Wildlife Habitats - California Wildlife Habitat Relationships System

About the CWHR Habitat Classification Scheme

The CWHR habitat classification scheme has been developed to support the CWHR System, a wildlife information system and predictive model for California's regularly-occurring birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. When first published in 1988, the classification scheme had 53 habitats. These habitats, except the non-vegetated Barren habitat, are described in detail in the CWHR publication entitled:

A Guide to Wildlife Habitats of California. 1988.
Edited by Kenneth E. Mayer and William F. Laudenslayer, Jr.
State of California, Resources Agency,
Department of Fish and Game
Sacramento, CA. 166 pp.

The entire original publication is available online with updates (see below).

At present, there are 59 wildlife habitats in the CWHR System: 27 tree, 12 shrub, 6 herbaceous, 4 aquatic, 8 agricultural, 1 developed, and 1 non-vegetated (download Habitat Range shapefiles (.zip)). Please note: the 59 habitats described below were designed for use with a predictive model for terrestrial vertebrate wildlife species. They do not represent a comprehensive classification scheme for the conservation and mapping of California's terrestrial vegetation* or its marine and estuarine habitats**.

• Stages are defined for virtually all habitats. A stage is a combination of size and cover class for tree-dominated habitats, age and cover class for shrub habitats, height and cover class for herb habitats, and depth and substrate for aquatic habitats. A field sampling protocol is well-established for determining stages in all vegetated habitats.
• Special habitat elements are also defined. They include live and decadent vegetation elements such as snags, physical elements such as banks and burrows, aquatic elements, vegetative and animal diet elements and human-made elements.

The predictive model for each species has expert-applied suitability ratings for three life-requisites – breeding, cover and feeding. For each species, each habitat stage is rated as high, medium, low or unsuitable for each of these life requirements. Each special habitat element is also assessed as essential, secondarily essential, preferred or not rated for the species.

* Notes on Classification and Mapping of Terrestrial Vegetation in California

• Information on classification and mapping of terrestrial vegetation is available from the Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program (VegCAMP), CDFW Biogeographic Data Branch.
• Field sampling for CWHR habitat stages has been incorporated into the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) Rapid Assessment Protocol, to increase the utility of the resulting vegetation maps for wildlife modeling and conservation. Information and links to field forms are available on the CNPS website.
• Crosswalks to the CWHR habitat classification scheme are included in all of California's major vegetation and land cover mapping efforts.

** Notes on Classification of Marine and Estuarine Habitats in California

• A classification scheme for the conservation and management of marine and estuarine habitats was developed in cooperation with the CWHR Program in 2002. It includes descriptions for 22 marine and 19 estuarine habitats. At present, it does not include suitability ratings to habitat stages or special habitat elements for the terrestrial amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals currently in the CWHR System.
• The new classification includes crosswalks to other important, recent classifications regarding coastal waters. Included are crosswalks to Wetlands of the Central and Southern California Coast and Coastal Watersheds; a methodology for their classification and description (Ferren et al., 1996), Baylands Ecosystem Habitat Goals: a report of habitat recommendations (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1999), A classification scheme for deep sea floor habitats (Greene et al., 1999), and Wildlife-habitat relationships in Oregon and Washington (Johnson and O'Neil, 2001). Also included are crosswalks to a national scheme for marine and estuarine ecosystems and habitat classification published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 2002 and a classification for habitats of the Channel Islands drafted in 2000 by the Channel Island National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS).

Revision to Marine and Estuarine Habitats of the California Wildlife Habitat Relationships System (2002) (PDF)

A Guide to Wildlife Habitats of California (1988)

