Like any ecosystem, this land too went through succession. Ecological succession is made of two parts, primary succession and secondary succession. Primary succession is when organisms move to an environment in which there hasn’t been life before. For example, in my environment’s primary succession, bacteria and seeds may have been brought by the wind and colonized the area. While setting their roots, they broke down rocks forming the soil into one that can sustain life. Secondary succession is the process of re-establishing a population in an environment that was destroyed. In my environment, when secondary succession started, it may have been caused by forest fires and human intervention. Once the vegetation was burned down or removed by humans, new shrubs dominate the area and in time the vegetation grows back returning to its original way.
As of right now, I believe that this habitat is in the pioneer stage of secondary succession for two main reasons. The first being recent forest fires, in the last few years there have been many forest fires around the area. But just as of last September, there was a fire moving down these hills into the ecosystem. Much of the vegetation had burned down. The following winter had brought rain and allowed the native wildlife and plants to return into the ecosystem, such as the California buckwheat and cottontail rabbits. Another reason is that this ecosystem is located just outside an urban neighborhood. While the homes were being built, I do not doubt that the ecosystem was damaged by the construction. From digging up sewers to laying down roads, part of the ecosystem was removed. According to Zillow, the homes closest to the ecosystem have been built as recently as 2001.
As for the future, I believe this cycle will continue. Forest fires will burn the vegetation and with increasing rainfall, it will all grow back. But at some point, this area will be cleared out and urban housing will be built on it. As the city of Hemet is quickly growing, I would not be surprised to see this area destroyed in the near future.
Desert Scrub 