San Diego Research Paper
Moneen “Mo” Jones
Remote Sensing
Summer 2004
Vegetation of San Diego, California
San Diego is designated as the first county in the western United States after having been settled by Europeans. Today, the San Diego region has greater numbers of endangered species of plant and animals than any other comparable continental landmass in the United States. Its rapid urban sprawl into more remote areas increases the need for conservation of land and water resources (SANDAG). San Diego’s environment consists of beaches, wetlands, sage-scrub hills, chaparral and elfin forests, deciduous and conifer covered mountains, and flowering deserts. These habitats were once homes to grizzly bears, pronghorn antelope, California condors and jaguars. Today, rare plants, cougars, bighorn sheep, kit foxes, and bald eagles roam these areas. San Diego resides in a Koppen Csb/Csa climate zone. This temperate zone has hot, dry summers, and cool winters. There are also summer water deficits followed by winter surpluses. The ecosystem is designated as Mediterranean Shrubland that is characterized by sclerophyllous shrubs and an Australian eucalyptus forest. …show more content…
California has suffered a historical wetland reduction of 91%, and there are currently fifteen wetland areas remaining in San Diego counties, which is a fraction of what there used to be. These wetlands consist of estuaries, lagoons, marshes, and sloughs (Seaworld). By definition, an estuary is the tidal mouth of a great river, where the tide meets the current of fresh water (Oxford English). Lagoons are a shallow sound, channel, or pond near or communicating with a larger body of water. Marshes are a tract of soft wet land usually characterized by monocotyledons (as grasses or cattails), and sloughs are places of deep mud or mire. (Merriam-Webster). For our project, we noticed that less than 5% of our map consisted of
Remote Sensing
Summer 2004
Vegetation of San Diego, California
San Diego is designated as the first county in the western United States after having been settled by Europeans. Today, the San Diego region has greater numbers of endangered species of plant and animals than any other comparable continental landmass in the United States. Its rapid urban sprawl into more remote areas increases the need for conservation of land and water resources (SANDAG). San Diego’s environment consists of beaches, wetlands, sage-scrub hills, chaparral and elfin forests, deciduous and conifer covered mountains, and flowering deserts. These habitats were once homes to grizzly bears, pronghorn antelope, California condors and jaguars. Today, rare plants, cougars, bighorn sheep, kit foxes, and bald eagles roam these areas. San Diego resides in a Koppen Csb/Csa climate zone. This temperate zone has hot, dry summers, and cool winters. There are also summer water deficits followed by winter surpluses. The ecosystem is designated as Mediterranean Shrubland that is characterized by sclerophyllous shrubs and an Australian eucalyptus forest. …show more content…
California has suffered a historical wetland reduction of 91%, and there are currently fifteen wetland areas remaining in San Diego counties, which is a fraction of what there used to be. These wetlands consist of estuaries, lagoons, marshes, and sloughs (Seaworld). By definition, an estuary is the tidal mouth of a great river, where the tide meets the current of fresh water (Oxford English). Lagoons are a shallow sound, channel, or pond near or communicating with a larger body of water. Marshes are a tract of soft wet land usually characterized by monocotyledons (as grasses or cattails), and sloughs are places of deep mud or mire. (Merriam-Webster). For our project, we noticed that less than 5% of our map consisted of