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Chaparral ( ) is a
shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ...
plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
. It is shaped by a
Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
(mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intensity crown fires. Chaparral features summer-drought-tolerant plants with hard sclerophyllous evergreen leaves, as contrasted with the associated soft-leaved, drought-deciduous, scrub community of
coastal sage scrub Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is ...
, found often on drier, southern facing slopes within the chaparral biome. Three other closely related chaparral shrubland systems occur in central
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, western
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, and along the eastern side of central Mexico's mountain chains (mexical), all having summer rains in contrast to the Mediterranean climate of other chaparral formations. Chaparral comprises 9% of California's wildland vegetation and contains 20% of its plant species. The name comes from the Spanish word , which translates to "place of the
scrub oak Scrub oak is a common name for several species of small, shrubby oaks. It may refer to: *the Chaparral plant community in California, or to one of the following species. In California *California scrub oak (''Quercus berberidifolia''), a widespr ...
".


Introduction

In its natural state, chaparral is characterized by infrequent fires, with natural fire return intervals ranging between 30 years and over a hundred years. Mature chaparral (at least 50 years since time of last fire) is characterized by nearly impenetrable, dense thickets (except the more open chaparral of the desert). These plants are flammable during the late summer and autumn months when conditions are characteristically hot and dry. They grow as woody shrubs with thick, leathery, and often small leaves, contain green leaves all year (are
evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...
), and are typically drought resistant (with some exceptions). After the first rains following a fire, the landscape is dominated by small flowering herbaceous plants, known as fire followers, which die back with the summer dry period. Similar plant communities are found in the four other Mediterranean climate regions around the world, including the
Mediterranean Basin In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and wa ...
(where it is known as ), central
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
(where it is called ), the
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
n Cape Region (known there as ), and in Western and Southern
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
(as ). According to the California Academy of Sciences, Mediterranean shrubland contains more than 20 percent of the world's plant diversity. The word ''chaparral'' is a
loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because ...
from Spanish , meaning place of the scrub oak, which itself comes from a Basque word, , that has the same meaning. Conservation International and other conservation organizations consider chaparral to be a biodiversity hotspot – a biological community with a large number of different species – that is under threat by human activity.


California chaparral


California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion

The
California chaparral and woodlands The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of southwestern Oregon, northern, central, and southern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico), located on the west coast of North America. It is a ...
ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
, of the
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub is a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is generally characterized by dry summers and rainy winters, although in some areas rainfall may be uniform. Summers are typically hot in ...
biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...
, has three sub-ecoregions with
ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...
plant community subdivisions: * California coastal sage and chaparral:
In coastal
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...
and northwestern coastal
Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
, as well as all of the
Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
off California and Guadalupe Island (Mexico). * California montane chaparral and woodlands:
In
southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...
and central coast adjacent and inland California regions, including covering some of the mountains of the
California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. ...
, the
Transverse Ranges The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa ...
, and the western slopes of the northern
Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, which ...
. * California interior chaparral and woodlands:
In central interior California surrounding the Central Valley, covering the foothills and lower slopes of the northeastern Transverse Ranges and the western
Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primar ...
range.