Habitat Types

HABITAT TYPE	PRIMARY SPECIES REFERENCED IN TEXT	1988 Text Account	Range Map	Photo
Tree Dominated Habitats
Subalpine Conifer (SCN)	Engelmann Spruce, Subalpine Fir, Mountain Hemlock
Red Fir (RFR)	Red Fir, White Fir, Lodgepole Pine
Lodgepole Pine (LPN)	Lodgepole Pine, Aspen, Mountain Hemlock
Sierran Mixed Conifer (SMC)	Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine, White Fir   New! updated description of range
White Fir (WFR)	White Fir, Douglas Fir, Sugar Pine   New! corrected range map
Klamath Mixed Conifer (KMC)	White Fir, Douglas-Fir, Ponderosa Pine   New! updated description
Douglas Fir (DFR)	Douglas Fir, Tanoak, Ponderosa Pine
Jeffrey Pine (JPN)	Jeffrey Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Sugar Pine
Ponderosa Pine (PPN)	Ponderosa Pine, Jeffrey Pine, Douglas Fir
Eastside Pine (EPN)	Ponderosa Pine, Jeffrey Pine, White Fir
Redwood (RDW)	Redwood, Grand Fir, Sitka Spruce
Pinyon-Juniper (PJN)	Pinyon Species, Juniper Species, Mountain Mahogany Species
Juniper (JUN)	Juniper Species, White Fir, Jeffrey Pine
Aspen (ASP)	Aspen, Willows, Alders
Closed-Cone Pine-Cypress (CPC)	Sargent Cypress, Monterey Cypress, Monterey Pine
Montane Hardwood-Conifer (MHC)	Ponderosa Pine, Incense Cedar, California Black Oak
Montane Hardwood (MHW)	Canyon Live Oak, California Black Oak, Oregon White Oak
Blue Oak Woodland (BOW)	Blue Oak, Interior Live Oak, California Buckeye
Valley Oak Woodland (VOW)	Valley Oak, California Walnut, California Sycamore
Coastal Oak Woodland (COW)	Coast Live Oak, Engelmann Oak, Island Oak   New! updated description of dominants
Blue Oak-Foothill Pine (BOP)	Foothill Pine, Blue Oak, Interior Live Oak
Eucalyptus (EUC)	Blue Gum, Red Gum
Montane Riparian (MRI)	Black Cottonwood, Bigleaf Maple, White Alder
Valley Foothill Riparian (VRI)	Cottonwood, Sycamore, Valley Oak
Desert Riparian (DRI)	Tamarisk, Mesquite, Fremont Cottonwood
Palm Oasis (POS)	Fan Palm, Velvet Ash, California Sycamore
Joshua Tree (JST)	Joshua Tree, Juniper Species, Mojave Yucca
Shrub Dominated Habitats
Alpine Dwarf-Shrub (ADS)	Oceanspray, Greene Goldenweed, Mountain Heather
Low Sage (LSG)	Low Sagebrush, Black Sagebrush, Rabbitbrush Species
Bitterbrush (BBR)	Bitterbrush Species, Big Sagebrush, Rubber Rabbitbrush
Sagebrush (SGB)	Sagebrush Species, Rabbitbrush Species, Horsebrush
Montane Chaparral (MCP)	Ceanothus Species, Manzanita Species, Bitter Cherry
Mixed Chaparral (MCH)	Scrub Oak, Ceanothus Species, Manzanita Species
Chamise-Redshank Chaparral (CRC)	Chamise, Redshank, Ceanothus Species
Coastal Scrub (CSC)	Coyotebush, California Buckwheat, Sage Species
Desert Succulent Shrub (DSS)	Octillo, Mojave Yucca, Desert Agave
Desert Wash (DSW)	Paloverde Species, Desert Ironwood, Mesquite
Desert Scrub (DSC)	Creosotebush, Catclaw Acacia, Desert Agave
Alkali Desert Scrub (ASC)	Allscale, Saltbush Species, Shadscale
Herbaceous Dominated Habitats
Annual Grassland (AGS)	Wild Oats, Soft Chess, Brome Species   New! updated range map and description of range
Perennial Grassland (PGS)	California Oatgrass, Hairgrass, Sweet Vernalgrass   New! updated range map and description of range
Wet Meadow (WTM)	Sedge Species, Rush Species, Tufted Hairgrass
Fresh Emergent Wetland (FEW)	Cattail, Bulrush, Redroot Nutgrass
Saline Emergent Wetland (SEW)	Cordgrass, Pickleweed, Bulrush
Pasture (PAS)	Bermuda Grass, Ryegrass, Tall Fescue
Aquatic Habitats See also: "Notes on Classification of Marine and Estuarine Habitats"
Riverine (RIV)	Water Moss, Algae, Duckweed
Lacustrine (LAC)	Plankton, Duckweed, Water Lilies
Estuarine (EST)	Plankton, Algae, Eel Grass
Marine (MAR)	Plankton, Algae, Kelp
Developed Habitats
Cropland (CRP)	Tomatoes, Corn, Wheat   ** Replaced by DGR, IGR, IRH, IRF, RIC **
Dryland Grain Crops (DGR)	Cereal Rye, Barley, Wheat
Irrigated Grain Crops (IGR)	Corn, Dry Beans, Safflower
Irrigated Hayfield (IRH)	Alfalfa, Hay
Irrigated Row and Field Crops (IRF)	Tomatoes, Cotton, Lettuce
Rice (RIC)	Rice
Orchard - Vineyard (OVN)	Apples, Oranges, Grapes   ** Replaced by DOR, EOR, VIN **
Deciduous Orchard (DOR)	Almonds, Walnuts, Peaches
Evergreen Orchard (EOR)	Oranges, Avocados, Lemons
Vineyard (VIN)	Grapes, Kiwi Fruit, Boysenberries
Urban (URB)	Grass Lawns, Ornamental Trees, Hedges
Non-vegetated Habitats
Barren (BAR)	Rock, Gravel, Soil