![]() ![]() If a tree does survive a fire event, it can reproduce both through seeds and by sprouting from burnt stumps. Although blue oaks can tolerate fast-burning grass fires, they have less success in surviving hotter brush fires, according to University of California Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Like many plants growing in marginal soils, blue oaks are slow growers, usually increasing only a few inches each year.Ī further strategy to survive drought and fire conditions is the blue oak’s extensive root system, which allows it to grow through cracks in rocks to depths of 80 feet in order to reach ground water, helping it to survive in fire-prone and arid regions (Blue Planet Biomes). During severely hot and dry years, blue oaks will sometimes shed their leaves and go dormant to conserve energy, allowing these tough little oaks to survive temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit for several weeks at a time. Department of Agriculture, blue-gray-green leaf color reduces heat absorption. But it acquired its most familiar and descriptive common name from the same person from whom its Latin binomial (scientific name) is derived.Īdaptations to survive the long, hot, dry summers and sparse winter rains of our Mediterranean climate include thick leaves with a bluish-green color. Quercus douglasii also goes by a number of other common names, including white oak, mountain oak, mountain white oak and iron oak. ![]() ![]() According to Andrew Conlin, Soil Scientist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, “the presence of blue oak woodlands indicates really rough growing conditions: shallow, tough soils” as opposed to the rich loamy soils of the valley, which are preferred by valley oaks. A dominant species in this environmental nook is the blue oak (Quercus douglasii). These are the various oaks, conifers and woody shrubs that populate the foothill woodland and chaparral zone of the Western Sierra Nevada and Coast Range mountains. Here in our own backyard, there are species that have evolved to exploit ecological niches that very few others claim. Millions of turtles, and untold numbers of their babies, have shared the same tiny piece of real estate for eons. They migrate to the beach at different times, ranging from early March to October, and feed on different resources. For example, in Tortuguero, a tiny strip of beach along the northeastern shoulder of Costa Rica, four separate species of sea turtle lay their eggs each year. Some species cooperate by sharing resources. Those species that clambered to the top of the evolutionary heap benefitted from genetic mutations and or adaptations that gave them a biological edge over their competitors. What drives the evolutionary journey of the flora and fauna that populate our globe?ĭarwin, the product of a strictly codified class society beset by enormous economic inequalities, identified a major factor of evolution to be competition for finite resources. Today and in the following weeks, this series will look at these species and the adaptive strategies they have evolved over time to thrive in their challenging environment. ![]() Blue oak (Quercus douglasii), gray pine (Pinus sabiniana) and buckeye (Aesculus californica) are three species that thrive in rugged local foothill woodland and chaparral habitat. ![]()
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