Chaparral and woodlands biota

For the numerous individual plant and animal species found within the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, see: * Flora of the California chaparral and woodlands *
Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Z ...
. Some of the indicator plants of the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion include: * ''
Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ...
'' species – oaks: ** '' Quercus agrifolia'' – coast live oak ** '' Quercus berberidifolia'' – scrub oak ** '' Quercus chrysolepis'' – canyon live oak ** '' Quercus douglasii'' – blue oak ** '' Quercus wislizeni – interior live oak'' * '' Artemisia'' species – sagebrush: ** '' Artemisia californica – California sagebrush, coastal sage brush'' * '' Arctostaphylos'' species – manzanitas: ** '' Arctostaphylos glauca'' – bigberry manzanita ** ''
Arctostaphylos manzanita One of many species of manzanita, ''Arctostaphylos manzanita'' has the common names common manzanita and whiteleaf manzanita. ''Arctostaphylos manzanita'' is endemic to California, where it can be found in the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada f ...
'' – common manzanita * '' Ceanothus'' species – California lilacs: ** '' Ceanothus cuneatus'' – buckbrush ** '' Ceanothus megacarpus'' – bigpod ceanothus * '' Rhus'' species – sumacs: ** ''
Rhus integrifolia ''Rhus integrifolia'', also known as lemonade sumac, lemonade berry, or lemonadeberry, is a shrub to small tree. It is native to the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges and the South Coast regions of Southern California. This extends from Santa ...
'' – lemonade berry ** ''
Rhus ovata ''Rhus ovata'', commonly known as sugar bush or sugar sumac, is a shrub or small tree found growing in the canyons and slopes of the chaparral and related ecosystems in Southern California, Arizona, Baja California and Baja California Sur. It is ...
'' – sugar bush * '' Eriogonum'' species – buckwheats: ** ''
Eriogonum fasciculatum ''Eriogonum fasciculatum'' is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names California buckwheat and flat-topped buckwheat. Characterized by small, white and pink flower clusters that give off a cottony effect, this species grows vari ...
'' – California buckwheat * ''
Salvia ''Salvia'' () is the largest genus of plants in the sage family Lamiaceae, with nearly 1000 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals. Within the Lamiaceae, ''Salvia'' is part of the tribe Mentheae within the subfamily Nepetoide ...
'' species – sages: ** '' Salvia mellifera'' – black sage Chaparral soils and nutrient composition Chaparral characteristically is found in areas with steep topography and shallow stony soils, while adjacent areas with clay soils, even where steep, tend to be colonized by annual plants and grasses. Some chaparral species are adapted to nutrient-poor soils developed over serpentine and other ultramafic rock, with a high ratio of magnesium and iron to calcium and potassium, that are also generally low in essential nutrients such as nitrogen.


California cismontane and transmontane chaparral subdivisions

Another phytogeography system uses two California chaparral and woodlands subdivisions: the cismontane chaparral and the transmontane (desert) chaparral.


California cismontane chaparral

''Cismontane chaparral'' ("this side of the mountain") refers to the chaparral ecosystem in the
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub is a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is generally characterized by dry summers and rainy winters, although in some areas rainfall may be uniform. Summers are typically hot in ...
biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...
in California, growing on the western (and coastal) sides of large mountain range systems, such as the western slopes of the
Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primar ...
in the
San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...
foothills, western slopes of the
Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, which ...
and
California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. ...
, and south-southwest slopes of the
Transverse Ranges The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa ...
in the Central Coast and Southern California regions.


=Cismontane chaparral plant species

= In Central and
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...
chaparral forms a dominant habitat. Members of the chaparral biota native to California, all of which tend to regrow quickly after fires, include: * '' Adenostoma fasciculatum'', chamise * '' Adenostoma sparsifolium'', redshanks * '' Arctostaphylos'' spp., manzanita * '' Ceanothus'' spp., ceanothus * '' Cercocarpus'' spp., mountain mahogany * '' Cneoridium dumosum'', bush rue * ''
Eriogonum fasciculatum ''Eriogonum fasciculatum'' is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names California buckwheat and flat-topped buckwheat. Characterized by small, white and pink flower clusters that give off a cottony effect, this species grows vari ...
'', California buckwheat * '' Garrya'' spp., silk-tassel bush * ''
Hesperoyucca whipplei ''Hesperoyucca whipplei'' ( syn. ''Yucca whipplei''), the chaparral yucca, our Lord's candle, Spanish bayonet, Quixote yucca or foothill yucca, is a species of flowering plant closely related to, and formerly usually included in, the genus ''Yucc ...
'', yucca * ''
Heteromeles arbutifolia ''Heteromeles arbutifolia'' (; more commonly by Californian botanists), commonly known as toyon, is a common perennial shrub native to extreme southwest Oregon, California, and the Baja California Peninsula. It is the sole species in the gen ...
'', toyon * '' Acmispon glaber'', deerweed * '' Malosma laurina'', laurel sumac * ''
Marah macrocarpus *''Echinocystis macrocarpa *''Micrampelis leptocarpa. ''Marah macrocarpa'' (sometimes spelled ''Marah macrocarpus''), known as chilicothe, wild cucumber, manroot or bigroot is a species of plant in the genus '' Marah''.
'', wild cucumber * ''
Mimulus aurantiacus ''Diplacus aurantiacus'', the sticky monkey-flower or orange bush monkey-flower, is a flowering plant that grows in a subshrub form, native to southwestern North America from southwestern Oregon south through most of California. It is a memb ...
'', bush monkeyflower * '' Pickeringia montana'', chaparral pea * '' Prunus ilicifolia'', islay or hollyleaf cherry * '' Quercus berberidifolia'', scrub oak * '' Q. dumosa'', scrub oak * '' Q. wislizenii'' var. ''frutescens'' * '' Rhamnus californica'', California coffeeberry * ''
Rhus integrifolia ''Rhus integrifolia'', also known as lemonade sumac, lemonade berry, or lemonadeberry, is a shrub to small tree. It is native to the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges and the South Coast regions of Southern California. This extends from Santa ...
'', lemonade berry * ''
Rhus ovata ''Rhus ovata'', commonly known as sugar bush or sugar sumac, is a shrub or small tree found growing in the canyons and slopes of the chaparral and related ecosystems in Southern California, Arizona, Baja California and Baja California Sur. It is ...
'', sugar bush * '' Salvia apiana'', white sage * '' Salvia mellifera'', black sage * ''
Xylococcus bicolor ''Xylococcus'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the heather family which contains the single species ''Xylococcus bicolor'', commonly known as the mission manzanita. It is a burl-forming, evergreen shrub to tree with leathery leaves ...
'', mission manzanita


