Carmel Mountain

Vernal PoolsPresentation for 4th Grade

What is a Vernal Pool?

Sauntering in any direction, my feet would brush about a hundred flowers with every step... as if I were wading in liquid gold

-- John Muir describing the Central Valley of California in the spring of 1868

What is a Vernal Pool?

Vernal pools are seasonally flooded depressions found on ancient soils with an impermeable layer such as a hardpan, claypan, or volcanic basalt, in our case, it’s Torrey Sandstone.

The impermeable layer allows the pools to retain water much longer than the surrounding uplands.

The pools are shallow enough to dry up each season. Vernal pools often fill and empty several times during the rainy season. Only plants and animals that are adapted to this cycle of wetting and drying can survive in vernal pools over time.

Location, Location, Location!

Why Do Some People Think Vernal Pools Are Important?

Vernal pools are considered an important natural resources in California and worldwide.

They are part of Our rich California Heritage. Vernal pools are often in areas where livestock has been grazed for many decades. California ranchers and vernal pool have coexisted for centuries.

Vernal Pools can help with flooding.

Vernal pools and other wetlands collect water, during storm events.

Wetlands, including vernal pools also remove contaminants from the water, including agricultural and urban runoff.

California Indians used the Vernal Pools!

* Historical Use by Native Americans. We now believe that Native Americans utilized vernal pools in several ways

. In late winter, Native welcomed the arrival of the first green vegetable sprouts around vernal pools, since they had been surviving almost exclusively on deer jerky and acorn mush for a few months.

Flowers Digging sticks made of schist were used to uncover the fleshy roots of coyote thistle, a species that is related to the domestic carrot. Seeds of many vernal pool plants were collected and ground with mortar and pestle into "pinole" or seed stew

Piles of rocks were stacked on either side of the pools in order to support poles. Nets were attached to the poles and stretched across the pools, and birds were chased into the nets and collected from the pools.

Vernal pools are often breeding grounds for frogs and other amphibians. Some organisms in vernal pools are adapted to survive through the dry season. Algae and protozoans dig into the mud and make a cyst or hard cover out of lime! This protects the organism until water fills the pond in the spring.

The Endangered Spade Foot Toad

Pacific Tree Frog

Fairy Shrimp do NOT come from DISNEYLAND!!!

Fairy shrimp are small (about 1 inch) crustaceans which spend their entire lives ( a few weeks) in a vernal pool.

Eggs hatch in late winter/early spring and adults may be observed in pools in the spring. The eggs pass through a cycle of drying and freezing, and then hatch another year when water returns.

The presence of fairy shrimp indicates that a water body is a vernal pool.

They can ESTIVATE FOR OVER 20 YEARS!!

Roadrunner… beep beep!

Many animals, including birds, rely on the vernal pools for food and water.

One pool species, meadowfoam (Limnanthes spp.) is currently being investigated as a source of oil to replace animal- based oils in industrial applications.

Chapparal and Wildlife Corridor

Del Mar Mesa Mint

Dudleya! Only place it’s found in the WORLD!!

Lichen and Moss

This lichen and moss can take 50 to 100 years to grow!!