Comparative Nutrient Relations in Adjacent Stands of Chaparral and Coastal Sage Scrub1

Coastal Sage Scrub Succession1

Professor of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90024 USA Abstract: Unlike chaparral, shrubs of coastal sage are capable of continual seedling reproduction. As a result, mixed-aged stands form which show little senescence. Litter turnover is twice as rapid. The more open sage scrub canopy permits persistence of a diverse herb layer into mature communities. Crown sprout...

When Chaparral and Coastal Sage Scrub Burn: Consequences for Mammals, Management, and More

Plant Community Water Use and Invasibility of Semi-arid Shrublands by Woody Species in Southern California

Soil moisture is a key limiting resource in arid and semi-arid environments for woody shrub species. We assessed if three arid communities differed in their level of dry season soil moisture content and if the dominant species in these communities differed in their ability to use soil moisture. Water potential of all of the dominant woody plant species occurring in chaparral, coastal sage, and ...

Fire as a Threat to Biodiversity in Fire-Type Shrublands

Chaparral and coastal sage scrub communities have a disproportionately high number of rare and endangered plants and thus are of particular conservation concern. Unnaturally high fire frequency has been a leading cause of degradation of chaparral and coastal sage scrub ecosystems. Although these shrublands are fire-adapted, below a certain threshold of fire frequency, resilience is inversely re...

Fog and live fuel moisture in coastal California shrublands

9 Across most Mediterranean-type climate regions, seasonal drought desiccates plants, facilitating ignition 10 and the spread of wildfires. Along the California coast, summertime fog has the potential to ameliorate 11 drought conditions and thus reduce plant flammability during a critical time of elevated fire risk. This 12 study investigated the uptake of dry season fog and how it affects live...