Laurel Sumac Case Study Answers

The scientific name for the Laurel Sumac is the Malosma laurina. It is a large evergreen shrub with shiny-green foliage. Has clusters of small white flowers that insects love to eat off of in the spring time. There are no recognized subforms of it.
2.On the Global Rank scale, I believe that the laurel sumac would be considered a G5. It is both common and widespread all throughout the state of California. It is mainly found along the coast of Southern California or throughout the Pacific Ocean Coasts.
3.Ecology of Native Species:

a) The Laurel Sumac has many adaptations like any plant, some of the following adaptations are what helps keep this plant alive. The first would be that the Laurel Sumac has roots that measure up to forty feet in length meaning that their roots can find water deep in the softer soil. Second would be that the Laurel Sumac has thick leaves shaped like a taco which helps water stay longer in the leaves because of this characteristic. and third, The Laurel Sumac can survive and resist really high temperatures from fires before the plant can actually burn down.

b) A very important insect that lives off of the Laurel Sumac would have to be the honeybee. The honeybee is an important pollinator to

the laurel sumac, although seed production is low it is also very consistent. The seed falls beneath the parent plant or is disseminated by frugivorous animals (Howard 2015). Drought sensitivity is a bit problem when it comes to recruitment. The seedlings of the Laurel Sumac appear about a month later than most seedlings of a chapparal shrub. Morality is usually higher after the first summer following the fermentation. Seedlings are found to be sensitive to the cold. The seedlings can still grow during cold temperatures but usually grows slower at near freezing temperatures. It’s also important to not forget that frost can kill them, (Howard 2015. Black-tailed deer browse Sumac seedings and other mammals and birds, like the California Quail can be found eating its fruit.

c) Like similar chaparral shrubs, Laurel Sumac stores photosynthate in its most extensive roots. The reserves are metabolized during its time of sprouting. Another area where it stores photosynthate is in the large lignotuber. This extra compartment probably gives the plant, a post-fire competitive edge over many chaparral species. The Laurel Sumac has botanical features that can encourage fires. One can be the auroma compiunds that are found in the leavesm which cause it to increase fire intensity. And two Laurel Sumac stands have deep litter layers. It is found that the Laurel Sumac has the deepest litter of the seven chaparral species.
1.Threats or Potential Threats:

a) The only way that the Laurel Sumac could lose its habitat is if there was always constant fires going on in California.

Laurel Sumac typically can only be killed off by fire. Hot fire can result in shrub mortality. Studies showed that, a summer wildfire on a Otay Mountain, San Diego County, completely top killed all all Laurel Sumac (Zedler, Paul H., Gautier, Clayton, McMaster, and Gregory 1983). However you can occasionally find a few stems that survive. On November 3rd, 1949, in the San Gabriel Mountains there was a report of an intense wildfire. Ambient temperature was 90 degrees F, humidity was 9%, and fuel moisture was 0.5%, despite these conditions, the largest branches of older Laurel leafed out the next year (Juhren, Pole, and Rupert

1955).

b) Postfire mortality of seedlings is generally high unless there is steady rainfall. The year following the fire in the Santa Monica mountains, was a drought year, with only 0.6% of seedlings surviving through the summer, (Frazier and Davis 1988). And in the October fire following the previous summer fire they exhibited the same response. Very sensitive to very cold weather.

c) (Green, Lisle R., & Newell 1982), Laurel Sumac browse is rated as useless for all classes of livestock and wildfire. Even overpopulated feral goat and pig heards on Santa Catalina islands do not use it.