In the winter the Chaparral climate, also known as the Mediterranean climate, is mild and moist, but not rainy. During the summer it is very hot and dry. The temperature is usually mild but it can get very hot or nearly freezing. The temperature range is between 30° and 100° F.
This biome only gets about 10-17 inches of rain all year, and most of it comes in the winter. Because of the long period of dryness in the summer, only plants with hard leaves can survive, such as scrub oaks, chamiso shrubs, pines, cork and olive trees. Many leaves are also hairy so they can collect the moisture out of the air and use it.
There are many fires in the chaparral because of the heat and dryness. Some plants have adapted even to the fires. Their seeds will lie dormant until there is a fire. Their seed casings will crack and the seed will sprout only then.
Chaparrals exist in a mid-latitude climate and lie in a belt of prevailing westerly winds. This is why chaparrals tend to be on the west sides of continents. It is classified under Köppen's climate classification system as Cs. The C stands for warm temperature climates, where the average temperature of the coldest months is 64° F. The s stands for a dry season in the summer of the hemisphere it is in.
Chaparrals can be found from 30° to 50° N and 30° to 40° S latitudes. The chaparral climate occurs in central and southern coast of California; the coast areas of the Mediterranean Sea; coastal western and southern Australia; the Chilean coast in South America, and the Cape Town region of South Africa.
2000
bibliography:
"Chaparral", New Book of Knowledge 1998 ed.
"Climate Zones", Encarta CD-Rom Encyclopedia, (Microsoft Corporation) 1995 ed.
"Chaparral Climates", New Book of Knowledge, 2000 ed.
The Mediterranean chaparral has a very interesting climate. It has four seasons. These are spring, summer, fall, and winter. The chaparral has significantly hot and dry summers. Fog off the ocean is the only source of moisture during the summer. It has cool and moist winters with tropical storms bringing lots of rain. Spring and fall are usually a mix between both summer and winter, with a moderate amount of rain and heat.
The vegetation is mostly made up of shrubs. These include evergreen shrubs and most deciduous forms of shrub. Some of the adaptations of the vegetation are that the yucca rosette shape defends the growth in the inside of the bulbs from ruin except from extremely hot fires. Another adaptation of the vegetation is that the pinecone resin, which coats the closed-cone pines melts and allows the cones to open and spread their seeds. Also, the small, leathery leaves of thyme, oregano, and rosemary keep the moisture in the leaves. Leaves and branches are usually hairy to trap moisture from fog and rain, and to insulate them from the high heat in the summer.
The fauna is very interesting. Some of the adaptations of the Mediterranean chaparral fauna are that they don't need a lot of water. They have learned to live in their biome by being nocturnal, and are usually small.
What I find interesting about my biome's climate is its natural forest fires. These are caused by two things. One is the shortage of rain in the chaparral during the summer. Another is that many types of shrubs and flora are aromatic, like sage, thyme, rosemary, and oregano. These hold highly flammable oils. Did you know that the chaparral burns out every 30-40 years?
There is very little precipitation in the Mediterranean chaparral. The average annual precipitation is 10-20 inches in the form of rain. The average rainfall for the entire winter is 6.8 inches. The average rainfall for spring is 2.2 inches. The average rainfall for summer is .2 inches. The average rainfall for fall is 4.2 inches.
The average annual temperature is 59 ° F. The highest temperatures can reach 91°F, and the lowest temperature 37°F. The average temperature for winter is 46°F, while the average temperature for summer is 71°F. Average temperature for spring is 56°F, and the average temperature for fall is 65°F. Summers are dry and hot while the winters are somewhat cool and moist.
The latitude range for the Mediterranean chaparral climate is between 30° and 40° North. Köppen's climate-classification letter code for the chaparral is Csa. Cs stands for a mild, humid climate with a dry season in the summer of the respective hemisphere. The a means the summers are hot with the warmest month over 72°F.
by Sarah Nelson, 2001
bibliography:
"Loomis Climate Profile" http://www.ppgn.com/lolwprofile.html, (11/20/00)
"Mediterranean Shrublands" http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/medit/medit.html (11/6/01)
"Biomes and Soils", http://www.tesarta.com/www/resources/library/biomes.html (11/6/00)
"Mediterranean Chaparral" http://www.doc.mmu.ac/uk/aric/eae/climate/older/mediterraneanclimate.html 11/7/00
The word Chaparral comes from the Spanish word, "chaparro" meaning scrub oak. It is found in the coastal areas in California. Chaparral climate/ Mediterranean climate, or scrub climate, is a hot, dry, and mild climate in summer with rainy and cool winters. The summers are so hot that there are frequent fires and dry spells. Consequently, these regions are dominated by fire-adapted shrubs, the most important being manzanita and chamise. Tall shrubs with leathery leaves or needles such as red shank, sage, mountain mahogany, Christmasberry, California scrub oak, and many different kinds of ceanothus are common in these areas. Coniferous forests, and chaparral often alternate near the shore and on mountains. Chaparral occurs on slopes facing south, and in drier areas.
The animals that live in this environment have also adapted to the frequent fires and long dry spells, because they learned how to find water, and conserve it. These include invertebrates, birds, reptiles,and mammals such as Bewick's wren, California quail California striped racer snake, northern red diamond rattle snake, orange-throated whiptail lizard, pocket mouse, deer mouse, kangaroo rats, chipmunk, rabbit, fox, deer, coyote, lynx, and mountain lion.
Chaparral is found also in the mountains, and the average mountain temperature in Southern California is from 32-60 °F , getting colder the higher up you go. Along the coast, temperatures average 53-65 °F. Freezing weather may sometimes occur in the winter, but only for a little while.
Most of the 12-40 inches per year of precipitation is in the form of rain: fall, winter, and spring receiving equal amounts. Any snow that may fall in the winter melts very quickly. The precipitation also increases in elevation. During the summer, places along the coastline usually get more moderate weather and more moisture from fog than interior regions.
Geographers, and climatologists identify different biomes by their Köppen symbol. The biomes are identified by both big and small lettering. The larger letters, stand for the group that the biome belongs to. The Köppen symbol for Chaparral/hot grasslands is Csa. Cs stands for a mild humid climate with a dry summer. Precipitation in the driest month is less than 1 inch. The wettest month of winter gets 3-4 inches of rain. 70% of the average annual precipitation falls in the six months of winter. a stands for hot summers with the hottest month over 72°F
The California Chaparral climate is found at latitude 35-40° North, and longitude is 118-123° West.
by Marina S. 2002
Bibliography:
"Chaparral Animal Printouts" http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/chaparral/chaparral.shtml (13 November 2001)
"M262 California Coastal Range Open Woodland--Shrub--coniferous Forest&emdash;Meadow Province." http://www.fs.fed.us/colorimagemap/images/m262.html (November 2001).
"Koppen Climate Map", http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa011700a.htm (13 November 2001)
"Biomes and Soils." http://www.tesarta.com.www/resources/library/biomes.html, (November2001).
"Koppen Climate Classifacation" http://www.csupomona.edu/~ldechano/geo101/koppen1.htm (January 2002)
Strahler,Authur N. and Strahler, Alan H. Elements of Phisical Geology. John Wiley and Sons, New York. 1984.