Come to Chap and you’ll never go back!

CHAPARRAL BIOME

BY: ROMAN Z, SATCHEL K, MEGAN D

WHERE IS IT?

Found in small sections of most continents including: The west coast of the USA, South America , the Cape Town area of South Africa, the western tip of Australia, and the coastal areas of Mediterranean

Chaparrals in the United States are a distinct to California.

Some cities in the Chaparral biome are: San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Malibu, and Santa Barbara.

CHAPARRAL FEATURES

Semi Arid Hot and dry so fires and

droughts are very common. Many different types of terrain.

Some examples are flat plains, rocky hills and mountain slopes.

Characterized by dry, nutrient poor soil, small shrubs and dry grasses, and sparse wildlife.

Fire is one of the key elements of this ecosystem. Many members of the community rely on the fire to suppress larger competitors from shading them out.

CHAPARRAL CLIMATE

Average Winter temperature is about 50 degrees F.

In the Summer, temperatures can soar up to 100 degrees F.

Although average precipitation is low (only 10 – 17 inches of rainfall per year), most of the rain comes in Winter.

SEASONS IN THE CHAPARRAL

In the winter, the Chaparral climate is mild and moist, but not rainy.

During the summer it is very hot and dry. 

The best time to visit is in the springtime. During the spring, the Chaparral is fairly warm and there is not much rainfall.

Most animals present in spring. Baby animals born in Springtime.

CHAPARRAL PLANTS

The Chaparral has more than 900 species of plants.

Chaparral plants’ waxy coatings, thicker cell layers, and recessed stomata permit evaporation and the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Root systems are designed to get as much water as possible. 

Chaparral plants are adapted to fires because of dry/hot climate causing regular fires that wipe out climax communities.

Some Chaparral plants are Poison oak, Scrub oak, Cacti, Yucca, Chemise, and Toyon.

ANIMALS OF THE CHAPARRAL

Animals are adapted to the dry/hot climate.

Some Chaparral animals are: coyotes, jackrabbits, moles, deer, horned toads, sheep, cattle, horses, lynx, eagles, lizards.

Jackrabbits have huge ears. It can regulate its body heat by increasing or decreasing the blood flow through its ears. This helps the jackrabbit absorb heat or cool off.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Habitat Loss "Soft" chaparral, also called coastal sage scrub, is

threatened by the habitat loss caused by urban and suburban expansion.

Fires Chaparral vegetation is highly affected by intense wildfires.

As new areas are populated, the frequency of wildfires can increase due to human mistakes.

TOURISM ACTIVITIES

Biking

Camping

Hiking

Site-seeing

REFERENCES

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/chaparral_climate.htm

http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/chaparral.html

http://www.californiachaparral.com/chaparralfacts.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0113340/text/biomes/biomes.chaparral.soil.html