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Chaparral
Map
Climate Characteristics
• Avg. Temp: 10 -12 degrees Celsius (50-54)
• Avg. Annual Rainfall:
– Very little, drought common, around 10 to 17 inches
p/year.
• Climate often regarded as Mediterranean or tropical.
• Drought often causes large forest fires.
Geographic Location
• Found between the 30-50 N latitudes.
• Often found on the western coasts of the
continents.
• The region of California that is troubled by
forest fires is a chaparral region.
Flora of the Chaparral
• Consist of mostly forests, woodlands and shrubs
with vegetation types that can range from forests
to woodlands to savannas to shrublands and to
grasslands
• Hardwood evergreen trees such as oak are very
popular in chaparral biomes such as blue oak,
poison oak, cork oak, scrub oak, and live oak.
• Consist of around 48,250 known vascular plan
species which is almost 20% of the total plants
known world wide.
Flora Adaptations
• Plants that have adapted to this biome are
typically less than a meter tall and are very
shrubby in appearance. They have many
characteristics of desert plants due to the hot dry
climate and many are annuals that only flower
briefly after rains.
• Plants often have hard leaves to retain the little
moisture they collect.
• Hairy leaves collect water vapor in the air.
Flora Adaptations
• Plants often have seeds that lay dormant until a
fire. The heat of the fire pops open the shell and
releases the seed. In some instances seeds
have been known to stay dormant for 100 years
before germinating.
• Plants often drop their leaves during the summer
droughts
Chaparral Plants
Fauna of the Chaparral
• The animals in the chaparral biome highly
consist of different varieties of bird such as
Sage sparrows, Lawrence’s goldfinch, and
Fox sparrows. This biome consists of
roughly 30% to 50% of the worlds known
animals such as cotton tail rabbits,
coyotes, raccoons, different variations of
deer and other mammals.
Fauna Adaptations
• Many animals found in Chaparral climates are
similar to those found in desert regions.
• These species often need less water than usual
to survive.
• Most are smaller in order to hide in and around
smaller plants
• Animals may have large ears to release heat
from their body.
• Many are scavengers.
Chaparral Animals
Threats to the biome.
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DEVELOPEMENT
– Many are cleared for housing, golf, and other forms of development. Much of the
remaining habitat , mainly near the coast, is found in only very small patches and
is highly isolated, fragmented, and surrounded by development, which is
generally a hostile environment for most native species.
EXCESSIVE FIRE
– Because the Chaparral is so very hot and dry, fires usually take place here. An
entire chaparral and coastal sage scrub ecosystem can be eliminated and
replaced by non-native weeds and creating a scrubland. Chaparral plants have
adapted to some fire regimes in order to survive and carry on AFTER a fire.
NEGATIVE PUBLIC ATTITUDES
– or misconceptions is one, if not, the most destructive reason for the Chaparral's
downfall. Without the public's understanding and support, chaparral and other
native scrublands have no protection against the other two threats.