1. Come to Chap and you’ll never go back! CHAPARRAL BIOME CHAPARRAL BIOME BY: ROMAN Z, SATCHEL K, MEGAN D

2.  Found in small sections of most continents including: The west coast of the USA, South America, the Cape Town area of South Africa, the western tip of Australia, and the coastal areas of Mediterranean  Chaparrals in the United States are a distinct to California.  Some cities in the Chaparral biome are: San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Malibu, and Santa Barbara.

3.  Semi Arid  Hot and dry so fires and droughts are very common.  Many different types of terrain. Some examples are flat plains, rocky hills and mountain slopes.  Characterized by dry, nutrient poor soil, small shrubs and dry grasses, and sparse wildlife.  Fire is one of the key elements of this ecosystem. Many members of the community rely on the fire to suppress larger competitors from shading them out.

4.  Average Winter temperature is about 50 degrees F.  In the Summer, temperatures can soar up to 100 degrees F.  Although average precipitation is low (only 10 – 17 inches of rainfall per year), most of the rain comes in Winter.

5.  In the winter, the Chaparral climate is mild and moist, but not rainy.  During the summer it is very hot and dry.  The best time to visit is in the springtime. During the spring, the Chaparral is fairly warm and there is not much rainfall.  Most animals present in spring. Baby animals born in Springtime.

6.  The Chaparral has more than 900 species of plants.  Chaparral plants’ waxy coatings, thicker cell layers, and recessed stomata permit evaporation and the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.  Root systems are designed to get as much water as possible. Chaparral plants are adapted to fires because of dry/hot climate causing regular fires that wipe out climax communities. Some Chaparral plants are Poison oak, Scrub oak, Cacti, Yucca, Chemise, and Toyon.

7.  Animals are adapted to the dry/hot climate.  Some Chaparral animals are: coyotes, jackrabbits, moles, deer, horned toads, sheep, cattle, horses, lynx, eagles, lizards.  Jackrabbits have huge ears. It can regulate its body heat by increasing or decreasing the blood flow through its ears. This helps the jackrabbit absorb heat or cool off.

8.  Habitat Loss  "Soft" chaparral, also called coastal sage scrub, is threatened by the habitat loss caused by urban and suburban expansion.  Fires  Chaparral vegetation is highly affected by intense wildfires. As new areas are populated, the frequency of wildfires can increase due to human mistakes.

9.  Biking  Camping  Hiking  Site-seeing

10.  http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/chaparral_climate. htm http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/chaparral_climate. htm  http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/chaparral.html http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/chaparral.html  http://www.californiachaparral.com/chaparralfacts.ht ml http://www.californiachaparral.com/chaparralfacts.ht ml  http://library.thinkquest.org/C0113340/text/biomes/ biomes.chaparral.soil.html http://library.thinkquest.org/C0113340/text/biomes/ biomes.chaparral.soil.html