Barstow woolly sunflower Eriophyllum mohavense PLANTS Legal Status

DRAFT
March 2, 2012
PLANTS
Barstow woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum mohavense)
Barstow woolly sunflower
(Eriophyllum mohavense)
Legal Status
State: None
California Rare Plant
Rank: 1B.21
Federal: Bureau of Land
Photo courtesy Xeric Specialties
Management Sensitive
Critical Habitat: N/A
Recovery Planning: N/A
Notes: In 1993, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
determined that proposing to list Barstow woolly sunflower as
endangered or threatened may have been appropriate, but sufficient
data on biological vulnerability and threat were not available at that
time to support a proposed rule (58 FR 51144–51199).
Taxonomy
Barstow woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum mohavense) was originally
described by Ivan Murray Johnston in 1923 under the synonym
Eremonanus mohavensis (Johnston 1923; IPNI 2005), but soon
included in Eriophyllum by Jepson (1925, p. 1117). Barstow woolly
sunflower is in the aster family (Asteraceae) (Jepson Flora Project
2011). It is an annual herb standing approximately 1 to 2.5
centimeters (0.4 to 1 inch) in height. A full physical description of the
species can be found in The Jepson Flora Project (2011).
Distribution and Occurrences within the Plan Area
General
This species is endemic to the west-central portion of California's
Mojave Desert (NatureServe 2010; Jepson Flora Project 2011).
According to NatureServe (2010), Barstow woolly sunflower is
1
1B: Rare, threatened, or endangered in California and elsewhere; X.2: Fairly endangered in California.
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PLANTS
Barstow woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum mohavense)
restricted to a range within a 30-mile radius of Barstow in San
Bernardino and Kern Counties. The species' elevation range extends
from 1,640 to 3,150 feet (CNPS 2011). All of the 63 total California
Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB) occurrences are in the Plan Area
(Figure SP-P712).
Historical
The historic range of the Barstow woolly sunflower is likely similar to
its current range today (CDFG 2012). There are 63 total CNDDB
occurrences in the Plan Area, approximately 48% (29) of which have
been recorded prior to 1990 or are considered possibly extirpated or
are not dated (CDFG 2012). Additional occurrences of Barstow woolly
sunflower may be extirpated without having been updated in the
CNDDB (NatureServe 2010). These occurrences extend from the area
around Barstow northwest to the Almond Mountains foothills, west to
the area around Kramer Junction, and south to Stoddard Mountain
(CDFG 2012).
Recent
There are 63 total CNDDB occurrences in the Plan Area. The majority
of the 34 CNDDB occurrences recorded since 1990 that are presumed
extant are located in the vicinity of Kramer Junction on Edwards Air
Force Base. Occurrences extend farther west, approximately 5.5 miles
east of the Mojave Airport, and near Buckhorn Lake about 1 mile
north of the Kern–Los Angeles County line. Records farther east are
from near Opal and Lane Mountains, as well as Barstow (Figure SPP712). Of the current occurrences, approximately 53% are on lands
owned by the Department of Defense (DOD) on Edwards Air Force
Base, 26% are on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, and 21%
are on lands that are privately owned or are likely privately owned
(CDFG 2012).
Natural History
Habitat Requirements
Barstow woolly sunflower prefers sandy or rocky areas within
chenopod scrub, Mojavean desert scrub, creosote bush scrub, and also
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PLANTS
Barstow woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum mohavense)
occurs on playas (NatureServe 2010; CNPS 2011; Jepson Flora Project
2011). This species prefers bare areas with little soil that frequently
contain a shallow subsurface caliche layer (BLM 2005).
Table 1. Habitat Associations for Barstow Woolly Sunflower
Land Cover
Type
Chenopod
scrub,
Mojavean
desert scrub,
Creosote
bush scrub,
and Playas
Habitat
Designation
Primary
habitat
Habitat
Parameters
Sandy or rocky
places, 1,640–
3,150 feet
Supporting Information
CNPS 2011; NatureServe
2010
Reproduction
Barstow woolly sunflower is a very small annual plant that blooms
from March to April or May, then goes to fruit in May (CNPS 2011;
Jepson Flora Project 2011; NatureServe 2010). There is no
information available regarding pollinators, seed dispersal, seed
germination, or seedling establishment.
Ecological Relationships
Barstow woolly sunflower plants are very small (0.4 to 1.0 inch tall)
and tend to be clumped together. As an annual, germination and
establishment of this species is dependent on the amount and timing
of winter and spring rains.
Population Status and Trends
Global: Declining (NatureServe 2010)
State: Imperiled (NatureServe 2010)
Within Plan Area: Imperiled (NatureServe 2010).
In 2006, there were approximately 10,600 known Barstow woolly
sunflower individuals (NatureServe 2010). The 2011 CNDDB includes
61 occurrences for this species, although this estimate includes
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PLANTS
Barstow woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum mohavense)
occurrences that are historic (prior to 1990) or possibly extirpated
(CDFG 2011). Population trends for this species are unknown.
Threats and Environmental Stressors
Threats to Barstow woolly sunflower include energy and subdivision
development, sheep grazing, off-road vehicle use, highway and road
improvements and building, mining, dumping, and pipeline
construction (NatureServe 2010; CNPS 2011). Of these threats, those
of primary concern include energy development, sheep grazing, offroad vehicles, and highway improvements (NatureServe 2010).
According to NatureServe (2010), several Barstow woolly sunflower
sites may be extirpated, but their status has not been reported to the
CNDDB. Currently, only one CNDDB occurrence is recorded as
possibly extirpated (CDFG 2011).
