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California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Swanton Pacific Ranch

2019

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Modifying Succession: A History Of Vegetation Alliances On Swanton Pacific Ranch, Jill Wilson O'Connor Jun 2019

Modifying Succession: A History Of Vegetation Alliances On Swanton Pacific Ranch, Jill Wilson O'Connor

Master's Theses

This thesis conducts historical research into Swanton Pacific Ranch in the County of Santa Cruz, an interdisciplinary facility for education and research managed by Cal Poly’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. The study seeks to determine whether there have been discernable changes in vegetation alliances (communities), spatially or in type, within a 110-acre Study Area from the early twentieth century to the present day and how the changes compare with other similar historical analyses in California. Historical farming and ranching uses of the area are researched, and two family case studies are presented as paradigms of potential changes …