Northern California coastal forests
| Northern California coastal forests | |
|---|---|
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| Ecology | |
| Biome | Temperate coniferous forests |
| Borders | California interior chaparral and woodlands, Klamath-Siskiyou forests and Central Pacific coastal forests |
| Bird species | 232 |
| Mammal species | 77 |
| Geography | |
| Area | 13,300 km2 (5,100 sq mi) |
| Country | United States |
| States | California and Oregon |
| Conservation | |
| Habitat loss | 4.6828% |
| Protected | 15.76% |
The Northern California coastal forests are a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of coastal Northern California (though a small portion of this region extends into Southwestern Oregon), USA.
The ecoregion covers 13,300 square kilometres (5,100 sq mi), extending from just north of the California-Oregon border south to Santa Cruz County. The ecoregion rarely extends more than 65 km inland from the coast, narrower in the southernmost parts of the ecoregion.
The ecoregion is a sub-ecoregion of the Pacific Temperate Rain Forests ecoregion, which extends up the Pacific Coast to Kodiak Island in Alaska. The ecoregion lies close to the Pacific Ocean, and is kept moist by Pacific Ocean storms during the winter months, and by coastal fogs in the summer months. These factors keep the ecoregion cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, as compared to ecoregions further inland.
The greatest concentration of remaining Old-growth forest are in the northernmost portion of the ecoregion, primarily within Humboldt and Del Norte Counties
Redwood forests are interspersed with several other plant communities throughout this ecoregion.
The dominant forest type in this ecoregion is the coastal redwood forest. These are the tallest forests on Earth, with individual redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) trees reaching heights of 100 metres (330 ft). These forests are generally found in areas exposed to coastal fog. In the north, they occur on upland slopes, in riparian zones, and on riverine terraces. In the south, where annual precipitation is lower, they are constrained to coves and ravines. Coast Douglas-firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) are nearly always associated with redwoods, but in the north the forests can also include Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla). Like coast Douglas-fir, tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus) is often present. Other hardwoods include California bay laurel (Umbellularia californica), red alder (Alnus rubra), madrone (Arbutus menziesii), and bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum). The deep shade cast by redwoods often results in a sparse understory, but shade-tolerant species include thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus), redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana), elk clover (Aralia californica), dwarf Oregon grape (Mahonia nervosa), salal (Gaultheria shallon), and many ferns, such as deer fern (Blechnum spicant), sword fern (Polystichum munitum), and leathery polypody (Polypodium scouleri).
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