Introduction
Established in 1933, the San Dimas Experimental Forest is the only such forest
in southern California. It covers 6,945 ha in the front range of the San Gabriel
Mountains, located about 50 km northeast of Los Angeles. Originally established
as an outdoor hydrologic laboratory to document and quantify the water cycle
in semi-arid steeplands, most of the facilities were constructed by the depression-era
Civilian Conservation Corps and Work Projects Administration labor programs.
San Dimas has a long history as a research site in the fields of hydrology and
ecology and is recognized as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere
program. San Dimas also contains the Fern Canyon Research Natural Area.
Climate
San Dimas experiences a Mediterranean-type climate, with cool wet winters and
hot dry summers.
Soils
Soils are characterized by steep topography, semi-arid climate, and crystalline
bedrock (Precambrian metamorphics and Mesozoic granitics), which produce shallow,
azonal, coarse-textured soils with numerous rock outcrops and low fertility.
Vegetation
San Dimas is covered primarily with mixed chaparral brushfields but also includes
areas of coastal sage scrub, oak woodland, and mixed conifers. Some areas were
type-converted from native chaparrel to grassland during the 1960s.
Long-Term Data Bases
Long-term data bases include precipitation, streamflow, stream nitrate, temperature,
relative humidity, and solar radiation. Also, since 1982 San Dimas has been
an air quality monitoring site for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National
Trends Network.
Research, Past and Present
Research has included watershed hydrology, chaparral ecology, water yield,
precipitation monitoring, post-fire erosion control treatments, soil non-wetability,
hillslope erosion and watershed sediment fluxes, soil nutrient cycling, and
bird habitat use.
Major Research Accomplishments and Effects on Management
Major accomplishments and effects of research at San Dimas include the development
of rain gauges and raingauge networks to accurately measure precipitation in
steep terrain, the development of flumes to measure and withstand debris-laden
flows, and the identification of post-fire soil non-wetability.
Collaborators
Collaborators include professors of hydrology, soil science, environmental
science, ecology, biology, geography, and geology from University of California-
Riverside, University of Georgia, University of Iowa, California Polytechnic
University-Pomona, Pomona College, and California State University-Long Beach.
Research Opportunities
Research opportunities include a broad spectrum of studies in the general fields
of watershed hydrology, ecology, biogeochemical cycling, and fire effects.
Facilities
Facilities at the Tanbark Flat community near San Dimas include a laboratory/office,
residences, a mess hall/ conference room, and several storage/utility buildings.
Infrastructure includes water, electricity, propane heating, and phone service.
Research/monitoring equipment includes rain gauges, stream gauges, debris dams,
waterquality samplers, a weather station, and a historical lysimeter complex.
Lat. 34°12´ N, long. 117°45´ W
Contact Information
San Dimas Experimental Forest Manager
USDA Forest Service
Pacific Southwest Research Station
4955 Canyon Crest Drive
Riverside, CA 92507
Tel: (909) 680-1538
Or
San Dimas Experimental Forest
USDA Forest Service
Pacific Southwest Research Station
Forest Fire Laboratory
110 North Wabash Avenue
Glendora, CA 91714
Tel: (626) 335-1251
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