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[6] [7] Desert chaparral is a regional ecosystem subset of the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, with some plant species from the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion. Unlike cismontane chaparral, which forms dense, impenetrable stands of plants, desert chaparral is often open, with only about 50% of the ground covered. [8]
This ecoregion has two predominant ecosystems, with three primary plant communities: the California coastal sage and chaparral, with coastal sage scrub along the coast, the California montane chaparral and woodlands, with chaparral and California oak woodlands as the mountains rise and recede from the coast and descend into the interior valleys.
The Sierras contain portions of two Nearctic biomes: The lower elevation western Sierra foothills are in the Nearctic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and shrub biome: which is represented here by the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion's California interior chaparral and woodlands sub-ecoregion.
Though adapted to infrequent fires, chaparral plant communities can be exterminated by frequent fires especially with climate change induced drought. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] Today, frequent accidental ignitions can convert chaparral from a native shrubland to nonnative annual grassland and drastically reduce species diversity, especially under global ...
Manzanita branches with red bark. Manzanita is a common name for many species of the genus Arctostaphylos.They are evergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from Southern British Columbia and Washington to Oregon, California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in the United States, and throughout Mexico.
Coastal sage scrub in the Santa Monica Mountains.Note slope effect. Coastal sage scrub on the Santa Rosa Plateau, with oak woodland in background.. 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.
Chaparral habitats are known for their fierce periodical wildfires, and like other chaparral flora, chamise dries out, burns, and recovers quickly to thrive once again. It is a plant that controls erosion well, sprouting from ground level in low basal crowns that remain after fires, preventing the bare soil from being washed away.
One common factor among chaparral, however, is that a minimum of 10 years is needed between fires for the chaparral to mature and set enough seed in the soil to create a fire resilient environment. As human activity increases the frequency of fires, the chaparral's ability to renew itself decreases, leading to elimination and degradation.