The Seven Springs area is a mixture of meadow, forest and shrubland. It also contains several springs that have provided water for people living in the area across the ages. These springs make some of the areas wet all year long, as in our Seep Zone area. As a result we have areas of special vegetation and problems dealing with the existing trails in the area.
Erosion is a serious concern here.
In this area we see the same diversity of soil types described on the West Marshall Field page. In addition, over the years there has been timber harvesting and other land uses that have left their marks on the plant communities of this area. First, we find a complex set of transitions from redwood and madrone forest to a mixed forest of Douglas fir, tan oak, and live oaks, grading to a chaparral community with knobcone pine, ceanothus, and manzanita. In the northern portion we see douglas firs out competing madrone and manzanita for sunlight. The prevalance of the many young Douglas Firs indicated that the area is in active succession.