=Cismontane chaparral bird species

= The complex ecology of chaparral habitats supports a very large number of animal species. The following is a short list of birds which are an integral part of the cismontane chaparral ecosystems. :Characteristic chaparral bird species include: * Wrentit ('' Chamaea fasciata'') * California thrasher ('' Toxostoma redivivum'') * California towhee ('' Melozone crissalis'') * Spotted towhee ('' Pipilo maculatus'') * California scrub jay ('' Aphelocoma californica'') :Other common chaparral bird species include: * Anna's hummingbird (''
Calypte anna Anna's hummingbird (''Calypte anna'') is a medium-sized bird species of the family Trochilidae. It was named after Anna Masséna, Duchess of Rivoli. It is native to western coastal regions of North America. In the early 20th century, Anna's hu ...
'') * Bewick's wren ('' Thryomanes bewickii'') * Bushtit ('' Psaltriparus minimus'') * Costa's hummingbird ('' Calypte costae'') * Greater roadrunner ('' Geococcyx californianus'')


California transmontane (desert) chaparral

Transmontane chaparral or desert chaparral —''transmontane'' ("the other side of the mountain") ''chaparral''—refers to the
desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
shrubland
habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
and chaparral plant community growing in the rainshadow of these ranges. Transmontane chaparral features xeric
desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
climate, not
Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
habitats, and is also referred to as
desert chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean ...
.A Natural History of California, Allan A. Schoenerr, Figure 8.9 – 8.10, Table 8.2County of San Diego Department of Planning and Land Use Multiple Species Conservation Program, Desert chaparral is a regional
ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...
subset of the deserts and xeric shrublands
biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...
, with some plant species from the
California chaparral and woodlands The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of southwestern Oregon, northern, central, and southern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico), located on the west coast of North America. It is a ...
ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
. Unlike cismontane chaparral, which forms dense, impenetrable stands of plants, desert chaparral is often open, with only about 50 percent of the ground covered. Individual shrubs can reach up to in height. Transmontane chaparral or desert chaparral is found on the eastern slopes of major
mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have ari ...
systems on the western sides of the
deserts of California The Deserts of California, collectively known as the California Deserts, are a region of California made up of distinct deserts that each have unique ecosystems and habitats. The region is home to a sociocultural and historical "Old West" collecti ...
. The mountain systems include the southeastern
Transverse Ranges The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa ...
(the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains) in the
Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...
north and northeast of the
Los Angeles basin The Los Angeles Basin is a sedimentary basin located in Southern California, in a region known as the Peninsular Ranges. The basin is also connected to an anomalous group of east-west trending chains of mountains collectively known as the ...
and Inland Empire; and the northern
Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, which ...
(San Jacinto,
Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina * Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...
, and Laguna Mountains), which separate the Colorado Desert (western
Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Ariz ...
) from lower coastal
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...
.''A Natural History of California'', Allan A. Schoenherr, pp.8–9, 357, 327, It is distinguished from the cismontane chaparral found on the coastal side of the mountains, which experiences higher winter rainfall. Naturally, desert chaparral experiences less winter rainfall than cismontane chaparral. Plants in this community are characterized by small, hard ( sclerophyllic) evergreen (non-
deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...
) leaves. Desert chaparral grows above California's desert cactus scrub plant community and below the pinyon-juniper woodland. It is further distinguished from the deciduous sub-alpine scrub above the pinyon-juniper woodlands on the same side of the Peninsular ranges. Due to the lower annual rainfall (resulting in slower plant growth rates) when compared to cismontane chaparral, desert chaparral is more vulnerable to biodiversity loss and the invasion of non-native weeds and grasses if disturbed by human activity and frequent fire.


