Abstract

The Tecate Cypress (Cupressus forbesii Jeps.) is a gymnosperm tree of limited distribution. To determine if soil is an influencing factor in its distribution, the soil characteristics of a Tecate Cypress grove in the Santa Ana Mountains of Orange County, California, were compared with soils from neighboring communities and other Tecate Cypress groves. Soil samples were analyzed for texture, saturation percent, pH, and electrical conductivity. Tests were also run for nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, copper and zinc.

Results seem to indicate that the Tecate Cypress soils are: 1) significantly more acidic than the soils of surrounding chaparral communities, and 2) significantly lower in nutrients than the soils of big-cone Douglas fir, mixed conifer, knob cone pine and oak woodlands.

Thus it appears that the Tecate Cypress may be limited to acidic soils that are nutrient poor and thereby lacking the competition found on typical chaparral soils. This may be a factor in their limited distribution in the Santa Ana Mountains and other southern California sites.

LLU Discipline

Biology

School

Graduate School

First Advisor

Earl W. Lathrop

Second Advisor

Norman L. Mitchell

Third Advisor

Kenneth A. Arendt

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Degree Level

M.A.

Year Degree Awarded

1980

Date (Title Page)

6-1980

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Cypress -- Soils

Type

Thesis

Page Count

viii; 69

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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