California is a large state: 300 miles East to West and 800 miles North to South. It is very diverse geologically, topographically (mountains and valleys) and climatically (coastal, desert and continental).
These diverse conditions conspire to create the many different California forest types, forest ecosystems. For more background on ecology of California forests, please see the UCCE publication Forest Stewardship Series 3 - Forest Ecology Publication 8233
California forests we see today are the product of the long history of physical, biological and cultural events taking place in California.
The climate and geology along with a long background of use first by Native Americans, then settlers have shaped the forests into the assemblage trees and wildlife that we find today. For more background on the history of California forests, please see the UCCE publication:
Forest Stewardship Series 4 - Forest History Publication 8234
The growth and yield of California's forest ecosystems is available using a variety of growth and yield models. The Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) is a national system of forest growth models maintained by the USDA Forest Service. It is the official tool for stand growth projection on National Forest lands, but it is also used widely on other ownerships.
The forests of California are plentiful, diverse and managed for many different objectives.
Approximately 33 million acres of forest in California are owned by different public and private entities.
- 58% is owned by federal, state, and tribal agencies (including the USDA Forest Service, USDI Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, tribes, CALFIRE, etc.) (19 million acres).
- 15% is owned by industrial timber companies (5 million acres).
- 27% is owned by families (9 million acres).
The history and future directions of California's forests are as diverse as the forests themselves.
California forests face a number of threats.
The greatest threat is not loss of forest due to harvesting and the lack of subsequent regrowth but conversion to non-forests from serious catastrophic events such as large wildfires and land use conversion to agricultural and residential land uses. Indeed, the standing forest volume continues to increase on both private and public forest lands. However, we are witnessing a significant increase in the occurrence of large wildfires. As the economic value of forests as a source of wood products is decreasing due to high costs, low income, and woods products infrastructure loss it becomes harder for owners of forest properties to maintain economic sustainability. Softwood sawmill capacity in California shrank by 25% in the last few years alone, according to CalFire.
At the same time, California’s forests are feeling the impacts of population growth. Urbanization, development and parcelization in rural areas are changing land use away from forests. CalFire’s 2010 assessment found that blue oak woodland to be the habitat type in California with the most acres at risk from development. One of the bioregions with the highest proportion of acres at risk included the Sierra Nevada montane –hardwood-conifer type. Forests on the west slope of the northern Sierra face heavy development pressure due to access to major urban highways (US 50 and Interstate 80). Priority areas where forested areas are at risk are shown the figure at right where red is high priority, orange is medium priority, and yellow is low priority.
Managing California's forests to withstand the threats of conversion and population growth requires partnerships between forest land owners, agencies, research institutions and the public. A strategic goal of the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources is to help sustain the resilience of the forest ecosystems of California by working in partnership to provide research based information on forest ecosystems and growth, vegetation management, wildlife, plants, insects and disease, wildfire, streams, roads, climate and policies to help reduce these threats. We hope to help landowners improve their stewardship of forest lands and educate the public on management of public forests in California.
Resources:
The US Forest Service assessment of California's forests describes the ownership, status and conditions of California Forests: California's forest resources, 2001-2010: Forest Inventory and Analysis Report, PNW-GTR-913 -USFS
This 2006 US Forest Service publication on the Family Forest Owners of the United States summarizes results from the National Woodland Owner Survey of the estimated 10 million family forest owners who collectively own 35% of the nation's forest lands.
CalFire's 2017 Forest and Rangeland Assessment describes the threats and opportunities facing California's forest lands.