=Transmontane chaparral distribution

= Transmontane (desert) chaparral typically grows on the lower ( elevation) northern slopes of the southern Transverse Ranges (running east to west in San Bernardino and
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
counties) and on the lower () eastern slopes of the Peninsular Ranges (running south to north from lower
Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
to Riverside and Orange counties and the Transverse Ranges). It can also be found in higher-elevation sky islands in the interior of the deserts, such as in the upper
New York Mountains The New York Mountains are a small mountain range found in northeastern San Bernardino County in California, USA. The range's northeastern area lies in southeastern Nevada. The range lies just south of the small community of Ivanpah, and nor ...
within the Mojave National Preserve in the Mojave Desert. The California transmontane (desert) chaparral is found in the rain shadow deserts of the following: *
Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primar ...
creating the Great Basin Desert and northern Mojave Desert *
Transverse ranges The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa ...
creating the western through eastern
Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...
*
Peninsular ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, which ...
creating the Colorado Desert and
Yuha Desert The Yuha Desert is a section of the Sonoran Desert located in the Imperial Valley of California; south of Interstate 8, west of El Centro, and north of the international border. Unique aspects of the Yuha Desert include the Oyster Shell Beds, De A ...
.


=Transmontane chaparral plants

= * '' Adenostoma fasciculatum'', chamise (a low shrub common to most chaparral with clusters of tiny needle like leaves or ''fascicles''; similar in appearance to coastal ''
Eriogonum fasciculatum ''Eriogonum fasciculatum'' is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names California buckwheat and flat-topped buckwheat. Characterized by small, white and pink flower clusters that give off a cottony effect, this species grows vari ...
'') * ''
Agave deserti ''Agave deserti'' (desert agave, mescal, century plant or maguey) is an agave native to desert regions in southern California, Arizona, and Baja California. Its tall yellow flower stalks dot dry rocky slopes and washes throughout the spring. ...
'', desert agave * '' Arctostaphylos glauca'', bigberry manzanita (smooth red bark with large edible berries; glauca means blue-green, the color of its leaves) * '' Ceanothus greggii'', desert ceanothus, California lilac (a nitrogen fixer, has hair on both sides of leaves for heat dissipation) * ''
Cercocarpus ledifolius ''Cercocarpus ledifolius'' is a North American species of mountain mahogany known by the common name curl-leaf mountain mahogany. It is widespread across much of the Western United States as well as Baja California in Mexico. It can be found at ...
'', curl leaf mountain mahogany, a nitrogen fixer important food source for
desert bighorn sheep The desert bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis nelsoni'') is a subspecies of bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') that is native to the deserts of the United States' intermountain west and southwestern regions, as well as northwestern Mexico. The ...
* ''
Dendromecon rigida ''Dendromecon rigida'', also called bush poppy or tree poppy, is a shrub or small tree of the Papaveraceae native to California and Baja California. Distribution and habitat ''Dendromecon rigida'' occurs in Northern California in the foothills ...
'', bush poppy (a fire follower with four petaled yellow flowers) * '' Ephedra'' spp.,
Mormon tea ''Ephedra'' is a genus of gymnosperm shrubs. The various species of ''Ephedra'' are widespread in many arid regions of the world, ranging across southwestern North America, southern Europe, northern Africa, southwest and central Asia, northe ...
