Carl Inn Natural Area
Map SatelliteLocated on a gently rolling, south-facing slope above the South Fork of the Tuolumne River is a mixed conifer forest of the ponderosa pine-sugar pine-fir type. The dominant species in the overstory are the ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa, and incense cedar, Calocedrus decurrens. Sugar pine, Pinus lambertiana, and white fir, Abies concolor, are also important components. There is some Douglas fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii, and oak, Quercus spp., as well, but not in significant amounts. Since it was designated a natural area in 1958, natural succession, probably due to the lack of fire, has led to a change in the vegetative cover and, based on the proportion of the younger trees in the understory, the area seems to be passing to a predominance of white fir and incense cedar. The majority of the pines are mature, with the ponderosas averaging 295 years in age and 45 meters (150 feet) in height, and the sugar pines 256 years in age and 52 meters (170 feet) in height.
Ground cover includes the mountain misery, Chamaebatia foliolosa, which forms a veritable carpet over large sections, Arctostaphylos viscida ssp. mariposa, and Ceanothus integerrimus.
Integrity: There has been no fire in the area for at least 50 years. Aside from eradication of Ribes spp. as part of the white-pine blister rust control program, the area is essentially undisturbed.
Use: Research, educational, observational.
September 1975
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman
