Endangered Species Recovery Program

Rare plant research being conducted
by the San Joaquin Valley Endangered Species
Recovery Planning Program

Presented To

Elk Hills Endangered Species Program Review
Bakersfield, CA
1995

Ellen A. Cypher

Abstract

Pilot studies were initiated in 1994 to evaluate the responses of the endangered plants Kern mallow (Eremalche parryi ssp. kernensis) and San Joaquin woolly-threads (Lembertia congdonii) to sheep and cattle grazing, respectively. Demographics of both plant taxa will be compared between paired grazed and ungrazed plots during the 1995 growing season under typical conditions of livestock use. Supplemental studies are in progress to evaluate the specific effects of clipping, trampling, and experimental mulch removal on survival, size, and reproduction of one or both plant taxa. Demographic monitoring continues in selected populations of Kern mallow, San Joaquin woolly-threads, California jewelflower (Caulanthus californicus), and Hoover's woolly-star (Eriastrum hooveri). Long-term data on population density, average plant size and fecundity, cover and composition of associated vegetation, and their relationship to site factors and rainfall patterns are necessary to conduct population viability analyses.