Biome

Chaparral

shap-uh-RAL

Also Known As Mediterranean Shrubland The general ecological name for this biome type worldwide; chaparral itself is the California-specific regional name most often used as the biome's own entry point.

Grassland, Savanna and Shrubland Biomes

Chaparral

A biome of evergreen, hard-leaved (sclerophyllous) shrubs and small trees, usually under three meters tall, shaped by a Mediterranean-type climate of hot dry summers and mild wet winters. It occurs in five widely separated regions of the world, all roughly between 30 and 40 degrees latitude: coastal and inland California, the Mediterranean Basin (where the same vegetation type is called maquis or garrigue), central Chile (matorral), southwestern Australia (mallee and kwongan) and South Africa's Cape region (fynbos). Fire is a recurring, formative part of this biome rather than an outside disaster: many chaparral shrubs resprout from a fire-surviving root crown, and some, echoing the giant sequoia's own cones in the Temperate Forest biome, carry seeds that need fire's heat to release or germinate. Despite covering only a small share of the Earth's land surface, the five chaparral regions collectively rank among the richest concentrations of plant diversity found in any biome.

Facts

Climate

Annual Precipitation (mm)

350 1

USDA Forest Service gives a wider range of roughly 260 to 1,280 millimeters for the California coastal chaparral province specifically; 350mm sits within the commonly cited narrower core of that range, and varies further by region.

Typical Low Temperature (C)

10 1

The cited USDA figure is the ANNUAL MEAN (10 to 18C); 10C here is a representative mild-winter figure at the low end of that mean band.

Typical High Temperature (C)

40 1

The cited USDA figure is the ANNUAL MEAN (10 to 18C), not a summer peak; 40C represents a representative hot summer day figure, consistent with the region's documented summer temperatures often exceeding 38C (100F).

Chaparral

6 entries

Common Group

Everyday Group

Where It Lives

Conservation Status

Diet

System (Realm)

Living or Extinct

Relationship to People

CITES Appendix

NatureServe Rank

Ecosystem

Taxonomy

Connections

Demonstrates

Fire Whirl

Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Wildfire

Source Encyclopaedia Britannica

Home To

Toxocara canis

Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Toxocara canis

Trichinella Spiralis

Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Trichinella spiralis

Tuatara

Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Sphenodon punctatus

Variable Checkerspot

Source NatureServe Explorer: Euphydryas chalcedona

Western Honey Bee

Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Apis mellifera

Western Spotted Skunk

Source NatureServe Explorer: Spilogale gracilis

Wild Turkey

Source Wild Turkey (Wikipedia)

Yellow Garden Spider

Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Argiope aurantia

Zebra Longwing

Source NatureServe Explorer: Heliconius charithonia

Showing 101 to 109 of 109 in Home To, page 3 of 3.

Sources

1. California Coastal Chaparral Forest and Shrub Province (USDA Forest Service)

USDA Forest Service

Section 261 - Precipitation
Annual precipitation ranges from 10 to 50 in (260 to 1,280 mm), with a pronounced summer drought.
Section 261 - Climate Characteristics
Annual temperatures average 50 to 65F (10 to 18C).

Century Plant

Common Milkweed

Hawaii Silversword

Rosa californica

Silversword

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

Demonstrates

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