An Analysis of Ecological Factors Limiting the Distribution of a Group of Stipa pulchra Associations

Ecological factors limiting Stipa pulchra have been determined in experimental gardens and at several sites in the hills south and east of Monterey, California. The Stipa pulchrafacies of Valley Grassland communities were found to be dominated by that species, though a total of 36 grasses and forbs were collected and identified. Basal area was not large, but aerial cover by Stipa alone averaged over 50 per cent. Across an ecotone between a Stipa association and the California Annual Type a sudden and dramatic change was recorded. Soil measurements there, and in other nearby areas, showed a much higher clay content with more available water and elemental phosphorus at the Stipa sites. Germination of Stipa seeds was high under all laboratory and field conditions, though growth of seeldings was highly variable. Seedlings grown in Stipa woil with an abundance of water were vigorous and reached anthesis the first year. In other soils they grew less, and when grown in competition with Avena fatua they scarcely grew at all. These findings indicate that when established on desirable soils, Stipa competes well and apparently precludes the dominance of Avena fatua and other large annual grasses. On the other hand, because of a lack of vigor in its seedlings, Stipa cannot reinvade the rich more friable soils on which it was once found, and on which it was shown to grow satisfactorily. This supports the contention that Sipa pulchra was the dominant grass through much of the Valley Grassland and Foothill Woodland, but also indicates that well-drained soils and those poor in mineral nutrients probalby never supported such associations.