Calag Archive

Knowledge of the diversity and abundance of vertebrates in relatively undisturbed oak woodlands could be used as a baseline for evaluating natural and human-caused perturbations. High numbers of terrestrial vertebrates were found in well-structured oak woodland at a study site in the Central Coast region. Within classes of terrestrial vertebrates, woodrats, dark-eyed juncos and slender salamanders exhibited the strongest habitat associations. Dense oak woodlands with shrubby understory and downed woody material supported the greatest numbers of vertebrate fauna.

Yellow starthistle, a plant pest introduced to California in the mid-1800s, has infested more than 10 million acres and continues to spread. Vegetation managers, producers and land owners are searching for control methods that are compatible with their various land uses. Mowing and competitive plantings are two options that can be useful in yellow starthistle management programs. Timing is important. If mowing occurs too early, yellow starthistle can take advantage of the reduced competition for space, light and water. If it is done too late, large quantities of seed will disperse and replenish the seed bank. There were weed control benefits from planting subterranean clover as a competitive plant in combination with mowing, but the tested varieties declined substantially.

Common bermudagrass is an invasive perennial weed of cool-season turfgrass in California. Complete renovation and loss of use of the turf for up to 4 months has been the only practical method of restoring desirable cool-season turfgrasses. In studies in Southern and Northern California, common bermudagrass was suppressed with sequential herbicide applications, allowing seedling establishment and regrowth of competitive cool-season turfgrass species. This was accomplished without losing use of the turf area.

The diet of refugees from the former Soviet Union living in Sacramento is characterized by a high reliance on grains, meats and dairy foods. While consumption of vegetables and fruits is increasing in Sacramento, it still appears to be very low. High-fat foods and salt-preserved foods are major components of the diet. Families from the former Soviet Union living in Sacramento have not yet made major changes in their food preparations and meal patterns. However, they are adopting a variety of new foods into their traditional meals. While dietary acculturation among adults appears to be low, school-age children are rapidly becoming acculturated and are consuming American fast foods and snacks.

Obscure scale, a pest of oak and pecan trees, was found in Sacramento's Capitol Park in 1962. By 1980 the scale was threatening the park's oaks. Red oaks seemed especially susceptible. In 1987–88 the imported parasite Encarsia aurantii was released to control the scale; the parasite's establishment was confirmed in 1990. By the end of 1996, scale infestations on both native and introduced oaks in the park were reduced to levels approaching complete biological control.

Because of an impending ban on burning of residues, more rice growers will be incorporating rice straw in their fields and will depend more than ever on soil microbes to break down the straw and aid rice production the following season. A variety of methods were used to characterize the effects of various rice straw management methods and winter flooding on the microbial community in a typical rice soil. Microbial biomass increased in straw-incorporated plots by the second year, and both flooding and rice straw incorporation caused changes in the relative abundances of specific groups of microorganisms. Although the heavy clay soil and wide variety of soil water contents in this study posed problems for microbial analyses, promising results were obtained with a biochemical characterization of phospholipids of soil microbes. This type of analysis can provide insight into management effects on soil microbial communities.