"This completely new edition of Terrestrial Vegetation of California clearly documents the extraordinary complexity and richness of the plant communities and of the state and the forces that shape them. This volume is a storehouse of information of value to anyone concerned with meeting the challenge of understanding, managing or conserving these unique plant communities under the growing threats of climate change, biological invasions and development."—Harold Mooney, Professor of Environmental Biology, Stanford University "The plants of California are under threat like never before. Traditional pressures of development and invasive species have been joined by a newly-recognized threat: human-caused climate change. It is essential that we thoroughly understand current plant community dynamics in order to have a hope of conserving them. This book represents an important, well-timed advance in knowledge of the vegetation of this diverse state and is an essential resource for professionals, students, and the general public alike."—Brent Mishler, Director of the University & Jepson Herbaria and Professor of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley

We surveyed montane meadows in the northern Sierra Nevada and southern Cascades for two field seasons to compare commonly used aquatic and terrestrial-based assessments of meadow condition. We surveyed 1) fish, 2) reptiles, 3) amphibians, 4) aquatic macroinvertebrates, 5) stream geomorphology, 6) physical habitat, and 7) terrestrial vegetation in 79 meadows between the elevations of 1000 and 3000 m. From the results of those surveys we calculated five multi-metric indices based on methods commonly-used by researchers and land management agencies. The five indices consisted of 1) fish-only, 2) native fish and amphibians, 3) macroinvertebrates, 4) physical habitat, and 5) vegetation. We compared the results of the five indices and found that there were significant differences in the outcomes of the five indices. We found positive correlations between the vegetation index and the physical habitat index, the invertebrate index and the physical habitat index, and the two fish-based indices, but there were significant differences between the indices in both range and means. We concluded that the five indices provided very different interpretations of the condition in a given meadow. While the assessment of meadow condition changed based on which index was used, each provided an assessment of different components important to the overall condition of a meadow system. Utilizing a multimetric approach that accounts for both terrestrial and aquatic habitats is the best opportunity to assess meadow condition, particularly given disproportionate importance of these systems in the Sierra Nevada landscape. To accept the results of just a single index in the absence of the others is potentially misleading and costly.

Headwater wetland meadows of the Western U.S. have great ecological value despite their limited aerial extent. The ability of meadows to perform important ecosystem functions can be impacted by human uses and management activities. Soil properties are important indicators of site quality and function. The major purpose of this project was to evaluate various soil characteristics, especially soil organic carbon (SOC), and interrelations with vegetation and hydrologic properties in montane and subalpine riparian-wetland meadows of the Sierra Nevada in the contexts of livestock grazing and hydrologic condition. Physical and chemical properties of whole soil solum samples and soils sampled by pedogenetic horizon were assessed in nineteen hydrologically functional meadows representing a range of livestock utilization in the Sierra National Forest. In addition, vegetation community composition and physical and chemical characteristics of whole solum soil samples were evaluated in riparian meadows representing a range of hydrologic condition as defined by the Properly Functioning Condition (PFC) method in the Stanislaus National Forest. Average total SOC contents were variable among meadows, but were considerably high on average at 37.2"2.87 kg C m -2 in the Sierra NF and 14.2"0.78 kg C m -2 in the Stanislaus NF. Soil moisture appeared to be an important driver of total SOC contents, while livestock utilization did not appear to influence overall C storage in hydrologically functional meadows. However, soils of more heavily grazed areas were more compacted and had slightly higher NO 3 - -N contents than more lightly grazed areas. Results of this study suggest any management activities that affect the hydrologic regime will likely impart undesirable changes in soil characteristics and plant communities.