Use of Aerial Photography for Fire Planning and Suppression 1 Alan

Plant cover and vegetation structure were examined at two inland coastal sage scrub sites differing in fire history and use by California gnatcatchers. Salvia mellifera and Eriogonum fasciculatum dominated one site; shrub cover on gnatcatcher– occupied plots averaged 50 percent greater than on unoccupied plots. At the other site, gnatcatcher-occupied plots had high cover of Artemisia californica and Encelia farinosa while unoccupied plots were dominated by E. farinosa alone and had half as much total shrub cover. Gnatcatcher territories at both sites had taller shrubs than unoccupied plots. Recently burned areas and areas with little regrowth were not used by gnatcatchers. Coastal sage scrub is a fire-dominated vegetation type that has been largely converted to agricultural and urban uses in southern California. Less than 20 percent of the original area of this vegetation type probably remains (Westman 1981). The California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica) lives only in coastal sage scrub in California and Baja California (Atwood 1993); because habitat loss jeopardizes its survival, it has been federally listed as “threatened.” Inland Riverside County contains numerous remnant areas of sage scrub. Studies of gnatcatcher habitat have been conducted in coastal Orange and San Diego counties, often by biological consultants working for developers (e.g., Bontrager 1991, Ogden Environmental and Energy Services Co., Inc. 1992), but relatively little is known about gnatcatcher requirements in inland areas (Atwood 1993). In conjunction with two ornithologists studying gnatcatcher nesting success, we undertook this study to help clarify the relationship between California gnatcatchers, coastal sage scrub, and fire history.