Goal: Maintain, enhance and restore riparian forest and scrub on Conserved Lands in the MSPA that supports or has the potential to support VF species (i.e., California newt, yellow-breasted chat) and to incidentally benefit a diverse array of other species (e.g., arroyo toad, southwestern pond turtle, least Bell's vireo, southwestern willow flycatcher, Townsend's big-eared bat) so that the vegetation community has high ecological integrity, and these species are resilient to invasive pests and disease pathogens, environmental stochasticity, threats and catastrophic disturbances, such as very large wildfires and intense and prolonged drought, and will be likely to persist over the long term (>100 years).
Management units: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
In 2017-2018, map tree mortality in riparian forests across the MSPA using high resolution aerial imagery, LIDAR and other remote sensing data and incorporate existing datasets, where available, to determine the current status of riparian forest and scrub in the MSPA that are affected by drought, wildfire and invasive pests and fungal pathogens.
| Action | Statement | Action status | Projects |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEV-1 | Submit project metadata, datasets, analyses, and Riparian Forest Tree Mortality Map to the MSP web portal | In progress | 2017-2019 Developing a Map of Ecological Integrity Using Remote Sensing |
| Criteria | Deadline year |
|---|---|
| Riparian Forest and Scrub Mortality Map completed by 2018 | 2021 |
| Threat Name | Threat Code |
|---|---|
| Altered fire regime | ALTFIR |
| Altered hydrology | ALTHYD |
| Climate change | CLICHN |
| Herbivory/predation | |
| Invasive animals | INVANI |
| Invasive plants | INVPLA |
| Loss of ecological integrity | ECOINT |
| Parasitism/disease | |
| Urban development | URBDEV |
Management units: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Beginning in 2019, prepare a riparian forest and scrub vegetation monitoring plan for Conserved Lands in the MSPA to assess tree mortality and recruitment, track community composition, structure and ecological integrity, and to document threats and assess environmental conditions. Prepare the riparian forest and scrub monitoring to integrate where feasible or bulid upon the results of other monitoring projects such as oak woodland vegetation monitoring and shothole borer/Fusarium complex monitoring. The monitoring plan should include a conceptual model, specific monitoring questions, the sampling frame within the MSPA, monitoring methods, a statistically valid sampling design, permanent sampling locations, timeline, and standardized protocols. Use the Riparian Forest and Scrub Tree Mortality map to help develop a sampling frame and stratified sampling design with permanent sampling plots spanning north to south and east to west environmental gradients across the MSPA. Evaluate ecological integrity at monitoring sites by integrating other types of monitoring into the long-term sampling plots, such as abiotic element monitoring (e.g., automated weather stations and soil sensors, GIS-data layers), ecological integrity monitoring (e.g., plant and animal communities, ecological processes), MSP VF species monitoring, and threats monitoring (e.g., fire, climate change, disease, invasive animals and invasive plants).
| Action | Statement | Action status | Projects |
|---|---|---|---|
| PRP-1 | Establish a vegetation monitoring working group of scientists, wildlife agencies, land managers, and other stakeholders to participate in developing the vegetation monitoring plan. The group should also include interested parties from outside the MSPA, such as representatives from other multiple species plans in Orange and Riverside Counties and from San Diego County military bases, to create a regional monitoring program with greater efficiencies in effort and a broader inference across southern California. | waiting for precedent action | |
| PRP-2 | Submit project metadata and the Riparian Forest and Scrub Vegetation Monitoring Plan to the MSP web portal | waiting for precedent action |
| Criteria | Deadline year |
|---|---|
| Riparian Forest and Scrub Vegetation Monitoring Plan completed by 2020 | 2021 |
| Threat Name | Threat Code |
|---|---|
| Altered fire regime | ALTFIR |
| Altered hydrology | ALTHYD |
| Climate change | CLICHN |
| Herbivory/predation | |
| Invasive animals | INVANI |
| Invasive plants | INVPLA |
| Loss of ecological integrity | ECOINT |
| Parasitism/disease | |
| Urban development | URBDEV |
Management units: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
In 2021, conduct riparian forest and scrub monitoring to implement the Riparian Forest and Scrub Vegetation Monitoring Plan on Conserved Lands in the MSPA.
| Action | Statement | Action status | Projects |
|---|---|---|---|
| IMP-1 | Submit project metadata, monitoring datasets and reports to the MSP web portal | waiting for precedent action |
| Criteria | Deadline year |
|---|---|
| Riparian Forest and Scrub Vegetation Monitoring Plan implemented 2021 | 2021 |
| Threat Name | Threat Code |
|---|---|
| Altered fire regime | ALTFIR |
| Altered hydrology | ALTHYD |
| Climate change | CLICHN |
| Herbivory/predation | |
| Invasive animals | INVANI |
| Invasive plants | INVPLA |
| Loss of ecological integrity | ECOINT |
| Parasitism/disease | |
| Urban development | URBDEV |