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Dryad

Sentenac Cienega wildlife and vegetation data

Abstract

Sentenac Cienega is a degraded wetland ecosystem in Southern California’s Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Recently, researchers have taken an interest in the conservation and restoration of this Cienega, and it is in accordance with this goal that we performed our work. This project had four major components: a wildlife monitoring protocol to determine species richness and relative abundance, a greenhouse drought/salinity resilience trial, in-field plant transplantation trials, and a survey of vegetation composition throughout the entire area. The wildlife monitoring project results indicate that wildlife activity is highest in areas with easily accessible food, water, and routes for transportation. The greenhouse trial indicated that soil moisture levels had the greatest effect on the growth of Juncus mexicanus, while salinity levels had the greatest effect on the relative growth of Anemopsis californica. Mortality was very high in our field transplantation trial, with all plant species exceeding 90% mortality across all planting plots. This mortality was likely due to a combination of herbivory and drought effects. Vegetation composition mapping results show that the species richness of native species is higher than that of non-native species but two-thirds of the area is dominated by non-native species. There is a strong positive correlation between native and non-native richness and a strong negative correlation between native and non-native cover.