Conservation and Management Activities
The BLM has established a 314-acre botanical Area of Critical
Environmental Concern (ACEC) northeast of Kramer Junction to
protect the Barstow woolly sunflower in the West Mojave Plan Area.
This ACEC has a perimeter fence that offers excellent protection from
human impacts. Although this ACEC protects a relatively large
population of Barstow woolly sunflower, it represents only a small
proportion of the overall species’ range (BLM 2005).
Management areas at Haystack Butte and Leuhman Ridge on Edwards
Air Force Base support Barstow woolly sunflower. Another
management area consisting of undeveloped land north of Mercury
Boulevard also supports this species (Edwards Air Force Base 2002).
Data Characterization
Little is known about the occurrences, distribution, population status,
and ecology of Barstow woolly sunflower due to its ephemeral life
history and occurrences primarily on inaccessible private land. Many
of the occurrence points are relatively old and need to be updated
(NatureServe 2010). Nearly half (29 of 61) of the CNDDB occurrences
were recorded prior to 1990 or are not dated (CDFG 2011).
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PLANTS
Barstow woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum mohavense)
Management and Monitoring Considerations
Protection of the areas where Barstow woolly sunflower are known to
occur is important to maintain viable populations of the species
(NatureServe 2010). Barstow woolly sunflower would likely benefit
from the elimination of off-road vehicle use and sheep grazing in
occupied areas. In addition, focused surveys for this species should be
conducted in suitable habitat where it is likely to occur, including
investigating the status of records of the species where the status is
uncertain and that may have been extirpated. Management and
monitoring are complicated by the year-to-year fluctuations in
population size in response to rainfall. Furthermore, Barstow woolly
sunflower is very difficult to detect once it has gone to fruit (typically
in May), which may affect population records and estimates
(NatureServe 2010).
Predicted Species Distribution in Plan Area
There are approximately 228,143 acres of modeled suitable habitat
in the Plan Area. Modeled suitable habitat occurs in the High Desert
Plains and Hills, Lucerne-Johnson Valleys and Hills, and Mojave
Valley-Granite Mountains ecoregion subsections from 2,200 to 3,600
feet. Suitable habitat includes desert playa, inter-mountain dry
shrubland and grassland, lower bajada and fan Mojavean-Sonoran
desert scrub, and shadscale-saltbush cool semi-desert scrub with
sandy or rocky substrates.
Literature Cited
58 FR 51144–51199. Notice of Review: “Endangered and Threatened
Wildlife and Plants; Review of Plant Taxa for Listing as
Endangered or Threatened Species.” September 30, 1993.
BLM (Bureau of Land Management). 2005. Final Environmental
Impact Report and Statement for the West Mojave Plan. A
Habitat Conservation Plan and California Desert Conservation
Area Plan Amendment. January 2005.
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PLANTS
Barstow woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum mohavense)
CDFG (California Department of Fish and Game). 2012. California
Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB). GIS Data for the Plan
Area. Sacramento, California: CDFG. February 2012.
CNPS (California Native Plant Society). 2011. Inventory of Rare and
Endangered Plants (online edition, v8-01a). Sacramento,
California: California Native Plant Society. Accessed February
2011. http://www.cnps.org/inventory.
Edwards Air Force Base. 2002. Integrated Natural Resources
Management Plan for Edwards Air Force Base, California.
Mojave Desert Ecosystem Program. Environmental
Management Office, Edwards Air Force Base California.
October 2002. Accessed March 2011. www.mojavedata.gov/
documents/docs/PLN_Intgrtd_Nat_Res_Mngmnt_Pln_EAFB_20
02.pdf.
IPNI (International Plant Names Index). 2005. “Plant Name Details”
and “Author Details.” Accessed February 10, 2011.
http://www.ipni.org/ipni/idPlantNameSearch.do?id=933962&back_page=%2Fipni%2FeditSimplePlantNameSearch.do%3
Ffind_wholeName%3DEriophyllum%2Bmohavense%26output
_format%3Dnormal.
Jepson Flora Project. 2011. “Eriophyllum mohavense.” The Jepson
Online Interchange: California Floristics. Berkeley, California:
University of California. Accessed February 2011.
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/interchange.html.
Jepson W.L. 1925. A Manual of the Flowering Plants of California. Berkeley
and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press.
Johnston, I.M. 1923. “Diagnoses and Notes Relating to Spermatophytes
Chiefly of North America.” Contributions from the Gray
Herbarium of Harvard University 68:101–104.
NatureServe. 2010. “Barstow Wooly-Sunflower.” “NatureServe
Explorer: An Online Encyclopedia of Life” [web application].
Version 7.1. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Accessed
February 2011. http://www.natureserve.org/explorer.
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Species Range
in California
Utah
Nevada
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Current Occurrence Point
Historic and Unknown
Occurrence Point
Note: Occurrence point size
graphically represents the
precision level code for the
data point but is not scaled
geographically.
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P a c i f i c
Z:\Projects\CEC\j6668_DRECP\MAPDOC\MAPS\BaselineBioReport\SpeciesProfiles
O c e a n
I
ME X IC O
0
12.5
25
Miles
Sources: DRECP Species Occurrence Database (2011),
CNPS (2011), CEC (2010), USGS (2010), ESRI (2010)
FIGURE SP-P7
Barstow Woolly Sunflower Occurrences in the Plan Area (N=63)
Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) Baseline Biology Report