Palo Alto Arastradero Preserve, 70 acre hillside above parking
lot, spring 2011. Grass weed seedlings coming up at the rate of
2,000 per square foot, and Italian thistle seedlings at 400 per
square foot. Zero native grassland wildflowers in the picture,
to the horizon, and they have not grown on this site for about
150 years, as this land has been part of an old Spanish Rancho
grant.
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native grasses |
flowers |
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or natives (in italics) |
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C. Dremann |
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star thistle |
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C. Dremann |
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star thistle |
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C. Dremann |
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star thistle |
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C. Dremann |
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star thistle |
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C. Dremann |
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star thistle |
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C. Dremann |
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C. Dremann |
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C. Dremann |
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north half |
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C. Dremann |
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north half |
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C. Dremann |
(1,200 feet) |
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20% Italian thistle, 8.2% Blando brome, 8.6% Zorro fescue, 4.5% Rose clover, 3.8% yellow star thistle, 2.3% wild oats, 1.6% vetch, and with less than 1% cover each of yellow clover, filaree, ripgut grass, radish, and a new weed, Poa bulbosa. The Harding grass has been sprayed out along this transect route. |
north half |
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(1,200 ft.) |
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26% Wild oats, Harding grass is now 0.8% cover, recolonizing the area from the solid stand, directly to the north |
north half |
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500 paces (1,000 ft.) |
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Natives include
Harding grass is now 5.6% cover, recolonizing the area from the solid stand, directly to the north. |
north half |
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C. Dremann |
(1,000 ft.) |
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Natives include: and less than 1% Exotics include: Exceptional drought did not bring up any Cat's ears, European clovers, mustard, radish or vetch within transect, nor any foxtails or Vulpia grass |
north half |
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C. Dremann |
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Natives include: Exotics include: Continued exceptional drought did not bring up any Cat's ears, European clovers, mustard, radish, wild lettuce or vetch within transect, nor any Blando brome, foxtails or Vulpia grass |
north half |
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C. Dremann |
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Natives include: Exotics include: Sitanion improving, but still lack of native Stipa, Melica, Festuca and Koeleria that grew there originally |
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County Park |
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C. Dremann |
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30% Plantago lanceolata, 11% ripgut grass, 5% radish, and 3% yellow sorrel. |
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County Park |
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C. Dremann |
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County Park |
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C. Dremann |
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C. Dremann |
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C. Dremann |
(30 feet) |
all Stipa straw |
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C. Dremann |
(30 feet) |
all Stipa straw |
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C. Dremann |
(80 feet) |
Stipa straw, native Brome, and Stipa |
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wild oats, foxtails |
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C. Dremann |
(200 feet) |
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C. Dremann |
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C. Dremann |
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C. Dremann |
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(66 feet) |
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(66 feet) |
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(66 feet) |
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Italian ryegrass (40%) and "Blando" brome (36%) worst weeds here, but important natives like Plantago still present. |
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(66 feet) |
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As good as it gets | Best wildflower area on preserve, only 50 ft x 100 ft. 43% white Linanthus, 24% Plantago, 3% Lotus and 6% Sitanion grass, plus 3% "Blando" brome. |
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(40 feet) |
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Annual weed grasses and filaree main weeds. Plantago, soap plant, Blue eye grass are the main wildflowers, Stipa is native grass. |
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4-2012 |
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3-2013 |
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3-2015 |
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4-2012 |
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3-2013 |
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3-2015 |
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Serpentine grasslands, measured by WMA group at May meeting |
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5-2012 |
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Poor but notable, because of the concentration of native Blue eyed grass, which was the major wildflower here, along with the white tarweed . The native grass was Stipa pulchra, and the grass weeds were wild oats, Blando brome, and Brachypodium. One of the broadleaf weeds was willow leaved wild lettuce, which looks like the tarweed seedlings. |
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West of the two trees, BEFORE weeding |
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Measured near the Hickmanii populations, parallel to the road and six feet north of road edge. |
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(Danthonia) |
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60% Big rattlesnake grass, 15% Cat's
ears, 6% Brachypodium, 5% Dogtail grass, 4% Wild Oats, and 1% each of Vulpia, European mustard, and flax. Natives = 4% Golden aster, 2% native Rumex, and 1% Danthonia. |
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C. Dremann |
(200 ft.) |
(Bromus, Elymus, Stipa) |
