page_title: Guadalupe Island
section_title: Habitat types
hierarchical_section_title: Guadalupe Island / Ecology / Habitat types
caption_attribution_description: Cylindropuntia prolifera at the University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley, California
context_page_description: Guadalupe Island or Isla Guadalupe is a volcanic island located 241 kilometres off the west coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula and about 400 kilometres southwest of the city of Ensenada in the state of Baja California, in the Pacific Ocean.
  The two other Mexican island groups in the Pacific Ocean that are not on the continental shelf are Revillagigedo Islands and Rocas Alijos. Guadalupe Island and its islets are the westernmost region of Mexico.
context_section_description: Before the removal of goats, surveys found eight major land habitats on Guadalupe:
  Flora of the coastal lowlands and rocky cliffs: mainly up to 200 metres (656 ft) above mean sea level (ASL), but higher on the steep cliffs. Largely unresearched due to difficult access, the cliffs might even harbor remnant specimens of the presumably extinct plants.
  Succulent perennial herbs: 200–400 metres (656–1,312 ft) ASL, chiefly on the southern end and on the offshore islets, and in less steep areas towards sea level. Here, the highest number of endemic plants exist. Baeriopsis guadalupensis, Cistanthe guadalupensis, Dudleya guadalupensis, Hemizonia greeneana ssp. greeneana, H. palmeri, Perityle incana and Stephanomeria guadalupensis are dominant endemics, and giant coreopsis (Coreopsis gigantea), a non-endemic native species, is also abundant.
  Arid maritime shrubland: 400–600 metres (1,312–1,969 ft) ASL. Mainly in the southern portion around El Picacho. Native species occurring here include Ambrosia camphorata, Atriplex barclayana, Cylindropuntia prolifera and California boxthorn (Lycium californicum); none of these is endemic.
  Herbland dominated by introduced plants: 600–800 metres (1,969–2,625 ft) ASL, mainly on the central plateau. This habitat is almost entirely a consequence of overgrazing; hardly anything of the original ecosystem remains. Dominant introduced plants are Avena barbata, Bromus berteroanus, great brome (B. diandrus), soft brome (B. hordeaceus sspp. hordaceus and mollis), red brome (B. madritensis ssp. rubens), tocalote (Centaurea melitensis), nettle-leaved goosefoot (Chenopodium murale), Filago californica, wall barley (Hordeum murinum sspp. glaucum and leporinum), crystalline iceplant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum), M. nodiflorum, Polypogon monspeliensis and Sisymbrium orientale. The non-endemic natives dwarf coastweed (Amblyopappus pusillus), island false bindweed (Calystegia macrostegia ssp. macrostegia), Cryptantha maritima var. maritima, Filago arizonica, Gilia nevinii, California goldfields (Lasthenia californica), Pectocarya palmeri and Perityle emoryi as well as the endemics Cryptantha foliosa and Sphaeralcea palmeri can be found here also; some are still numerous. This probably was a mesic shrub/herbland before the goats destroyed the upland forest, upsetting the water supply. Native plants still found on Guadalupe, like Crossosoma californicum, laurel sumac (Malosma laurina) and the endemic Camissonia guadalupensis ssp. guadalupensis, presumably thrived here in former times, as would have such taxa as the native hoary-leaved ceanothus (Ceanothus crassifolius), wedge-leaved ceanothus (C. cuneatus) – and possibly also felt-leaved ceanothus (C. arboreus), which was found in 2001–2003 surveys –, Cammisonia robusta, red-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum) and the endemic Hesperalea palmeri, which have now disappeared from the island.
  Guadalupe palm groves: 400–900 metres (1,312–2,953 ft) ASL on the northwest side of the island. There are hundreds of palm trees remaining, mainly in a single patch of this habitat. At least one other major palm forest, at the W coast, existed; it was still present in 1906 at "Steamer Point". As reproduction is presumably still ongoing, the species will likely recover in due time.
  Guadalupe cypress forest: 800–1,000 metres (2,625–3,281 ft) ASL. Presently some 4000 of old trees, essentially limited to the central northern part. Other cypress forests, such as a major stand NE of the present patch which was still extant in 1906, have been destroyed by the goats early in the 20th century. There is still reproduction, but the water table appears to have declined to below the level required by the cypresses, and mortality of the old trees is high and can be expected to continue even after removal of the goats.
  Guadalupe palm – island oak – Guadalupe pine woodland: 900–1,000 metres (2,953–3,281 ft) ASL. This habitat has all but disappeared during the 20th century, due to the decline in numbers of the oaks and pines.
  Guadalupe pine cloud forest with some island oak: restricted to abo
caption: Cylindropuntia prolifera
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