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San Clemente Island Essay

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The study was carried out in San Clemente Island (SCI; 118° 30’ W, 33° 00’ N), the southernmost of the California Channel Islands, located approximately 109 km west of San Diego, California (Fig. XX). The SCI is under the administration and management of U.S. Navy and is not open to civilians, except by the permission of the naval authorities. The island covers 14,764 ha (147.64 km2) area extending 34 km north-south and ranges in width from 2.5-6.5 km. The diverse topography of the island (a steeply sloping eastern side and gently sloping marine terraces of western side), is the result of tectonic and climatic dynamics (Raab and Yatsko 2009), which produce a greater spatial variability in temperature, wind, rainfall, and fog (Moody 2000). The island experiences an arid Mediterranean-type climate characterised by cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers. It receives an average of 130 mm of rainfall annually (U.S. Dept. of the Navy 2002) with most precipitation (95%) between November and April, the wet season (Yoho et al. 1999). Temperatures are relatively moderate throughout the year with average mean summer and winter temperatures of 18°C and 14°C, respectively. Soil are predominantly clayey and fine loamy with Vertisols morphology (Muhs et al. 2007). The Island vegetation was comprised primarily of maritime desert scrub dominated by spiny and succulent plants (Cylindropuntia prolifera, Lycium californicum, and Opuntia littoralis) and grassland dominated by introduced Avena
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