Chaparral

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Chaparral -

• Chaparral around the globe

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Chaparral

• from Spanish word for el chaparro, shrubby
  evergreen oaks in Spain.
• Gave name to chaps, leg protectors to riding
  horse back through this tough vegetation type.
• Covers about 8 of the state.
• Found in drier sites (south slopes) on western
  slope of Sierras, along Coastal Ranges

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• Found On dry or nutrient poor soils
• Common on serpentine as well.
• Associated with Mediterranean climates.
• Often evergreen shrubs with small tough
  (sclerophyllous) leaves.
• Often with resinous or waxy coverings.
• Very dry in summer, leading to fires.

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Resinous waxy coverings

• Odor of flowers attract pollinators
• Odor in foliage indicates compounds that deter
  herbivory.
• waxy or oily covering may also protect from
  desiccation
• Makes easy for it to combust

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Root systems

• Two-tiered root systems, absorb water longer into
  the season.
• Shallow roots to get rains, fast spring growth
• Deep roots for water late in the season
• Nitrogen fixing bacteria in roots common.
• help after nitrogen loss in fires.
• Mycorrhizae fungi associated with roots, that
  help obtain nutrients and water.
• Most of the mushrooms in the forest, e.g.
  Chanterelles.

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Growth cycle

• Sierra Chaparral flushes out later that coastal
  chaparral, but grows for longer time.
• Lower photosynthetic rate than drought deciduous,
  but can grow all season.
• Above ground growth in wetter months, root growth
  mostly in summer.

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Fire Cycle

• Community most likely to burn in many areas.
• Many homes now built in these areas.
• Early succession after fire, nutrient limited,
  mostly annuals and forbs (herbs) wildflowers.
• Many species are sprouters-
• Burl survives fire, seeds out new shoots
  afterwards
• new growth may be very high in protein 14, deer
  and other animals rely on this growth.
• some closed cone pines - need fire to release
  seeds.
• Fire follower annual- seeds in soil seed bank
  germinate and predominate first few years after
  fire
• Shrub canopy closes in about 6 years

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Fire poppies in burn area
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Madrons sprouts from burl
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Ceanothus seedlings sprout after fire
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1 month post fire
Schmidts, M.J., D.A. Sims, J.A. Gamon
California State University, Los Angeles, CA
http//vcsars.calstatela.edu/eas_00/miriam/miriam_
esa_00.html
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First spring 3 years post fire
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20 and 40 years post fire
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Old fires

• Before fires limited by suppression
• Had a patch-work mosaic of previously burned
  areas, smaller areas available to burn each time
• now with suppression large areas burn very hot.
• Now they can kill burrowing animals and much more
  severe erosion in the fall rains.
• Old records some long-lasting (months)
  slow-moving smouldering fires, similar to the
  Sierras.
• Large oaks have a thick non-resinous bark, fire
  proof, to former low fires.

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Frequent fires lead to a mosaic of different
stand ages in Southern California chaparral
vegetation
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Mosaic of ages burns
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Soils

• High erosion rates.
• Often on steep slopes, sandy soils.
• Accumulate hydrophobic waxes and oils (resins)
  they prevent them from taking up moisture.
• Hot fires moves these chemicals down deeper and
  forms and non-wettable layer below. Wet upper
  layer washes off.

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Coastal Scrub, or Soft Chaparral

• Similar to plants in Briones
• have bendable, or soft flexible leaves.
• most are odoriferous and drought tolerant shrubs.
• low growing, knee high
• influenced by summer fog, cool winters, little
  frost.
• shallow root systems that can quickly absorb fog
  drip.
• dry, 10 inches or less of precipitation per year.

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• South Slopes have small leaves and drought
  deciduous
• Ca Sagebrush, Artemisia an indicator species.
• finely divide leaves, flush out new growth with
  winter rains.
• Bush monkey flowers - seasonal leaf dimorphism
• flush with many leaves in winter.
• Only very small terminal leaves remain alive in
  dry months.
• North Slopes- larger shrubs, small trees with
  large leaves and deep root systems.
• Toyon. Poison oak, Coyote bush.
• Northern Coastal Scrub - as by BodegaBay
• Coyote bush, Salal, Yerba Santa and Yellow Bush
  Lupine.
• Very near coast and mixed with coastal prairies.

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Maritime chaparral
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North Coast soft chaparral
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Lower chaparral, warm chaparral

• on lower slopes of mountains,
• below snow line is frost tolerant, but not snow
  tolerant.
• Most are evergreen with waxy or resinous
  coverings, not drought deciduous.
• Strong north - South slope effect, large/small
  leaves
• Sclerophyllous (very tough, rigid leaves).
• Long lived and well protected leaves.
• Stiff leaves, with non digestible fibers, protect
  from herbivores
• reduce water loss

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Chamise (Adnostema)

• Most common in southern ranges and Southern ca.
• Very small, needle like drought adapted leaves.
• Well adapted to sprouting after fires.
• Has both fire and non fire seeds.
• Can reestablish by seeds after a hot fire that
  kills the burl.
• At high temperatures, chamise emits flammable
  gasses that ignite, and spread the fire.

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Chamise
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Chamisal
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Ceanothus spp.

• Common genus in California, many different
  species.
• Recognizable usually by three main veins on
  underside of leaf
• Early successional species.
• They do not sprout, need to seed in after fires.
• Warm soils stimulate seeds dormant in seed bank
  to grow.
• Many have nitrogen-fixing bacteria that help
  replenish the scorched soils.
• Import deer food e.g. Buck brush

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Ceanothus- California Lilac
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Upper - Cold Chaparral

• Steep slopes. In mountains just below yellow pine
  belt.
• Soils-Deep, organic and mildly acidic (pH
  5.2-5.5) soils with abundant leaf litter.
• Plants - with vertically orientated leaves. Sun
  tracking helps them warm up for photosynthesis in
  cool days.
• Manzanita spp.
• Silk tassel (Garrya spp.)
• Mountain mahagony (Cercocarpus betuloides)

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Cold Chaparral in North slopes - has some
conifers

• Coulter Pine - on Mt. Diablo. Has heaviest
  cones, the Widow maker.
• Along with Foothill Pine
• Hotter drier areas have larger seeds in some
  areas.
• Generally with larger cones- to better protect
  the larger seeds?
• Evolution may be selecting larger seeds to
  establishment, but larger cones was carried along
  as well with the gene change.