Chaparral Essay, Research Paper
The chaparral is a major ecosystem and vegetation type composed of woody shrubs that form a dense thicket about 3 to 13 ft high. The species that live in the chaparral are adapted to very dry summers and mild rainy winters. The plants grow in extensive, but discontinuous stands on hillsides and mountain slopes from south-central Oregon southward through the coast ranges of California and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The chaparral is at its fullest in development at southern California and northern parts of Baja California, Mexico. It is also found in northwestern Arizona. In California alone, the chaparral occupies about 8.4 million acres. That is over eight percent of the state. The chaparral isn’t really used for commercial puroses, but is the major watershed and erosion protection in mountainous areas.
The chaparral is composed of several hundred species of plants, most of which are evergreen shrubs belonging to many plant families such as the rose, oak, heath, buckthorn, and sumac. Common shrubs of the chaparral are chamise, scrub oak, mountain lilac, manzanita, and sumac. The plants have evolved to withstand long, dry summers and strong autumn Santa Ana winds that create frequent fires. The leaves of the plants are mostly thickor needle like so it can reduce water loss through evaporation. The chamise, for example, has small, needle-like leaves that store up and save the moisture in the plant.
The chaparral is the home of many species of reptiles, birds, and mammals. There are animals such as the alligator lizard, western rattlesnake, quail, roadrunner, scrub jay, brush rabbit, coyote, and mule deer. Some species are restricted to chaparral habitats only, but others inhabit adjacent vegetation types as well.
The chaparral environment is very harsh. Annual rainfall ranges from 12 to 24 inches, with 85 percent falling between November and April. Summers are dry and hot, reaching over 104 degrees farenheit. The chaparral is bordered by grasslands and coastal sage scrub along its lower and drier elevational borders and by mixed coniferous forest along its upper and moister elevational borders. Many types of chaparral are recognized by their dominant shrub species or geographic location. There are the chamise chaparral, scrub oak chaparral, ceanothus chaparral, manzanita chaparral, desert chaparral, and insular chaparral. Montane chaparral is a cold-adapted form that extends through the coniferous forest zone up to 10,000 feet high.