Serpentine Geoecology of Western North America Geology, Soils, and Vegetation

by Alexander, Earl B.; Coleman, Robert G.; Keeler-Wolfe, Todd; Harrison, Susan P.

• ISBN13: 9780195165081
• ISBN10: 019516508X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-11-02
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Geoecology is a rewarding interdisciplinary field, relating rocks to soils and to plant and animal communities and studying the interactions between them. Modern geoecology especially concentrates on showing how geology and soils affect the structure, composition, and distribution of plant communities in a certain research area. This book applies the principles of geoecology to Western North America, and to a specific kind of rock, the fascinating serpentine belts that run along the continental margins of the West Coast from Alaska to Baja.

Author Biography

Earl B. Alexander, a pedologist, has spent most of his career investigating and evaluating wildland soils in western North America Robert G. Coleman, an Emeritus Professor of Geology at Stanford University, has carried out worldwide research on the tectonic and petrologic origin of serpentines for more than 50 years Todd Keeler-Wolf is the senior vegetation ecologist at the California Department of Fish and Game Susan P. Harrison, a Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California, Davis, has conducted numerous ecological studies of serpentine plants and butterflies

Table of Contents

Introduction	3	(10)
I. Geology and Hydrology
Nature of Ultramafics	13	(5)
Mineralogy and Petrology of Serpentine	18	(9)
Water in Serpentine Geoecosystems	27	(10)
Part I References	33	(4)
II. Soils and Life in Them
Nature of Soils and Soil Development	37	(18)
Serpentine Soil Distributions and Environmental Influences	55	(24)
Animals, Fungi, and Microorganisms	79	(18)
Serpentine Soils as Media for Plant Growth	97	(62)
Part II References	142	(17)
III. Plant Life on Serpentine
Responses of Individual Plant Species to Serpentine Soils	159	(16)
Serpentine Plant Assemblages: A Global Overview	175	(15)
Serpentine Plant Life of Western North America	190	(14)
Serpentine Vegetation of Western North America	204	(55)
Part III References	245	(14)
IV. Serpentine Domains of Western North America
Baja California, Domain 1	259	(12)
Sierra Motherlode, Domain 2	271	(17)
Southern California Coast Ranges, Domain 3	288	(20)
Northern California Coast Ranges, Domain 4	308	(21)
Klamath Mountains, Domain 5	329	(21)
Blue Mountains, Domain 6	350	(8)
Northern Cascade-Fraser River, Domain 7	358	(14)
Gulf of Alaska, Domain 8	372	(10)
Denali-Yukon, Domain 9	382	(6)
Northern Alaska-Kuskokwim Mountains, Domain 10	388	(25)
Part IV References	395	(18)
V. Social Issues and Epilogue
Serpentine Land Use and Health Concerns	413	(4)
Synthesis and Future Directions	417	(66)
Part V References	422	(5)
Appendices
A. Nature of Minerals in Serpentine Rocks and Soils	427	(9)
B. Characteristics of the Chemical Elements-Ionic Properties and Toxicities	436	(6)
C. Soil Classification	442	(18)
D. Kingdoms of Life	460	(3)
E. Water Balance by the Thornthwaite Method	463	(4)
F. Western North America Protected Areas with Serpentine	467	(6)
G. California Plant Taxa Endemic to Serpentine	473	(10)
Glossary	483	(8)
Plant Index	491	(10)
General Index	501