The Phoenix Vernal Pools are located in

Fair Oaks, California Fair Oaks is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento, California, Sacramento–Arden-Arcade, California, Arden-Arcade–Roseville, Calif ...

, a suburb of

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

city around 20 miles east of the city of Sacramento and north of highway 50. This land consists of seasonally inundated wetlands that form after winter rains. The climate type of Phoenix Vernal Pools is classified as

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, receiving of rain per year. The rainwater percolates into the soil until it reaches an impermeable hardpan that causes an elevated water table, forming the vernal pools. The Phoenix Vernal Pool

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

is relatively unique as is supports many species of fauna and flora

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to vernal pools.

Background

The Phoenix Vernal Pools consist of two separately managed areas: Phoenix Field Ecological Reserve (PFER) and the Phoenix Park Vernal Pool Preserve (PPVPP), collectively referred to as the Phoenix Vernal Pools (PVP). The PFER parcel is an area of land owned by the California Department of Fish and Game and designated as a mitigation site to counteract the nearby home development. There is no public access to the PFER. The PPVPP parcel is managed by the Fair Oaks Recreation & Parks District, consisting of designated to conserve vernal pool habitat for the Sacramento orcutt grass, ''Orcuttia viscida'', and to preserve the last remaining vernal pools in the area for community enjoyment. The PPVPP also consists of areas designated for public use, such as baseball diamonds, playing fields, parking lots, roads, and trails. These vernal pools are positioned on a high terrace approximately above the north bank of the American River. Their elevation ranges from above sea level. They are classified as northern hardpan vernal pools. The Phoenix Vernal Pools are located in a Mediterranean climate, receiving of rain annually, which is ideal for vernal pool development. The soils of PVP are classified as Redding gravelly loam which is described as moderately deep and well-drained with a surface layer that is typically of gravelly loam and the upper of subsoil consists of loam and gravelly loam. This soil series contains soils below the surface layer (claypan of gravelly clay and silica-cemented hardpan) that are nearly impermeable during the wet season causing the development of a perched water table, or vernal pool.

Hydrology

Offsite irrigation impacts the Phoenix Vernal Pools hydrology. Currently, surface and groundwater drainage onto the PFER from the north and east are intercepted by a drain system that runs along the entire northern and eastern boundaries. The east drain was developed in the late 1970s and the north drain was installed in 1998 to prevent summer irrigation from converting the vernal pools into seasonal wetlands. This drainage system is vital in keeping the vernal pools from developing into seasonal wetlands, without experiencing a dry season. Phoenix Vernal Pools receive most of their water from rainfall, and are considered hydrologically isolated because they aren't permanently connected to a body of water. The water levels of Phoenix Vernal Pools fluctuate every year but typically reach their highest in the spring after heavy rainfall.

Monitoring and adaptive management

The California Department of Fish and Game established monitoring and adaptive management plans to ensure the long-term protection of the wildlife and the land itself. The monitoring of the Phoenix Vernal Pools takes place through the record keeping of Sacramento Orcutt Grass, Pincushion Navarretia, and the Vernal Pools and Swales in general. Sacramento Orcutt Grass is monitored closely because of its status as an endangered species under the California and Federal Endangered Species Acts, and is also listed as a Category 1B plant (defined as “Rare, threatened, or endangered in California and elsewhere”) by the California Native Plant Society (CNPS). As a part of CDFG's monitoring plan, they photograph and map the occurrence of Sacramento Orcutt Grass annually. After the original photograph of Sacramento Orcutt Grass is taken, the one that follows a year later shows if it is still in occurrence. This allows them to map the presence and extent of the Sacramento Orcutt Grass. Then they are able to estimate the distribution and population size of ''Orcuttia viscida.'' They monitor the presence of invasive species and rainfall data to determine if precipitation impacts the presence of the Phoenix Vernal Pool's native flora. They also state in their monitoring and adaptive management plan to note the presence of any obvious changes or impacts (such as summer irrigation) to the vernal pools and swales in order to prepare for adaptive management.

Flora and fauna

Condensed inventory of flora found in Phoenix Vernal Pools

Orcuttia viscida ''Orcuttia viscida'' is a rare species of grass known by the common name Sacramento Orcutt grass. Distribution It is endemic to Sacramento County, California, where it grows only in vernal pools, a rare and declining type of habitat. As of 1997, ...

Navarretia intertexta ''Navarretia intertexta'' is a species of flowering plant in the family phlox, known by the common name needleleaf pincushionplant. It is native to western North America, including most of the western United States and extending into the Midwes ...

* Bromus diandrus *

Avena fatua ''Avena'' is a genus of Eurasian and African plants in the Poaceae, grass family. Collectively known as the oats, they include some species which have been cultivated for thousands of years as a food source for humans and livestock. They are w ...

Andropogon virginicus ''Andropogon virginicus'' is a species of grass known by several common names, including broomsedge bluestem, yellowsedge bluestem and (in Australia, because it was introduced to that country after being used as packaging for bottles of American ...

var. virginicus *

Briza minor ''Briza minor'' is a species of grass known by the common names lesser quaking-grass or little quakinggrass. It is native to the Mediterranean Basin, and it is known elsewhere, including much of North America, as an introduced species. It is an a ...

