Biodiversity Hotspots: the California Floristic Province

Biodiversity encompasses many different subjects, but it is mainly the variety of life and different species in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystems. Many people think that a biodiversity hotspot is an area that is high in biodiversity, but that is not the case. Along with being reservoirs of biodiversity and having high amounts of species, a biodiversity hotspot is also an area that has been seriously disrupted by human activities and has species that are in danger of extinciton. For our hotspot we chose the California Floristic Province. The CFP is a biodiversity hotspot because it has species that are found nowhere else in the world and it has been harmed by human activities.

A food web of a redwood forest, one
of the many habitats of the CFP
(We're All in This Together 2014). 

The CFP is located mostly in California with parts in Oregon and Mexico (California Floristic Province 2014). The CFP is home to an abundant amount of biodiversity. Ecological biodiversity include sagebrush steppe, prickly pear shrubland, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, juniper-pine woodland, upper montane-subalpine forest, alpine forest, riparian forest, cypress forests, mixed evergreen forests, Douglas fir forests, sequoia forests, redwood forests, coastal dunes, salt marshes (Hogan 2009). These habitats are where the biodiversity of the Province live. The Floristic Province’s area and diverse landscape enable it to have a thriving plant population, 61% of which is endemic. Most of the species diversity comes from plants: there are 3,488 species, and the next largest group (mammals) consists of 127 species (Hogan 2009). The following table shows the species biodiversity of the CFP.

Diversity and Endemism
Taxonomic Group	Species	Endemic Species	Percent Endemism
Plants	3,488	2,124	60.9
Mammals	157	18	11.5
Birds	340	8	2.4
Reptiles	69	4	5.8
Amphibians	46	25	54.3
Freshwater Fishes	73	15	20.5

(Hogan 2009). The Province also provides an abundance of ecosystem services. The flora in the

A map of the CFP
(Hogan 2009).

California Floristic Province has been used in a variety of way to support many industries. The Monterey pine, native conifers, and coastal redwoods are all pillars of the wood industry, and sugar pines and giant sequoias were once widely used (Hogan 2009). “Economically and socially important benefits include moderation of local climate, protection of watersheds and water resources, flood abatement, nonpoint source pollution abatement, habitat for wild pollinators of food crops, habitat for a diverse non-game fauna that includes many rare and endangered species, critical links in the Pacific flyway, commercial and recreational fisheries, large and small game for hunters, many forms of passive recreation and opportunities for education and research,” (California Floristic Province 2014).

Although biodiversity is high, the California Floristic Province has been the victim of degradation from human activities. For almost all of the causes of degradation, human population growth has been the underlying cause (California Floristic Province 2014). Causes of degradation include habitat conversion, overexploitation of resources, and forests (especially old growth) being logged faster than they can regenerate (California Floristic Province 2014). A large amount of natural land is being converted to cropland and land for urban development. “An estimated 1.7 million acres will be converted to agricultural uses and 1 million acres to urban and rural uses between about 1986 and 2000,” (California Floristic Province 2014). Additionally, invasive plant species such as Bromus, Cortaderia, Cytisus, Ilex, Mesymbryanthemum, Carpobrotus and Senecio mikanioides are outcompeting native plant species (California Floristic Province 2014).

The California condor, one of the CFP's
endangered species. (California Condor 2014)

Many pressures have led to the degradation of the CFP. The California Floristic Province provides fertile soil and water that allows the state to be the leading agricultural and forest product producer in the U.S. (California Floristic Province 2014). Pressures from the international wood industry, particularly demand from Australia and New Zealand, encourage the unsustainable use of resources in the Province (California Floristic Province 2014). The degradation of the Province has led to the endangerment of many species. There are 565 endangered animal species within the California Floristic Province, including the California condor, desert tortoise, green sea turtle, and elf owl. (State & Federally Listed Endangered & Threatened Animals of California 2014).

Although much of the Province has been degraded, there is still hope for restoration. 37% of the CFP is under official protection. Mechanisms for the preservation of land include near 50 wilderness areas; 16 national wildlife refuges; and 107 state parks (Hogan 2009). Additionally there are national parks such as Redwood, Yosemite, and Sequoia. In the past several decades California has set aside more land for preservation and spent more money on conservation than any other U.S. state, and “serves as an important reminder that biodiversity loss and the lack of complete and adequate protection for unique and threatened ecosystems is not just a problem in developing countries,” (Hogan 2009).

The California Floristic Province was once at its best, but became the victim of habitat loss and had many of its species become endangered. However, steps are being taken for its preservation and its restoration to what it used to be. If habits continue and improve, we may one day see the CFP as it once was, a land vast in biodiversity.

Works Cited

California Condor. USGS. USGS, n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2014. 
     <http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/ 05_31_2012_mRIt48Wkj1_05_31_2012_0#.VIhpozHF-So>. 

"California Floristic Province." Department of Botany. Smithsonian Institution,

    n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2014. <http://botany.si.edu/projects/cpd/na/

    na16.htm>.

Hogan, C Michael. "Biological Diversity in the California Floristic Province."

    The Encyclopedia of Earth. Encyclopedia of Earth, 16 Dec. 2009. Web. 8

    Dec. 2014. <http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/150634/>.

"State & Federally Listed Endangered & Threatened Animals of California."

    California Department of Fish and Wildlife. California Department of

    Fish and Wildlife, Oct. 2014. Web. 8 Dec. 2014. <http://www.dfg.ca.gov/

    biogeodata/cnddb/pdfs/TEAnimals.pdf>.

"We're All in This Together." Redwood National and State Parks. Redwood National

    and State Parks, n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.

    <http://redwoodnationalandstateparks.weebly.com/food.html>.