1: Conservation of biological diversity

In any given region (e.g., county), there may be an optimum or minimum area of conserved open space to meet habitat, aesthetic, water quality/supply, recreational, and/or other needs. This indicator is the ratio of land conserved to land available.

Native plants are distributed across the landscape because of legacies of past distributions, climate, topography, insolation, and other factors. Comparing current distributions with past distributions is one way to track effects of climate change and land use.

This indicator provides information on the population status of selected forest-associated species that are considered to reflect the genetic diversity present in forest ecosystems. Some forest species support or rely heavily on particular forest structures, patterns, associations and processes and can therefore be used to describe the status of genetic diversity in forests as a whole.

This indicator measures the population levels (abundance) and the current geographic ranges of rangeland-dependent plant and animal species, monitored across their known range. It is not possible to monitor the population levels and ranges of all species of animals, plants, and microorganisms, so some species must be selected for monitoring. If the selected species include keystone species and those that are sensitive to particular threats, such as overgrazing, irreversible soil erosion, or fire, and if the species are diverse with respect to their taxonomy, habitats, trophic levels, ranges, and life strategies, the indicator will have a higher likelihood of detecting trends in range ecosystems.

Number and area of exotic invasive plants that occur in California. Invasive, non-native plants damage California ecosystems by displacing native species, out-competing native plants, changing plant communities, and reducing the value of habitat for wildlife and stock.

Number of native and exotic pests that occur in California. Movement of native forest pests into new areas, and migration of non-native forest pests into California increase risks to forest land from forest pest damage. Non-native pests are of particular concern to ecosystem health due to the lack of natural enemies and built-in defenses for local host species.

Highlights areas most likely to show impacts from increases (or decreases) in population, based upon demographic projection models. Projected population growth can help point to areas warranting a close watch in terms of future new developments and their associated impacts to forest and rangelands. Areas forecast to continue growing at a fast rate may be more susceptible to large-scale land conversion and impacts from new development.

This indicator describes rangeland plant communities and their area at any given time, with the difference between times being a reflection of temporal changes. This indicator is the hierarchical subcomponent of the “Extent of Land Area in Rangeland” indicator. Changes in certain plant communities could result in changes in resource outputs, ecosystem services, non-market values, and habitats for plant and animal species. Changes in plant communities over time may suggest changes in underlying environmental factors such as climate and nutrient availability, changes in ecosystem functioning, or changes in disturbances (including grazing).

Evaluates recent changes in population and the corresponding changes in potential intensity of human use and impacts on local and regional biosphere. Population can be a measure of the level of intensity of land use and human impacts on the local and regional landscapes. Residents have a set of well-defined daily needs, and obtaining these needs affects the locale in ways such as number of vehicle miles driven, road network needed, extent of housing and commercial development, utilities development (water storage and delivery, electrical grid, etc.). Changes in this indicator show where to expect increases (or in some cases decreases) in human impacts, due to the need for more infrastructure with increased numbers of people.

Evaluate the likely shift in distributions of dominant tree species, due to projected climate changes. This would highlight areas of habitats apt to be strongly impacted by short and long-term changes, and at risk of conversion to other vegetation types, thus affecting the local and regional species composition and biodiversity.