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Berkeley, CA 94707
Phone: (510) 527-7500
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  Nature Elective


Chaparral Biozone
First posted May 4, 2004 Last updated June 19, 2009

 

Chaparral is an area characterized by very low rainfall; hot, dry summers; and frequent fires. All of the plants and animals must be adapted to surviving without much moisture and to surviving brushfires. We do not have any proper chaparral in the Cazadero region, but there are small areas that have plants that are typical of the classical biozone of chaparral, and therefore will be included here for comparison to the other biomes.

If you would like to see a real chaparral area, the closest ones are in the Sierra foothills. If you take Highway 120 to Yosemite, the chaparral starts beyond the blue oak belt at Oakdale. The first expansive area of chaparral is near the Moccasin Fish Hatchery, at the foot of Priest Grade, just before Groveland.

The plants of the chaparral region typically have small, waxy leaves that are very resistent to moisture loss. The majority of the water that roots absorb for the typical plant are lost in transpiration (evaporation from the leaves, through the stomata). Chaparral plants cannot afford this dalliance, so their leaves are specially adapted to protect against water loss. Some chaparral plants are adapted to losing their leaves in a drought, further extending their ability to survive in a land with little water. Our chaparral areas are typically scoured by wind, with poor, rocky soils that do not retain much moisture. Chaparral plants of our area include poison oak and various live oaks, such as coast live oak

 

You can read more about chaparral here. Also, the book Introduction to California Chaprral, by the University of California Press, is excellent.

Other Biozones:

Redwood Forest Biozone

Oak Woodland Biozone

Riparian Biozone

Grasslands Biozone