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Chaparral
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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Chaparral is a biota found in areas across the world, notably the southwestern United States, northwestern Mexico and the shores of the Mediterranean (where it is known as maquis). It usually occurs in regions having between 10-20 inches (25-50 cm) of rainfall annually and with a Mediterranean-style climate. Summers in the chaparral are arid, whilst winters are cool and damp.
Chaparral, Santa Ynez Mountains, near Santa Barbara
CaliforniaA typical chaparral plant community consists of densely-growing evergreen oaks and other drought-resistant shrubs. It often grows so densely that it is all but impenetrable to large animals and humans. This, and its generally arid condition, makes it notoriously prone to wildfires. However, chaparral actually needs frequent burning and is adapted to regular fires. When human intervention prevents it from being burned off, a dangerous accumulation of flammable material can accumulate which results in devastating fires that rage out of control, causing widespread destruction. Since 1978, the United States Forest Service has adopted a policy of fire management which seeks to reduce the amount of old growth through regular managed burns.
The word chaparral comes from the Spanish word chaparro, or dwarf evergreen oak, which itself comes from the Basque word txapar, with the same meaning.
Areas of chaparrals include:
Coastal Regions of Australia (Western and Southern)
Coastal Regions of the Mediterranean Sea
Coast of California, USA
Coast of Central Chile
South African Cape Region
In Southern California chaparral forms a dominant habitat, and helps give the area its reputation for brushfires. Members of the chaparral biota native to California, all of which tend to regrow quickly after fires, include:
Blue oak
Ceanothus
Chamise, (Adenostoma fasciculatum)
Coast live oak
Laurel sumac, (Rhus laurina)
Manzanita
Mountain mahogany
Sagebrush
Toyon
Yucca
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