California Mixed Evergreen Forest

This ecological system occurs from the Santa Cruz Mountains (and locally in the Santa Lucia Mountains), California, north into southwestern Oregon throughout the outer and middle Coast Ranges on Franciscan Formation soils (metasedimentary sandstones, schists, and shales) with moderate to high rainfall. This system occurs just inland from the redwood belt of this region. It also occurs in southern California in more mesic, protected, cooler sites of the Transverse and Peninsular ranges. Historic fire frequency in this system was higher than for redwood-dominated systems (every 50-100 years). It is characterized by mixes of coniferous and broad-leaved evergreen trees. Characteristic trees include Pseudotsuga menziesii, Quercus chrysolepis, Notholithocarpus densiflorus (= Lithocarpus densiflorus), Arbutus menziesii, Umbellularia californica, and Chrysolepis chrysophylla. On the eastern fringe of this system, in the western Siskiyous, other conifers occur such as Pinus ponderosa and Chamaecyparis lawsoniana. In southern California (Transverse and Peninsular ranges), Pseudotsuga macrocarpa replaces Pseudotsuga menziesii but co-occurs with Quercus chrysolepis and sometimes Quercus agrifolia. Calocedrus decurrens is occasional. In the southern portion of the range, Notholithocarpus densiflorus, Arbutus menziesii, Umbellularia californica, and Chrysolepis chrysophylla become less important or are absent. In the Santa Lucia Mountains, stands of Abies bracteata are included in this system and are an unusual and unique component. These stands are a mixture of Abies bracteata and Quercus chrysolepis. The more northerly stands tend to have dense or diverse shrub understories, with Corylus cornuta, Vaccinium ovatum, Rhododendron macrophyllum, Gaultheria shallon, Quercus sadleriana, Mahonia nervosa, and Toxicodendron diversilobum being common. Southern stands are less diverse and more sparse; Toxicodendron diversilobum is the most constant shrub, with Ribes spp. occasionally present, along with much Polystichum munitum. Especially in the south, stands are restricted to fire-protected sites (extremely steep, northerly, mesic slopes and coves) where fires from adjacent chaparral systems do not carry.

This system occurs from the Santa Lucia and Santa Cruz mountains of California north into southwestern Oregon throughout the outer and middle Coast Ranges and in southern California (Transverse and Peninsular ranges). It occurs in localized areas of the central to northern Sierra Nevada and southern and eastern Klamath Mountains.