VNLC prepared three annual monitoring reports for a post-fire habitat study of areas burned by the Loma Fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The OSA’s primary goals were to preserve open space, protect natural resources, and provide opportunities for education and recreation to the public. Environmental data collection and analysis is required to perform well-informed, strategic land management practices. The Loma Fire started on September 26, 2016 and burned 1,811 hectares (4,474 acres), primarily burning natural wildland habitats, but also affecting additional structures and landscape features. Due to previous conditions, a majority of the affected area burned with a moderate to high soil burn severity. The burned area is also characterized by steep slopes that feature highly erosive soil, and are dissected by streams that supply water to regionally important reservoirs. The natural habitats burned have evolved in the presence of fire, but the area has not had any record of fire in over 100 years. Given this, some plant species and plant communities will benefit from the fire, including oak woodlands, hardwood forests, chaparral, in addition to many native California wildflowers. However, the newly available or otherwise disturbed habitat conditions will also be suitable for invasive plant species.
Our team collected and analyzed habitat data over three years of monitoring, in order to illuminate the patterns and trends of post-fire habitats and thereby clarify the challenges and opportunities resulting from the Loma Fire. The data collected focused on the following: trends in re-vegetation; plant community succession; habitat type conversion; and the presence, distribution, and population trends of special-status, fire-following, and invasive plant species. The primary focus of the study was vegetation composition and structure, but additional data were collected on an opportunistic basis to document other issues of management concern, including soil erosion, changes in hydrology, and invasive plant species (outside of monitoring plots as well as within).