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Areas along the coasts between 30o and 40o latitude are usually have mild rainy winters and long, hot, dry summers. It is in these areas that chapparral is found - stands of dense, spiny shrubs with tough evergreen leaves. These shrubs have been prevented from growing due |
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to various environmental stresses, including aridity, a short growing season, low-nutrient soil, and frequent fires. Chapparal is found in the Mediterranean region, as well as along the coastlines of |
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California, Chile, southwestern Africa, and southwestern Australia. The plants found in these regions are unrelated to each other, but due to their being subject to the same environmental conditions, have evolved to have similar form and function. Annual plants are also common in this biome during winter and early spring due to the abundant rainfall at these times. |
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Animals found here include deer, and fruit eating birds, which are browsers. There are also ants and rodents, which eat seeds, as well as lizards and snakes. Fires are a common occurance in chapparal. Many shrubs store reserves of food in fire resistant roots, and many species found here have seeds that will only germinate after a hot fire. |
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