These habitats occur mostly on flat plains, coastal terraces and gently rolling foothills.
The specific vegetative structure in Annual Grasslands depends largely on weather patterns and livestock grazing, but importantly, forb richness is typically four times greater than grass richness (Sims and Risser 2000). Grassland habitats in the Central Coast are often further classified into two main types: perennial or coastal prairie, consisting of small, relic hold-outs of native perennial bunchgrasses and forbs and often restricted to the coastal fog-belt and interior grasslands composed primarily of annual, nonnative grasses and native and nonnative forbs, known as Annual Grasslands by CWHR or Valley Grasslands by others (Bartolome et al. Characteristic bird species include western bluebird, acorn woodpecker and lazuli bunting. Oak trees in savannahs are “open‐grown” which at maturity results in large mushroom‐shaped trees with well‐developed limbs and canopies. Oak Savannah habitats are grasslands with scattered oak trees and an open canopy (<25% cover). Savannah-like conditions exist principally in the deep soils of the Valley Oak Woodlands, though Blue Oak Woodland, Blue Oak-Foothill Pine Woodlands and Coastal Oak Woodlands all exhibit savannah under certain conditions as well. Over 110 bird species are known to breed in Central Coast Oak Woodlands, with some characteristic bird species including black-headed grosbeak and purple finch in closed canopies, and oak titmouse, bushtit, and California scrub jay in more open, variable canopies. The understory is also variable, with shade-tolerant forbs (bracken fern, miner’s lettuce) and shrubs (toyon, California blackberry) under closed canopies and annual grasses and shrubs (coffeeberry, buckbrush, poison-oak) in open woodlands. In closed canopies, trees tend to exhibit columnar shaped growth patterns with limited lower branch and foliage development. Oak woodland habitats are highly variable, consisting of closed canopies in mesic sites, to relatively open conditions in drier sites with poor, shallow soils.
Oak Woodlands principally consist of Coastal Oak and Blue Oak Woodlands in the C3JV region, though significant representation of Blue Oak – Foothill Pine and Valley Oak Woodland types are present.
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