ABSTRACT
California annual grasslands are found in wide-open expanses, as well as interspersed in many of California’s vegetation types. They are best represented in portions of the Great Central Valley, the Sierra and Cascade foothills, the Coast Range, and the Transverse Range. Annual grasslands represent a huge portion of the undeveloped California landscape, supplying tens of millions of California residents with open space, clean water, recreation, beef, and wool. They are also important contributors to California’s biodiversity, providing an ecosystem composed of plants and animals adapted to frequent fires, summer drought, little shade, and intense herbivory. Kuchler’s (1964) map of the potential natural vegetation of the U.S. shows 5.35 million ha of grassland in the Central Valley and surrounding foothill ranges, and an additional 3.87 million ha with an oak overstory.
