Recent Oak Woodland Dynamics: A Comparative Ecological Study at the Landscape Scale

Abstract

The tools of landscape ecology are used to compare oak woodland landscapes in California and Spain. The linkages between spatial patterns and functional processes are explored using Geographic Information System and remote sensing technologies, drawing on available databases in each country. The Spanish Rural Landscape Monitoring System (SISPARES) methodology is applied and tested in an attempt to answer questions about the comparative structure, patterns, and changes in oak woodlands in Spain and California. Landform at the macro scale was found to be the main driver for the mid and long-term for oak woodland pattern and distribution. Spanish woodlands are most frequently located in peneplains with acid bedrock, creating large contiguous areas of woodland, likely managed as dehesa. Californian oak woodland patches are smaller, highly dispersed, and intermixed with chaparral and dense forest in foothills with acid bedrock. Agro-silvo-pastoral practices are also important in shaping oak woodlands, especially in Spain. New land uses are increasing in both countries, such as agro-tourism, game hunting, golf courses, and suburban development, but their impacts are much greater in California. Oak woodlands in California are located in areas of much higher fire vulnerability because of the intermix with flammable brush, forest, and urban sprawl. The oak woodlands that are most similar in Spain and California, according to the TWINSPAN classification, are those in Spain close to the mountains, and in California located near the coast.