The chaparral It is the characteristic plant formation of the Mediterranean climate of the North American Southwest. It stretches along the US Pacific coast from Oregon to California and penetrates inland through Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas..
A part of the Californian chaparral extends from the California peninsula in the United States to the state of Baja California in Mexico. It is also distributed in New Mexico, Arizona to Sonora, Chihuahua and Coahuila in Mexico.
This plant formation is characterized by being a low or tall shrub forest between 5 or 6 m high with species adapted to the Mediterranean climate. Most of the species are highly branched, with small, hard and rigid leaves (sclerophyllous).
Among the plant species typical of the chaparral, those of the genera Quercus (oaks and holm oaks) and Arctostaphylos (manzanitas). Also, there are species of Adenostoma (huts), Ceanothus (California lilies), sage (Sage spp.) and chaparral beans (Pickeringia montana).
The fauna of the chaparral includes various mammals such as the coyote (Canis latrans) and the mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). Also the bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), the bush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani) and the California mouse (Peromyscus californicus).
The Mexican chaparral has a plant structure and composition of species of flora and fauna similar to that of the chaparral of the United States. In other parts of the world, there is a Mediterranean vegetation similar to the chaparral such as the Mediterranean forest (maquis), the Chilean scrub, the fynbos South African and the mallee Australian.
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The chaparral is the expression of the Mediterranean forest and shrub biome in North America, encompassing the states of Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas in the United States..
For its part, in Mexico it extends through the northwest of the California peninsula and in small areas of Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas.
It is a medium shrubland or scrubby evergreen low forest, with woody perennials from 1 to 6 m in height. Its structure is not very complex with a fairly uniform low canopy and a second level of small shrubs..
Then the lower level or understory does not have many grasses in mature areas. However, after the fires the presence of grasses and subshrubs increases.
The dominant plants are tall shrubs or short trees with small, tough, leathery (leathery) leaves. The little trees have thick bark, highly branched and keep the leaves from the previous year until the next ones sprout..
Therefore, chaparral plants are never completely defoliated, as if it occurs in other formations in dry areas or with cold periods..
It develops both in plains, as in hilly and mountainous terrain. It is located from 50 meters above sea level near the coast of the Pacific Ocean to 2,750 meters above sea level..
The Californian chaparral is bounded by the Sonoran and Mojave deserts to the east and the Pacific coast to the west. In Oregon it is found on the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains.
It occurs in soils from shallow to deep, generally of low fertility and high permeability. In the case of steep slopes, the soils tend to be shallow and the chaparral plays a protective role by reducing erosion (loss of soil).
There are around 900 species of vascular plants, with dominance of tall shrubs such as chamizo (Adenostoma fasciculatum) and California lilies (Ceanothus spp.). Similarly, there are the so-called manzanitas (Arctostaphylos spp.) and California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum).
Another characteristic plant association of this region is that of the white oak (Quercus dumosa), together with species of the genera Prunus, Rhamnus, Lonicera, among others. Some species of Quercus are endemic to specific areas of the chaparral, such as Quercus durata which only grows in the California (USA) region.
Among the subshrubs and small shrubs are the white sage (Sage apiana) Y Sage rule. Like the chaparral bean (Pickeringia montana) a unique plant of the Californian chaparral.
The bush rabbitSylvilagus bachmani), the kangaroo rat (Dipodomys agilis) and the Californian mouse (Peromyscus californicus) are endemic to the Californian chaparral. The chaparral also inhabits the mule deer or mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) and the bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis).
Likewise, there are larger predators that include the chaparral in their habitats such as the coyote (Canis latrans) and the Wolf (Canis lupus).
Among the birds of the chaparral are the mountain quail (Oreotyx pictus), the blue tit (Chamaea fasciata) and the Californian cuitlacoche (Toxostoma redivivum). Likewise, this plant formation is inhabited by a species of hummingbird barely 10 cm in length, Ana's hummingbird (Calypte anna).
