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Pine-Oak
Woodland
is found
along
the
foothills
of the
Sequoia
National
Forest.
The
drier
slopes
contain
gray
pine,
scrub
and blue
oak, the
wetter
canyons
contain
a
variety
of oaks,
live,
canyon,
or
valley.
Oak
woodlands
are
extremely
important
to
wildlife
for food
and
shelter.
Next to
riparian
systems,
oak
woodlands
hold the
greatest
diversity
of
wildlife.
Pine-Blue
Oak
Woodland
Gray
pine (Pinus
sabiniana)
and blue
oak (Quercus
douglasii)
scrub
interior
live oak
woodland
chaparral
California
buckeye
Interior
Live Oak
Shrub
This
subsection
comprises
the
lower
slopes
around
the
southern
end of
the
Greenhorn
Mountains
and on
the
western
sides of
Breckenridge
Mountain
and the
Tehachapi
Mountains.
Hot
Spring
Valley
along
the Kern
River
and the
lower
part of
South
Fork
Valley
are
included
in this
subsection.
Lithology
and
Stratigraphy.
Mesozoic
granitic
rocks
predominate
in this
subsection.
Also,
there
are some
Mesozoic
mafic
plutonic
and pre-batholith
metamorphic
rocks.
There is
Quaternary
alluvium
in Linns,
Hot
Spring,
and
South
Fork
Valleys
and a
few
other
small
valleys.
Geomorphology.
This
subsection
is
mostly
on
moderately
steep to
steep
mountains
and
hills.
Major
valleys
are
aligned
east-west
or
toward
the
south-south
west
parallel
to the
Breckenridge
Fault.
Ridges
at the
northwestern
end of
the
Tehachapi
mountains
curve
from
east-west
around
toward
the
west-northwest.
Alluvial
fans,
floodplains,
and
basin
floors
are
important,
but not
extensive,
parts of
the
subsection.
The
subsection
elevation
range is
about
1000 to
5000
feet.
Mass
wasting
and
fluvial
erosion
are the
main
geomorphic
processes.
Soils.
The
soils
are
mostly
Typic
and
Pachic
Haploxerolls;
shallow
Typic
Xerorthents;
and
Lithic
and
Typic
Argixerolls.
Xerochrepts
are
common
on
metamorphic
rocks.
Soil in
the
larger
valleys
are
mostly
Xeric
Torripsamments
and
Xeralfic
Haplargids.
The
soils
are well
drained.
Bicarbonate
weathering
and
leaching
and
accumulation
of clay
in
subsoils
are the
main
pedogenic
processes.
Calcium
carbonates
accumulate
in some
soils.
Soil
temperature
regimes
are
mostly
thermic.
Soil
moisture
regimes
are
mostly
xeric,
but
aridic
in at
least
South
Fork
Valley
and
possibly
in other
valleys.
Vegetation.
The
predominant
natural
plant
community
is Blue
oak
series.
Also,
there
are some
Needlegrass
grasslands,
and
Valley
oak
series
in
valleys.
Characteristic
series
by
lifeform
include:
Grasslands:
California
annual
grassland
series.
Shrublands:
Interior
live oak
shrub
series,
Scrub
oak
series.
Forests
and
woodlands:
Blue oak
series,
California
buckeye
series,
Foothill
pine
series,
Interior
live oak
series,
Mixed
oak
series,
Valley
oak
series.
Climate.
The mean
annual
precipitation
is about
8 to 25
inches.
It is
practically
all
rain.
Mean
annual
temperature
is about
50° to
64° F.
The mean
freeze-free
period
is about
200 to
300
days.
Surface
Water.
Runoff
is rapid
from
most of
the
subsection.
It flows
to
closed
basins
in the
southern
end of
the
Great
Valley.
All but
the
larger
streams
are
generally
dry
during
summer.
There
are no
natural
lakes,
but some
reservoirs.
Vegetation
What
grows
here
Benefits
productivity,
filtering,
etc...
Wildlife
what
lives
here.
Valley
Oak
Woodland
description
Vegetation
What
grows
here
Benefits
productivity,
filtering,
etc...
Wildlife
what
lives
here.
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