Whittier Narrows Nature Center Free Essay Example, 1250 words

The area experience 4 seasons in a year cycled with cold and snowy winters. The Whittier Narrows have a hot summer and the winters are mild. It differs from the coastal areas, because coastal areas have frequent fog in summer, the precipitation turns to be rain on winters (Francis and McKee 153). California is a home of more than 5,862 plants species. The main plant communities found in Whittier Narrows are Riparian, Oak Wood, Coastal sage, Grassland, Mustard, and Brash. Coastal sage is situated a long river San Gabriel, it contains both indigenous and exotic plants. The dominating plant species are berries. The three types of berries grown in the area are coffee berries, elder berries, and toyon; the exotic plants that are grown in the area black mustard. Grassland mustard is sloppy and it has scattered individual plants. It has few plants species and it is also dominated by berries of all species, the exotic plants that are grown in the area are till black mustard. Oak woodland lies on the valley and it is characterized open canopy woodlands, the main types of trees found in the area woodlands such as valley oak woodland and blue oak woodland, the trees in the area are scattered. We will write a custom essay sample on Whittier Narrows Nature Center or any topic specificall y for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now The exotic tresses that are grown in the area are passion flower. The last plant community in the area is Riparian. What makes the area unique is that the area is associated with water bodies. They are at the bank of rivers. The area protects aquatic environment from excessive sedimentation and soil erosion (Jared 108). It removes excess nutrients and sediment from water in the surface and shallow ground water. The plants regulate light and temperatures for aquatic animals by use of leaves. Exotic tress dominate the area, the species of exotic trees are tree tobacco and horehound. The plants have several impacts on the native communities. The plants balance the nature in people’s lives. Plants manufacture their own food and in the process they absorb carbon dioxide and give out oxygen, the process is referred to as photosynthesis. Berries in the area are a food crop and they are sold as a cash crop (Jared 108). Most of the indigenous plants are used to make local medicinal herbs. They regulate water cycle; they redistribute and clean the water especially those found in the riparian. Most of the houses built in the area are made up of wood which comes from the plants. The soil in the area differs from place to place, in location A, the texture was soft, location b, the texture was coarse, and in location D, it was sandy.