Understanding Botanical Traits of Rancho La Brea Fossils for Conservation Purposes

Steven Joseph Mendoza
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Abstract

The La Brea Tar Pits and Museum in Los Angeles is home to over 4 million Pleistocene fossils that help us better understand California during the last Ice Age. While the focus of Rancho La Brea research has often been on understanding the site’s megafauna, the plant fossils of this site hold a wealth of information that remains untapped. Seeds, nuts, pods, leaves, and entire trees have been preserved in the asphalt to such a degree that researchers have identified over 150 different species of plants. These plants document the environmental changes Southern California has experienced from before the Last Glacial Maximum until today. The plants found at La Brea Tar Pits have proven their resilience during extreme climatic changes. Their botanical characteristics and traits are valuable for conservationists and land managers to consider as they plan landscapes for the changing climatic circumstances of today. To translate this deeper-time information into actionable conservation recommendations, we are developing a database of biological, environmental, and ethnobotanical characteristics for each of the 163 species of plant fossils identified at La Brea Tar Pits. By recording botanical temperature ranges, drought tolerances, soil preferences, fire responses, and organisms associated with each species, we can recommend which La Brea plants can thrive in certain regions, maximizing functional ecosystem services with minimal human investment. Researchers, land managers, conservation specialists, urban planners, and homeowners can use this database to create sustainable climate change-resistant parks, gardens, habitats, and recreational/educational spaces utilizing plants native to Los Angeles for the past 50,000+ years.
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了解Rancho La Brea化石的植物特征及其保护目的
洛杉矶的拉布雷亚沥青坑和博物馆收藏了400多万具更新世化石,这些化石帮助我们更好地了解上一个冰河时期的加利福尼亚。虽然拉布雷亚牧场研究的重点通常是了解该遗址的巨型动物,但该遗址的植物化石蕴藏着大量尚未开发的信息。种子、坚果、豆荚、树叶和整棵树都保存在沥青中,以至于研究人员已经确定了150多种不同的植物。这些植物记录了南加州从末次盛冰期之前到今天所经历的环境变化。在拉布雷亚沥青坑发现的植物已经证明了它们在极端气候变化中的适应性。它们的植物特征和特征对自然资源保护主义者和土地管理者在规划当今气候变化的景观时很有价值。为了将这些更深层的时间信息转化为可操作的保护建议,我们正在为在拉布雷亚沥青坑发现的163种植物化石开发一个生物、环境和民族植物学特征数据库。通过记录植物的温度范围、耐旱性、土壤偏好、火灾反应和与每个物种相关的生物,我们可以推荐哪些拉布雷亚植物可以在特定地区茁壮成长,以最小的人类投资最大化功能生态系统服务。研究人员、土地管理者、保护专家、城市规划者和房主可以使用这个数据库来创建可持续的气候变化抵抗公园、花园、栖息地和娱乐/教育空间,利用过去5万多年来洛杉矶本土的植物。
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