FACTS AT A GLANCE

Administering Campus: University of California, Berkeley

Established: 2007

Location: Santa Clara County, 11.2 km (7 mi as the crow flies) east of downtown San Jose. Approximately 30 minutes drive from the closest freeway (CA-680) via the Mt Hamilton Rd. entrance.

Size: 1,319 ha (3,260 acres)

Elevations: 454- 870 m (1,489’ - 2,855’)
Mt Hamilton summit: 1,280 m (4,200’)

Average Precipitation: at Mt Hamilton, Lick Observatory 598 mm (23.54 inches)

Average Temperatures: at Mt. Hamilton, Lick Observatory
January: 2.5°C (36.5°F) to 8.8°C (48.3°F)
August: 16.6°C (62.2°F) to 25.5°C (78°F)

Facilities: none available at this time, day use only. There is a network of roads to reach most areas within the property.

Databases: ArcGIS data library, airborne and satellite imagery for Mt. Hamilton Range, Google Earth KML for boundary, species list (vertebrates and plants), bibliography, climate records for Mt. Hamilton and San Jose.

Personnel: On-site Reserve Director; Reserve Steward; UCB Faculty Director

Contact Information:
University of California
Blue Oak Ranch Reserve
23100 Alum Rock Falls Road
San Jose CA 95127-1317

INFORMATION@BLUEOAKRANCHRESERVE.ORG

The majority of Blue Oak Ranch Reserve (BORR) lies within the Upper Sonoran Life Zone. Approximately two-thirds of is drained by tributaries of Arroyo Aguague, itself a tributary of Coyote Creek (via Penitencia Creek), which flows into the southern San Francisco Bay. The streams and the 17 ponds on the ranch represent Sensitive Aquatic Resource Areas and are the habitats where most of the rare species such as the river otter, California tiger salamander, foothill yellow-legged frog and the red-legged frog are found. Riparian areas are also utilized by more than 10 species of neotropical migratory birds including flycatchers, warblers, and vireos. The bowl shaped Arroyo Aguague catchment area is characterized by steep wooded slopes and meadows, and open flats dotted with oaks and coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis). The precipitous Arroyo Hondo is heavily wooded on north and east-facing slopes, while western and southern exposures consist of open grassland or dense chaparral patches. Four species of oak dominate the landscape: blue oak (Quercus douglasii), valley oak (Quercus lobata), black oak (Quercus kellogii), and coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia). Foothill pines (Pinus sabiniana) occur only in the Arroyo Hondo and on the slopes above its confluence with North Creek. Chaparral patches occur on many south-facing and some west-facing slopes. Grasslands are mainly dominated by exotic annuals, but some native perennial grasses are present.

Habitats at Blue Oak Ranch Reserve supports around 130 species of birds, approximately 41 species of mammals, at least seven species of amphibians, more than 14 species of reptiles, around seven species of fish, and hundreds of species of invertebrates. Plant communities include blue oak woodland, valley oak woodland, black oak woodland, coast live oak woodland, riparian forest, chamise chaparral, Diablan sage scrub, nonnative annual grassland, wildflower field, and native perennial grassland. Four of these are threatened plant communities: valley oak woodlands, blue oak woodlands, wildflower field, and native perennial grasslands. Streams on the ranch support healthy stands of riparian vegetation in addition to aquatic species. They are important habitat for migratory birds, and may be migratory corridors for numerous aquatic and terrestrial animal species.

There are 73 vascular plant families at BOR. Of the 462 taxa of vascular plants on the ranch, almost 80% are native. Blue and valley oak woodlands have become quite rare in California, and few are protected from grazing and the encroachment of suburban development. Oak woodland covers a large extent of BOR, much of this is composed of blue and valley oaks. Compounding the possibly bleak future for oak woodlands is the lack of recruitment of young oaks. In the Mt. Hamilton area, valley oaks seem to be suffering most from this problem. The exact mechanism or mechanisms preventing oak regeneration is not known, but protection from pigs, cattle, and ground squirrels has been shown to increase survivorship of existing seedlings. Prescribed fire may also help by opening canopies and reducing competition between grasses and seedlings. However, fires must be carefully controlled for low heat, and conducted at frequency intervals that allow seedlings to become established. Physiological research suggests that ozone may extend stomata opening in blue oak, forcing nighttime transpiration during periods of drought and influencing shorter leaf retention. Oaks, as the most widespread and representative forest and woodland species in California, offer excellent research opportunities for climate change and pollution-effects research.

Selected Research: As one of the newest NRS Reserves, Blue Oak Ranch Reserve is now at the beginning of its legacy for field research. While the property has never officially operated as a coordinated field study site as have the other NRS reserves, it does nonetheless have an extensive amount of information and data collected by academic scientists and land managers over the years, resulting in very complete biotic inventories, surveys of invasive species, rare and endangered species surveys and studies, soil surveys, archeological sites, mapped GIS layers, and documented history of land uses. Past and ongoing resource management activities are well documented including feral pig removal, prescribed burns, and invasive plant removal. Most of the data resources were developed and collated in collaboration with the Nature Conservancy to validate the property for its conservation values, and to establish the Conservation Easement.

Field Courses and Public Outreach: A tremendous amount of excitement is building for field use of BORR in the upcoming first year of operation. A survey of faculty at both Berkeley and Santa Cruz campuses indicates that nearly 50 faculty will be planning to bring their field course to BORR, as well as initiate research projects in the upcoming year. While the management of BORR will certainly accommodate day use visits, it will be following the development of new facilities in 2009 that the full range of use of BORR for teaching, research and public outreach will swell to its capacity.

Posted on March 7, 2014 06:44 AM by infomgr