Wildfire and Chaparral Communities

Chaparral is one of the least appreciated natural communities in the West. Yet this shrubland assemblage occupies 9-10% of California’s land area and is one of the most abundant vegetative communities in the state.

Oaks and chaparral by Lake Isabella CA. Photo Geoge Wuerthner

Wildfire is a significant feature of this community. High-severity fire is the dominant fire regime. However, there are substantial myths about the relationship between chaparral and wildfire (more on below). However, many agencies believe that you “restore” chaparral by introducing frequent wildfire, a policy that is destroying chaparral.

Wildflowers are abundant in the chaparral ecosystem. Photo George Wuerthner

Chaparral cloaks the Laguna Mountains, Cleveland National Forest, CA. Photo George Wuerthner

Chaparral is primarily found at lower elevations between sea level and 4,500 feet, but everywhere from the coastal margin to desert mountains.

Chaparral among granite boulders near San Diego, CA. Photo George Wuerthner


Chaparral is a collection of sclerophyllous (hard-leaved), woody shrubs common in climates dominated by summer drought and wet winters (Mediterranean).

Sclerophyllous leaves on Manzanita along Trinity River, CA. Photo George Wuerthner

Sclerophyllous leaves, with their waxy coatings and recessed stomata, reduce evaporation.

Chaparral along Trinity River, CA. Photo George Wuerthner


Representative common chaparral plants include various species of manzanita, coastal sagebrush, oaks, buckwheats, salvia, ceanothus, chamise, redshank, toyon, and bush poppy.

One year after the Thomas Fire burned hundreds of thousands of acres near Santa Barbara. Photo George Wuerthner


The cowboy “chaps” were developed to help protect legs from the stiff and sometimes prickly stems of chaparral.

Old growth manzanita. Photo George Wuerthner
Chaparral has a diversity of shrub species. Photo George Wuerthner


Old-growth chaparral is usually more than sixty years old. One of the misconceptions about chaparral is that “fire suppression” has led to dense old stands of these plants.

Coastal chaparral in San Mateo Canyon Wilderness near San Diego, CA. Photo George Wuerthner

However, old-growth chaparral has always been a component of California lands.
Dense, impenetrable stands of chaparral are the “natural” condition.

Burnt chaparrel by Silverwood, CA. Photo George Wuerthner


The main threat to chaparral comes from frequent fire, fed by the new-found love affair with Indian cultural burning, which presumes that tribal people burned low-elevation landscapes so often that fires occurred every 2-5 years. The fact that scrub is one of the most abundant plant communities in California and is destroyed by frequent fires is part of the evidence that cultural burning did not have a landscape-scale influence.

Ceonothus, Pfieffer Big Sur State Park, CA. Photo George Wuerthne


The natural fire regime in these communities is high-severity blazes. It is not due to fire suppression, lack of cultural burning, or other misconceptions.

Thomas Fire near Santa Barbara burned through chaparral. Photo George Wuerthner


Burning chaparrals frequently typically leads to the loss of chaparral and replacement or type conversation by grasses, which burn often.

Sandstone outcrops and charparral, Hurricane Deck, San Rafael Wilderness, Los Padres NF, California. Photo George Wuerthner


Chaparral suffers from too frequent wildfires due to prescribed or cultural fire, arson, and climate change. Prescribed burning is entirely inappropriate in chaparral ecosystems.

Morning light looking to Santa Ynez Range from Figueroa Mtn. Rd, Los Padres NF, CA. Too frequent fire causes a type of conversion from chaparral to grasslands. Photo George Wuerthner


As with sagebrush steppe, high-frequency wildfire is the greatest threat to chaparral ecosystems.

The beauty of the chaparral landscape. Cenothus or wild lilac in bloom. Photo George Wuerthner

Cenothus in bloom. Photo George Wuerthner

To learn more about these unique plant communities see the California Chaparral Institute.

Comments

  1. Ida Lupine Avatar
    Ida Lupine

    So beautiful! 🙂

  2. Ida Lupine Avatar
    Ida Lupine

    The Manzanita wood is beautiful, isn’t it? What a lovely plant.

Leave a Reply

Author

George Wuerthner is an ecologist and writer who has published 38 books on various topics related to environmental and natural history. He has visited over 400 designated wilderness areas and over 200 national park units.

Subscribe to get new posts right in your Inbox

George Wuerthner
×