s * ''
Fremontodendron californicum ''Fremontodendron californicum'', with the common names California flannelbush, California fremontia, and flannel bush, is a flowering shrub native to diverse habitats in southwestern North America. Distribution ''Fremontodendron californicum'' ...
'', California flannel bush (lobed leaves with fine coating of hair, covered with yellow blossoms in spring) * ''
Opuntia acanthocarpa ''Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa'', commonly referred to as buckhorn cholla, is a cholla native to the Mojave, Sonoran, and Colorado Deserts of North America. Along with ''Cylindropuntia bigelovii ''Cylindropuntia bigelovii'', the teddy-bear ...
'', buckhorn cholla (branches resemble antlers of a deer) * '' Opuntia echinocarpa'', silver or golden cholla (depending on color of the spines) * ''
Opuntia phaeacantha ''Opuntia phaeacantha'' is a species of prickly pear cactus known by the common names tulip prickly pear, Mojave prickly pear, and desert prickly pear found across the southwestern United States, lower Great Plains, and northern Mexico Me ...
'', desert prickly pear (fruit is important food source for animals) * ''
Purshia tridentata ''Purshia tridentata'', with the common name bitterbrush, is a shrub in the genus ''Purshia'' of the family Rosaceae. It is native to mountainous areas of western North America. Common names include antelope bitterbrush, antelope bush, buckb ...
'', buckbrush, antelope bitterbrush (
Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are '' Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorb ...
family) * ''
Prunus fremontii ''Prunus fremontii'' is a North American species of plants in the rose family, known by the common name desert apricot. It takes its scientific name from John C. Frémont. It is found in northern and western Baja California especially, mostly P ...
'', desert apricot * ''
Prunus fasciculata ''Prunus fasciculata'', also known as wild almond, desert almond, or desert peach is a spiny and woody shrub producing wild almonds, which is native to western deserts of North America. Description ''Prunus fasciculata'' grows up to high, exce ...
'', desert almond (commonly infested with tent caterpillars of '' Malacosoma'' spp.) * '' Prunus ilicifolia'', holly-leaf cherry * '' Quercus cornelius-mulleri'', desert scrub oak or Muller's oak * ''
Rhus ovata ''Rhus ovata'', commonly known as sugar bush or sugar sumac, is a shrub or small tree found growing in the canyons and slopes of the chaparral and related ecosystems in Southern California, Arizona, Baja California and Baja California Sur. It is ...
'', sugar bush * '' Simmondsia chinensis'', jojoba * ''
Yucca schidigera ''Yucca schidigera'', also known as the Mojave yucca or Spanish dagger, is a flowering plant native to the southwest deserts of North America. Description ''Yucca schidigera'' is a small evergreen tree growing to tall, with a dense crown of sp ...
'', Mojave yucca * ''
Hesperoyucca whipplei ''Hesperoyucca whipplei'' ( syn. ''Yucca whipplei''), the chaparral yucca, our Lord's candle, Spanish bayonet, Quixote yucca or foothill yucca, is a species of flowering plant closely related to, and formerly usually included in, the genus ''Yucc ...
'' (syn. ''Yucca whipplei''), foothill yucca – our lord's candle.


=Transmontane chaparral animals

= There is overlap of animals with those of the adjacent desert and pinyon-juniper communities. * ''
Canis latrans The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological niche ...
, coyote'' * ''
Lynx rufus The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the ...
, bobcat'' * '' Neotoma'' sp., desert pack rat * ''
Odocoileus hemionus The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related ...
, mule deer * '' Peromyscus truei'', pinyon mouse * '' Puma concolor'', mountain lion * '' Stagmomantis californica'', California mantis


