals, many of which are found nowhere else in the
world. The areas are considered hotspots because the populations of
unique plants and animals found within them are declining and in
danger of extinction.
Our hotspot is known as the California Floristic Province. This
province covers the entire California coast from the ocean to the
Sierras. The region includes the Channel Islands and extends into
southwestern Oregon and Baja California.
A large number of ecosystems are found within this province, which
is no surprise since California is a pretty big area. Even though
most of our area is developed, Huntington Beach has remnants of four
of these ecosystems: coastal salt marsh, coastal sand dunes, coastal
sage scrub and freshwater willow wetlands. The latter ecosystem type
is found mainly in Central Park and Carr Park.
Our floristic province is amazingly diverse. It contains 4,426
species of plants. To put this into perspective, that’s higher than
what’s found throughout the entire central and northeastern United
States, plus adjoining areas of Canada, an area that is 10 times as
large as California.
When a species is restricted to a particular geographic region and
is found nowhere else in the world, it is called endemic. Of the
4,426 plant species found in the California Floristic Province, 2,125
are endemic. Put in other terms, 48% of plants, 46% of amphibians,
26% of reptiles, 21% of mammals and 2.3% of birds are endemic to this
province. If they die out here, the species become extinct.
It should be no surprise that many of these California species are
threatened with extinction. Currently, 250 plant and animal species
in California are protected by the Endangered Species Act, with 180
more proposed for listing. This is more than any other state.
California has already lost 32 plant species to extinction in recent
times.
What this means is that our area is in serious biological peril.
If you look at the impacts of human development on the landscape here
in Huntington Beach and up and down the coast of California, you’ll
see why. Think about the changes to the landscape here in the past
100 years. Every day, more and more land is being gobbled up by
development. In fact, more than 75% of the land surface of the
California province has had its native vegetation eliminated or
seriously altered by mankind.
In Huntington Beach we are fortunate to have the largest remaining
coastal salt marsh between Monterey Bay to the north and the Tijuana
River Estuary to the south. Although the Bolsa Chica is severely
degraded -- only 1/10 of its original size and lacking the large area
of surrounding uplands and freshwater marshes that once contributed
to the diversity of wildlife here -- it is still an incredible
resource.
Because animals appeal so much to the popular imagination, many
people are aware that Bolsa Chica is home to such sensitive species
as the snowy plover, elegant tern, California least tern, Belding’s
savannah sparrow and silvery legless lizard. Far fewer know about a
rare Bolsa Chica plant species called salt marsh bird’s beak. In
contrast to the interest birds and other animals generate, it is
really hard to garner much support for most endangered plants.
It’s ironic that society is willing to spend so much to save
popular species such as condors and eagles, species that grab the
imagination, with nothing for less obvious species. The solution is
to preserve areas of habitat large enough to support both dramatic,
popular species, and the smaller, less obvious species that are the
building blocks of ecosystems.
We are fortunate to live in an area of such incredible biological
diversity. We are fortunate to have so many people fighting to save
what little is left. But the next 100 years will bring further
population growth, further development, and further losses and
degradation of habitat. It will be a struggle to preserve what
remains of California’s wild heritage and save the endemic plant and
animal species of the California Floristic Province from extinction.
* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and
environmentalists. They can be reached at vicleipzig@aol.com.
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