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Abstract
In 1996, the construction excavation of a mature chaparral area at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy created a barren area named the Cut, stripped of previously present plants, nutrients, organic matter, and soil. Thirty years later, this area is slowly redeveloping and appears to be a stable community surrounded by chaparral and coastal sage scrub. Previous studies suggest that severely disturbed areas of chaparral will not recover through either auto-succession or primary and secondary succession. Instead, the disturbed area was expected to transition to a mature coastal sage scrub community and eventually revert to chaparral via encroachment. Through an in-depth survey of the plants in our designated cut, ecotone, and chaparral areas, as well as evaluation of root depth and biodiversity calculations, the cut was compared with the surrounding mature chaparral ecosystem. Key findings include evidence that: the cut has not disclimaxed as coastal sage scrub, the ecotone is static (i.e. there is no encroachment), and soil depth is a critical factor in species selection. This study confirms that chaparral ecosystems can return from a severe disturbance through primary succession and creates an entirely new model of succession for chaparral.
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