Fire

Chaparral is a coastal biome with hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. The chaparral area receives about of precipitation a year. This makes the chaparral most vulnerable to fire in the late summer and fall. The chaparral ecosystem as a whole is adapted to be able to recover from naturally infrequent fire (fires occurring a minimum of 30 years apart); indeed, chaparral regions are known culturally and historically for their impressive fires. (This does create a conflict with human development adjacent to and expanding into chaparral systems.) Additionally, Native Americans burned chaparral near villages on the coastal plain to promote grasslands for textiles and food. Before a major fire, typical chaparral plant communities are dominated by manzanita, chamise '' Adenostoma fasciculatum'' and '' Ceanothus'' species, toyon (which can sometimes be interspersed with
scrub oak Scrub oak is a common name for several species of small, shrubby oaks. It may refer to: *the Chaparral plant community in California, or to one of the following species. In California *California scrub oak (''Quercus berberidifolia''), a widespr ...
s), and other drought-resistant shrubs with hard ( sclerophyllous) leaves; these plants resprout (see resprouter) from underground burls after a fire. Plants that are long-lived in the seed bank or serotinous with induced germination after fire include chamise'', Ceanothus,'' and fiddleneck''.'' Some chaparral plant communities may grow so dense and tall that it becomes difficult for large animals and humans to penetrate, but may be teeming with smaller fauna in the understory. The seeds of many chaparral plant species are stimulated to germinate by some fire cue (heat or the chemicals from smoke or charred wood). During the time shortly after a fire, chaparral communities may contain soft-leaved herbaceous, fire following annual wildflowers and short-lived perennials that dominate the community for the first few years – until the burl resprouts and seedlings of chaparral shrub species create a mature, dense overstory. Seeds of annuals and shrubs lie dormant until the next fire creates the conditions needed for germination. Several shrub species such as ''Ceanothus'' fix nitrogen, increasing the availability nitrogen compounds in the soil. Because of the hot, dry conditions that exist in the California summer and fall, chaparral is one of the most fire-prone plant communities in North America. Some fires are caused by lightning, but these are usually during periods of high humidity and low winds and are easily controlled. Nearly all of the very large wildfires are caused by human activity during periods of hot, dry easterly Santa Ana winds. These man-made fires are commonly caused by power line failures, vehicle fires and collisions, sparks from machinery, arson, or campfires.


Threatened by high fire frequency

Though adapted to infrequent fires, chaparral plant communities can be eliminated by frequent fires. A high frequency of fire (less than ten years) will result in the loss of obligate seeding shrub species such as ''Manzanita'' spp. This high frequency disallows seeder plants to reach their reproductive size before the next fire and the community shifts to a sprouter-dominance. If high frequency fires continue over time, obligate resprouting shrub species can also be eliminated by exhausting their energy reserves below-ground. Today, frequent accidental ignitions can convert chaparral from a native shrubland to non-native annual grassland and drastically reduce species diversity, especially under drought brought about by climate change.


Wildfire debate

There are two older hypotheses relating to California chaparral fire regimes that caused considerable debate within the fields of wildfire ecology and land management. Research over the past two decades have rejected these hypotheses: # That older stands of chaparral become " senescent" or " decadent", thus implying that fire is necessary for the plants to remain healthy, # That wildfire suppression policies have allowed dead chaparral to accumulate unnaturally, creating ample fuel for large fires. The perspective that older chaparral is unhealthy or unproductive may have originated during the 1940s when studies were conducted measuring the amount of forage available to deer populations in chaparral stands. However, according to recent studies, California chaparral is extraordinarily resilient to very long periods without fire and continues to maintain productive growth throughout pre-fire conditions. Seeds of many chaparral plants actually require 30 years or more worth of accumulated leaf litter before they will successfully germinate (e.g., scrub oak, '' Quercus berberidifolia''; toyon, ''
Heteromeles arbutifolia ''Heteromeles arbutifolia'' (; more commonly by Californian botanists), commonly known as toyon, is a common perennial shrub native to extreme southwest Oregon, California, and the Baja California Peninsula. It is the sole species in the gen ...
''; and holly-leafed cherry, '' Prunus ilicifolia''). When intervals between fires drop below 10 to 15 years, many chaparral species are eliminated and the system is typically replaced by non-native, invasive, weedy grassland. The idea that older chaparral is responsible for causing large fires was originally proposed in the 1980s by comparing wildfires in
Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
and southern California. It was suggested that fire suppression activities in southern California allowed more fuel to accumulate, which in turn led to larger fires. This is similar to the observation that fire suppression and other human-caused disturbances in dry, ponderosa pine forests in the Southwest of the United States has unnaturally increased forest density. Historically, mixed-severity fires likely burned through these forests every decade or so, burning understory plants, small trees, and downed logs at low-severity, and patches of trees at high-severity. However, chaparral has a crown-fire regime, meaning that fires consume nearly all the above ground growth whenever they burn, with a historical frequency of 30 to 150 years or more. A detailed analysis of historical fire data concluded that fire suppression activities have been ineffective at excluding fire from southern California chaparral, unlike in ponderosa pine forests. In addition, the number of fires is increasing in step with population growth and exacerbated by human-caused climate change. Chaparral stand age does not have a significant correlation to its tendency to burn. Large, high-intensity wildfires are part of the natural fire regime for California chaparral. Extreme weather conditions (low humidity, high temperature, high winds), drought, and low fuel moisture are the primary factors in determining how large a chaparral fire becomes.