At least two species of rattlesnake are present, the red diamond rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber) and the western rattlesnake (Crotalus viiidis hellerii). There are also other species such as the pink boa (Lichanura trivirgata), the western flat snake (Salvadora hexalepis) and the shining snake (Arizona elegans occidentalis).
There are also various species of lizards such as the San Diego lizard (Elgaria multicarinata webbii) and the coastal horned lizard (Phrynosoma coronatum).
The characteristic climate of the chaparral is the Mediterranean, with hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters. With annual rainfall of 300 to 375 mm in the lower areas and reaching up to 760 mm in mountain areas.
In the Californian chaparral, the maximum of the dry period is reached from April to May, when the rainfall is minimum and the maximum temperature. During this period, the vegetation is dry and highly flammable..
The occurrence of vegetation fires is recurrent in the chaparral as well as the other Mediterranean vegetation zones of the world. In the case of the Californian chaparral, fires are increased by the so-called Santa Ana winds.
It is noted that fire favors the chaparral as long as the fires do not occur very often. The benefits are expressed in mineral and nitrate contributions to the soil in the ash, while clearing the area of dead wood.
In addition, the seeds of some species undergo a heat scarification process that facilitates their germination..
The Mexican chaparral is part of the Californian chaparral, which covers 20,858.6 km² in Mexico. It extends to the northwest of the California peninsula (Baja California) on the Pacific coast.
On the other hand, chaparral is also found in Mexico towards the north center, in Sonora, Chihuahua and more widely in Coahuila de Zaragoza. Also some extensions in Nueva León and Tamaulipas.
Most plant genera that inhabit the chaparral in Mexico are similar to the chaparral in the United States. The differences are mainly in the presence or predominance of certain species.
In the chaparral of Baja California, oak of the species Quercus dumosa, a small tree barely 3 m tall. In this area this species dominates the chaparral along with the moor (Heteromeles arbutifolia).
While the Arizona holm oak is common in Sonora and Chihuahua (Quercus arizonica) and oak Quercus toumeyi. There are also many Quercus in the chaparrals of Coahuila, with species such as Quercus intrincata Y Quercus pungens.
Mexico shares the fauna of its chaparral with the United States, although in some cases local subspecies occur. For example, in the chaparral of Baja California is the Mexican subspecies of the bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis mexicana).
In southern Mexico (Valle de Tehuacán, Puebla) there is a type of vegetation similar to the chaparral, but not in a Mediterranean climate. In this case it is an equally evergreen formation, stocky sclerophyll, but which grows in a tropical climate with humid summers..
Some botanists call this formation mexical to differentiate it from the chaparral itself (Mediterranean).
The chaparral is the characteristic Mediterranean vegetation of the Pacific coast of southwestern North America, encompassing the United States and Mexico. Additionally, there is Mediterranean vegetation in 4 other regions of the world, which are the Mediterranean Sea basin, Chile, Australia and South Africa..
All these ecosystems have in common the climate, the incidence of fire and a flora adapted to these conditions, especially to dry and hot summers. However, there are important differences in the species composition and structure of the vegetation..
Some of the ecosystems present in the Mediterranean basin resemble the chaparral by presenting similar genera such as Quercus. They also show a similar structure, with tall bushes and stunted, highly branched trees no more than 5 to 6 m high..
This occurs especially with the vegetation called maquia or maquis of some areas of the western Mediterranean in Spain, France and Italy..
This Mediterranean formation has a structure similar to the chaparral, since it has shrubs between 4 and 8 m high. However, it is totally different in species composition, predominantly cacti and legumes of tropical genera such as Prosopis Y Acacia.
It does not have similarity or structural or species with the chaparral, since the eucalyptus species predominate.
In this case it is a plant formation of low and dense bushes. Moreover, the species composition is unique, as it is part of the Capense floristic kingdom (of Cape Town).
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