California’s Diverse Vegetation Part 2

GEO 351 Dr.Garver

Map of Biomes and Climate Principal Biomes

Floristic Provinces Map

Floristic Provinces

Deserts of N. America

Desert Scrublands

• “Rainshadow Biome”

• Less than 10 in/yr rain

• T regularly above 110 deg F in summer

• Below freezing at night in winter

• Drought adapted plants

• Open space between plants

• Sagebrush, Creosote, Sage, Mesquite

• Saguaro, Agave, Fan Palms

Desert vegetation

Joshua Tree

Ocotillo

Desert vegetation

Creosote

Prickly Pear

Desert vegetation

Yucca

Barrel Cactus

Palm Springs Hike

Palm Springs Hike

Palm Springs Hike

Palm Springs Hike

Palm Springs Hike

Palm Springs Hike

Palm Springs Hike

Palm Springs Hike

Death Valley

Mojave desert

Mojave Desert – Big Horn Sheep

Mojave desert

Mojave Desert – Silver Fox

Principal Biomes

Chaparral and Coastal

Shrublands

Chaparral by County (in acres)

San Diego 1,003,441 Los Angeles 553,789 Riverside 499,160 Santa Barbara 440,645 San Luis Obispo 417,718 Monterey 369,345 Ventura 326,447 San Bernardino 276,010 San Benito 246,623 Santa Clara 188,427 Orange 111,550 Marin 37,566 San Mateo 36,152 Santa Cruz 32,328

Chaparral and Coastal Shrublands

• CA’s version of Mediterranean vegetation

• Thick, evergreen scrub

• Concentrated (though mixed) on W and SW slopes

of Coastal Mts.

• Fire climax community

• Manzanita, sumac, ceonothus, purple sage, scrub

oak

• Precip. 10 to 25 in/yr

Chaparral Mosiac

Chaparral Mosaic

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

Simi Valley

Simi Valley - New Houses

Simi Valley – Sed. Rocks

Simi Valley

Manzanita

Most flammable vegetation in U.S.

• Many species well-adapted to fire

• Some encourage fire

• Ceanothus, has leaves that are coated with

flammable resins, seeds require intense heat

for germination, roots are specially adapted

to grow in areas recently burned.

Fires

Fires

Fire serves to replace older plants with younger,

more productive ones.

210 Fwy

Fires

View from CRS – Santa Ana winds blowing ash from Angeles fire

Chaparral • Found where

– summers long and hot

– might not rain for half a year+

• plant community composed of small shrubs

and bushes that are adapted to fire.

• Hillsides covered by stiff bushes that grow

close together (~10 feet high).

Chaparral • As bushes get older, dead wood accumulates

• Needs fire as part of their lives, species could

die out if fire didn't occur.

– shiny and waxy covering, seals in water.

– wax causes the leaves to burn hot in a fire.

How can dying in a fire help?

• After the fire there is space to grow, water,

and sunlight for energy.

• Seeds may have been in the soil for years

– Special outer coat doesn't allow water to

cause the seed to sprout.

• Some species of chaparral sprout from stumps.

– keep a lot of energy in their roots, and after the

top of the plant burns off, they simply sprout

new leaves and branches.

– In this way, some plants may survive many

fires, and could be hundreds of years old.

Resprouting

Mixed chaparral above oak woodland - Malibu Creek State Park.

Ceanothus Chaparral - San Mateo Wilderness, Cleveland National Forest.