Sentenac Cienega wildlife and vegetation data

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.