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Did not step on a single weed in a 200 foot transect. |
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C. Dremann |
(200 ft.) |
(Danthonia and Stipa) |
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List of weeds eradicated and native plants here. Rose clover, Plantago, Briza and Brachypodium last weeds to be managed. |
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Exotics = Natives = |
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C. Dremann |
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Exotics = Natives = |
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C. Dremann |
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Exotics = Natives = |
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(66 feet) |
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Layia, goldfields, soap plant, and Stipa and Sitanion = native grass |
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native grasses |
flowers |
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or natives (in italics) |
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(66 feet) |
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Weeds=Italian rye, slender wild oats. Wildflowers=Lotus, Brodiaea, soap plant. Stipa=native grass. |
from round rock across from 144 Altavista, go 40 deg. NE mag. first 100 paces |
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Weeds=53% wild oats, 17% yellow star thistle, 1% each ryegrass, brachypodium |
from round rock across from 144 Altavista, go 40 deg. NE mag. second 100 paces |
Cross section Kite Hill |
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1% Sitanion |
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Weeds=46% wild oats, 1% ryegrass, zero yellow star thistle |
Good native, from rock across from 136 Altavista go 330 deg. NW towards oak in gully |
Good natives Kite Hill |
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Weeds=10% wild oats, 1% YST. Wildflowers=48% Tarweed |
Thick Yellow star thistle next to Jane Road, from rock across from 144 Altavista, go 300 deg. NW to oaks in gully |
thick Yellow star thistle area at Kite Hill |
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Weeds=70% YST, 21% wild oats. .Wildflowers=tarweeds |
Wild oat area parallel with Jane, 20 feet fire hydrant (60 deg. NE) then 150 deg. SE towards tall pine |
Wild Oats area Kite Hill |
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Weeds=Italian rye, slender wild oats. Wildflowers=Lotus, Brodiaea, soap plant. Stipa=native grass. |
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Horses to Canada |
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Danthonia |
Tarweed |
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Mowed annual grasses = exotics. Lotus purshianus seen. |
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Test plot cross section prior to planting |
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Natives= 6% tarweed, 2% Lotus purshianus |
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native grasses |
flowers |
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or natives (in italics) |
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(100 feet) |
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Weeds= 6% ryegrass Wildflowers= 4% tarweed, 4% Plantago. Native grasses= 60% Stipa, 20% Sitanion, 6% Vulpia. |
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(100 feet) |
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podium |
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Wildflowers= 46% tarweed, 6% Blue Eyed grass, and 2% each of Soap plant, Indian paint brush, and composite flower |
one acre staging area |
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Exotics=14% wild oats, 8% YST, 6% vetch, 4% ryegrass, 4% Yellow swwet clover, and 2% each mustard, ripgit, Native=58% Calif. poppy, 2% Plantago erecta |
East Palo Alto field (8-2015 extinct-building constructed on site) |
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C. Dremann |
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In 2011 dormant lupines also sprouted but were mowed before they could set seed. In 1948, this was an open field, then a cement slab poured to build a structure, which was then removed about 2005, exposing the native seeds still in the soil. |
POST Cloverdale ranch from Hidden Valley gate, photo 2012, awesome
Harding grass weed patch.
East Palo Alto, corner University Avenue and Donohoe near to US 101. In 1948, this was still an open field, then a cement slab was poured right on top of the soil without excavation, and a two story commercial building was built, and then was torn down about 2007. Dormant California poppy seeds in the soil have sprouted in 2011 and 2012, and produced more native cover than in some of our other grasslands that have been intentionally preserved. Native annual lupines grew in this field in 2011. In 2014 the whole field was herbicided, killing the poppies, and a building built on the lot in August 2015.
Edgewood County park, one of the two Hydro-weeding experiments, April, 2012.
Kite Hill, Woodside, good wildflowers in serpentine, west of I-280, April, 2012.
Mid-pen., Russian Ridge preserve, north end from Skyline-lookout
parking lot, 2011.
Russian Ridge, further north along the ridge, solid Italian thistles, May 13, 2011. According to the book, Flora of the Santa Cruz Mountains, this weed was rare on the San Francisco peninsula in 1960, is now widespread.
Stanford Jasper Ridge, native plant only growing where the humans with their feet, have eliminated the annual weed grass seedlings. Area could easily be restored to 99.5% native cover, by mowing the immature weed grass seed heads and taking them off the preserve in March to April each year. On these level areas, cutting, swathing and baling with tractor-pulled haying equipment to cut and remove the immature seed heads might be the quickest and easiest method.
Stanford Lands near El Camino, at end of first road north of Palm
Ave., off Palo Avenue, covered 100% with weeds within the transect.
Only native plant in area was Miner's lettuce in shade of oaks,
and live oaks suffering from the massive drought all spring, with
about 1/3 of normal rainfall.
Stanford Hills, the entrance to the "Dish" area, between
the trail and the road at Foothill and Stanford Ave., 100% weed
cover, but along the trail edge can be found the native pineapple
weeds.
Michael Shaw in his Stipa prairie, May 2011, his 74 acres with 92% native cover.
Michael Shaw in managing his 74 acres, unearthed dormant
seeds of rare grasses underneath the exotics, like the Bottlebrush
grass, only collected six times in Santa Cruz County in the last
100 years. List of weeds managed by
Shaw and natives that regrew. Shaw started with only 1% native
cover in 1992, and by 2000, had produced 85% native cover, just
by mowing before the weed seeds ripened.
Mark Vande Pol out standing in his outstanding Stipa prairie,
that is overall 99.5% native cover. The results of a 100-pace
(200 foot) toe-point transect in July 2011, did not step on a
single weed. Best native grassland restoration in North America
so far.
Updated December 24, 2022 - The Reveg Edge Ecological Restoration service