* Eleocharis macrostachya *

Downingia concolor ''Downingia concolor'' is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common names maroonspot calicoflower and fringed downingia. This showy wildflower is endemic to California, where it is a resident of ponds and vernal ...

* Lasthenia fremontii *

Lasthenia glaberrima ''Lasthenia glaberrima'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names smooth goldfields and rayless goldfields. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California, where it grows in we ...

Psilocarphus brevissimus ''Psilocarphus brevissimus'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names short woollyheads, woolly marbles, and woolly heads. The plant is native to western North America — from southwestern Canada, throug ...

Plagiobothrys nothofulvus ''Plagiobothrys nothofulvus'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae known by the common names rusty popcornflower and foothill snowdrops. It is native to western North America from Washington, and California, to northern Mexi ...

* Chlorogalum pomeridianum *

Dipterostemon capitatus ''Dipterostemon'' is a Monotypic taxon, monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae. Its only species is ''Dipterostemon capitatus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Dichelostemma capitatum'', known by the common names blue dick ...

* Thysanocarpus curvipes *

Pogogyne zizyphoroides ''Pogogyne zizyphoroides'' is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common names Sacramento mesamint and Sacramento beardstyle. It is native to central and northern California and southwestern Oregon. It grows in vernal po ...

Triteleia laxa ''Triteleia laxa'' (previously ''Brodiaea laxa'') is a triplet lily known by several common names, including Ithuriel's spear, common triteleia and grassnut. It is native to California where it is a common wildflower, and it is occasionally fou ...

Triphysaria eriantha ''Triphysaria eriantha'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae, known by the common names johnny-tuck and butter-and-eggs. It is native to California and southwestern Oregon, where it grows in many types of habitats includi ...

* Amsinckia menziesii var. intermedia * Eschscholzia californica *

Vicia villosa ''Vicia villosa'', known as the hairy vetch, fodder vetch or winter vetch, is a plant native to some of Europe and western Asia. It is a legume, grown as a forage crop, fodder crop, cover crop, and green manure. Although non-native, it occurs in ...

* Mimulus tricolor *

Lupinus bicolor ''Lupinus bicolor'' is a species of lupine known as the miniature lupine, Lindley's annual lupine, pigmy-leaved lupine, or bicolor lupine. It is a showy flowering annual or perennial plant native to western North America, from northwestern Baj ...

Condensed inventory of fauna found in Phoenix Vernal Pools

* Cypridinae * Daphniidae *

Diaptomidae Diaptomidae is a family of freshwater pelagic copepods. It includes around 50 genera: *''Acanthodiaptomus'' Kiefer, 1932 *''Aglaodiaptomus'' Light, 1938 *''Allodiaptomus'' Kiefer, 1936 *''Arctodiaptomus'' Kiefer, 1932 *''Argyrodiaptomus'' Brehm, ...

Bufo boreas The western toad (''Anaxyrus boreas'') is a large toad species, between long, native to western North America. ''A. boreas'' is frequently encountered during the wet season on roads, or near water at other times. It can jump a considerable distan ...

halophilus * Hyla regilla * Sceloporus occidentalis *

Thamnophis sirtalis The common garter snake (''Thamnophis sirtalis'') is a species of thamnophis snake, in the natricine subfamily, which is indigenous to North America and found widely across the continent. Most common garter snakes have a pattern of yellow stri ...

fitchi *

Buteo jamaicensis The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members with ...

* Carpodacus mexicanus *

Cathartes aura The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus ''Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South ...

Aphelocoma californica The California scrub jay (''Aphelocoma californica'') is a species of scrub jay native to western North America. It ranges from southern British Columbia throughout California and western Nevada near Reno to west of the Sierra Nevada. The Calif ...

* Pica nuttali *

Melanerpes formicivorus The acorn woodpecker (''Melanerpes formicivorus'') is a medium-sized woodpecker, long, with an average weight of . Taxonomy The acorn woodpecker was formally described in 1827 by the English naturalist William John Swainson under the binomia ...

Zenaida macroura The mourning dove (''Zenaida macroura'') is a member of the dove family, Columbidae. The bird is also known as the American mourning dove, the rain dove, and colloquially as the turtle dove, and was once known as the Carolina pigeon and Caroli ...

Zonotrichia leucophrys The white-crowned sparrow (''Zonotrichia leucophrys'') is a species of passerine bird native to North America. A medium-sized member of the New World sparrow family, this species is marked by a grey face and black and white streaking on the upp ...

Lepus californicus The black-tailed jackrabbit (''Lepus californicus''), also known as the American desert hare, is a common hare of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level up to . Reaching a length around , and a ...

Odocoileus hemionus The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

* Scapanus latimanus * Sciurus griseus * Sorex sp. *

Spermophilus beecheyi The California ground squirrel (''Otospermophilus beecheyi''), also known as the Beechey ground squirrel, is a common and easily observed ground squirrel of the western United States and the Baja California Peninsula; it is common in Oregon and ...

* Thomomys sp.

References

External links

Phoenix Park Vernal Pool Preserve
at the Fair Oaks Recreation & Park District {{Protected Areas of California, SWA Fair Oaks, California Wetlands of the United States