See also

* California Chaparral Institute *
California chaparral and woodlands The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of southwestern Oregon, northern, central, and southern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico), located on the west coast of North America. It is a ...
ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
** California coastal sage and chaparral ** California montane chaparral and woodlands ** California interior chaparral and woodlands *
Heath (habitat) A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...
* Fire ecology * Keystone species reintroduction: (sufficient) native keystone grazing species in grasslands will promote tree growth, reducing wildfire likelihoodThe Serengeti Rules documentary: example Serengeti/gnu * Garrigue * International Association of Wildland Fire


References


Bibliography

* Haidinger, T.L., and J.E. Keeley. 1993. Role of high fire frequency in destruction of mixed chaparral. Madrono 40: 141–147. * Halsey, R.W. 2008. Fire, Chaparral, and Survival in Southern California. Second Edition. Sunbelt Publications, San Diego, CA. 232 p. * Hanes, T. L. 1971. Succession after fire in the chaparral of southern California. Ecol. Monographs 41: 27–52. * Hubbard, R.F. 1986. Stand age and growth dynamics in chamise chaparral. Master's thesis, San Diego State University, San Diego, California. * Keeley, J. E., C. J. Fotheringham, and M. Morais. 1999. Reexamining fire suppression impacts on brushland fire regimes. Science 284:1829–1832. * Keeley, J.E. 1995. Future of California floristics and systematics: wildfire threats to the California flora. Madrono 42: 175–179. * Keeley, J.E., A.H. Pfaff, and H.D. Stafford. 2005. Fire suppression impacts on postfire recovery of Sierra Nevada chaparral shrublands. International Journal of Wildland Fire 14: 255–265. * Larigauderie, A., T.W. Hubbard, and J. Kummerow. 1990. Growth dynamics of two chaparral shrub species with time after fire. Madrono 37: 225–236. * Minnich, R. A. 1983. Fire mosaics in southern California and northern Baja California. Science 219:1287–1294. * Moritz, M.A., J.E. Keeley, E.A. Johnson, and A.A. Schaffner. 2004. Testing a basic assumption of shrubland fire management: How important is fuel age? Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2:67–72. * Pratt, R. B., A. L. Jacobsen, A. R. Ramirez, A. M. Helms, C. A. Traugh, M. F. Tobin, M. S. Heffner, and S. D. Davis. 2013. Mortality of resprouting chaparral shrubs after a fire and during a record drought: physiological mechanisms and demographic consequences. Global Change Biology 20:893–907. * Syphard, A. D., V. C. Radeloff, J. E. Keeley, T. J. Hawbaker, M. K. Clayton, S. I. Stewart, and R. B. Hammer. 2007. Human influence on California fire regimes. Ecological Applications 17:1388–1402. * Vale, T. R. 2002. Fire, Native Peoples, and the Natural Landscape. Island Press, Washington, DC, USA. * Venturas, M. D., E. D. MacKinnon, H. L. Dario, A. L. Jacobsen, R. B. Pratt, and S. D. Davis. 2016. Chaparral shrub hydraulic traits, size, and life history types relate to species mortality during California's historic drought of 2014. PLoS ONE 11(7): p.e0159145. * Zedler, P.H. 1995. Fire frequency in southern California shrublands: biological effects and management options, pp. 101–112 in J.E. Keeley and T. Scott (eds.), Brushfires in California wildlands: ecology and resource management. International Association of Wildland Fire, Fairfield, Wash. *


External links


The California Chaparral Institute website
{{Clear Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub in the United States Plant communities of California Plants by habitat . . . San Bernardino Mountains San Gabriel Mountains Santa Susana Mountains Santa Ana Mountains Ecology of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Wildfire ecology Nearctic ecoregions Sclerophyll forests