Oak Woodlands

Oak dominated habitats, including oak woodlands, forests, and savannahs, have the greatest species richness of any vegetation type in California (Allen-Diaz et al. 2007). Characterized by dominance of one or more of the nine native tree oaks of California, these habitats harbor more biodiversity than any other, supporting over 300 species of vertebrates, 5,000 invertebrates, and 2,000 plant species (Barrett 1980, Zack et al. 2005, Verner 1980, UCANR 2019). Oak habitat in the Area of Focus (AOF) grows predominantly as woodlands, which provide specific services to human society such as rangeland forage and recreation (Davis et al. 2016), as well as research opportunities as ecosystem indicators for climate change and forest disease (McLaughlin et al. 2014, McPherson et al. 2015).