Updated vegetation map of Cedros Island.

Cedros Island is the largest of the Pacific Coast offshore islands of California and Baja California. While it is located within an arid region, its topography, elevation, and the input of fog generated by the California Current create conditions that support a variety of vegetation communities. These range from sarcocaulescent desert composed of succulent trees and shrubs to matorral costero with drought deciduous shrubs, chaparral, and maritime pine forest, as well as specialized communities. The variations in environmental conditions on the island result in abrupt contrasts between pine forest, chaparral and sage scrub habitats and desert scrub. Unlike many of the other coastal islands in this region, Cedros was not affected by large groups of feral herbivorous animals, so except for major fire events, the vegetation appears to be generally intact. A study by the author in 1993 generated a vegetation map of the island along with a floristic analysis. Since then, there have been updates on the flora of the island, and advances in digital aerial imagery and geographic systems have provided an opportunity to generate a more detailed vegetation map of the island. In addition, the vegetation classification terms have been translated into terms used in the International Vegetation Classification. A series of rapid assessments were also conducted at various locations on the island in the north and south mountainous areas, the central canyon drainages, and west coast. Using the rapid assessments that identify key and dominant species in a vegetation community as a basis, this study has created a new digital vegetation map with categories to more accurately reflect the species composition and geospatial location of the vegetation on the island and the modern vegetation terminology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]