Читать книгу Afoot & Afield: Orange County. A Comprehensive Hiking Guide онлайн

21 страница из 92

The riparian (streamside) woodland community, existing in discontinuous strips along some of the bigger watercourses, is perhaps the most biologically valuable. Not only is this kind of environment essential for the continued survival of many kinds of birds and animals, it is also very appealing to the senses. Massive sycamores, cottonwoods, and live oaks and a screen of water-hugging willows are the hallmarks of the riparian woodland. Most of this habitat has already been usurped by urbanization and the development of water resources.

The coniferous (cone-bearing-tree) forest community was once more widespread in the Santa Ana Mountains. The west-side canyons were logged a century ago in connection with various short-lived mining booms; this logging and subsequent wildfires have reduced the forest to small, isolated patches that cling to the slopes of the deeper canyons. Bigcone Douglas-fir and Coulter pine are the indicator species of coniferous forest in the Santa Anas, although live oaks and other broadleaf trees are also frequently present.