Comparison Of Competition Between Mexican Palm Trees And Coast Live Oak

Introduction and Thesis

Competition exists between the Mexican Palm Tree and Coast Live Oak at the Arroyo Seco Watershed. Competition is the interaction between two organisms or species where the fitness by one is lowered by the presence of the other. Due to Coast Live Oak and the Mexican Palm Tree having such a limited space and water supply, they compete with one another. The Palm Tree adapts through its high growth rate, while having a higher height than the coast live oak and by being drought tolerant. The Coast Live Oak adapts to the competition by having a specialized root system allowing it to collect moisture through the different layers of soil. The Mexican Palm tree is in competition with the Coast live oak due to them both competing

General Biology/Ecology of Coast Live Oak

The coast live oak is commonly referred to as Quercus agrifolia to the scientific community. A brief description of this species is that it belongs to the Oak Family. It is an evergreen tree that can grow from a range of 10 to 25 meters tall. It also has a broad, dense crown and widely spreading branches all around. As the bark matures it has a greyish tint and is slightly furrowed (Maufette, 1987). The leaves have an oval to oblong shape that are approximately 2 to 6 cm. The edges of the leaves have toothed edges all around. The acorns that this species possesses has a high acorn production at least once two to three times a year. The flowering process occurs from February to April and actually mature somewhere between August and October (Maufette, 1987). As for the distribution for the coast live oak it is commonly found in the coastal ranges of north central California to southward to

The scientific name for this tree is Washingtonia robusta. This specific tree is native to northwestern Mexico but were not brought to southern California until the turn of the century. The Mexican fan palm tree is rapid growing and can soar up to 30.5 meters, although the average is 12 to 15 meters. Their trunks are often 25.4 to 30.5 cm in diameter and become slimmer towards the top of the tree. They have bright green broad fan shaped, palmate leaves. The leaves themselves have been used for many different resources in history. For example, they were used specifically for weaving and basketry. The tree’s leaves have a small fruit that is brown and black but is often cut off and they do not attract wildlife. Despite the fruit not attracting wildlife, the tree itself can be a home for many different species such as birds, snakes, rodents and insects. These trees thrive in direct sunlight but can also grow with less sunlight. They are very drought and salt tolerant and can grow in a wide range of soils. This is why they are considered to be a desert tree. In history the trees served as a very important resource in Mexico as they used the palms and fronds for basketry and