Ecosystems & Ecosystem Drivers

  • Person standing alongside a weather station atop a hill overlooking the ocean in Channel Islands NP
    Climate & Weather

    Park researchers have established four automated real-time weather stations on the Channel Islands.

  • Person extending a measuring tape through the grass for vegetaion monitoring in Channel Islands NP
    Invasive Plants

    The extent and number of invasive plant species in an ecosystem are indicators of the health and integrity of the ecosystem.

  • Looking up through a giant kelp forest teeming with fish
    Kelp Forest Communities

    The nearshore waters along the coastline southern California host one of the most productive marine ecosystems on earth, giant kelp forests.

  • Mountaintop view of the meeting of natural and urban areas in the Santa Monica Mountains
    Landscape Dynamics

    Landscape dynamics refer to a broad suite of ecological and geomorphological processes occurring across broad spatial scales.

  • Park staff recording native plant communities data on a Santa Monica Mountains hillside
    Native Plant Communities

    Detecting changes in species composition can help guide future land management decisions.

  • Two crouching people recording rocky intertidal data along the Cabrillo National Monument coast
    Rocky Intertidal Habitat

    Despite the intertidal community's resistance to the drying sun and pounding surf, it is vulnerable to impacts caused by humans.

  • Winding channel of Old Ranch Canyon Lagoon with a sandy beach beyond
    Sandy Beaches & Lagoons

    Park researchers use a variety of sampling techniques to monitor the population dynamics of beach and lagoon organisms.

  • Two scientists wading through a stream carrying nets
    Stream Condition

    The Santa Monica Mountains and Channel Islands are graced with numerous streams that support a diverse aquatic community.

Last updated: December 3, 2018

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