The California coastal sage and chaparral ( es, Salvia y chaparral costero de California) is a
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub is a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is generally characterized by dry summers and rainy winters, although in some areas rainfall may be uniform. Summers are typically hot in ...
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
located in southwestern
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
(
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
) and northwestern
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
(
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
). It is part of the larger
California chaparral and woodlands
The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of southwestern Oregon, northern, central, and southern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico), located on the west coast of North America. It is a ...
ecoregion.
Geography
The California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion covers about of coastal terraces, plains, and foothills between
Carpinteria Beach in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and
Punta Banda in
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
. This includes the southwestern slopes of the
Transverse
Transverse may refer to:
*Transverse engine, an engine in which the crankshaft is oriented side-to-side relative to the wheels of the vehicle
*Transverse flute, a flute that is held horizontally
* Transverse force (or ''Euler force''), the tangen ...
and
Peninsular Ranges
The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, which ...
, the entirety of the
Santa Susana and
Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...
, the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
,
Guadalupe Island
Guadalupe Island ( es, Isla Guadalupe, link=no) is a volcanic island located off the western coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula and about southwest of the city of Ensenada in the state of Baja California, in the Pacific Ocean. The ...
, and
Cedros Island
Cedros Island (''Isla de Cedros'', "island of cedars" in Spanish) is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the state of Baja California, Mexico. The dry and rocky island had a population of 1,350 in 2005 and has an area of which includes ...
.
Major urban centers located within this ecoregion include
Greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
,
San Diego-Tijuana,
Ensenada, and
Tecate
Tecate () is a city in Tecate Municipality, Baja California. It is across the Mexico-US border from Tecate, California. As of 2019, the city had a population of 108,860 inhabitants, while the metropolitan area has a population of 132,406 inha ...
.
Climate
The climate is
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
, with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers with fog.
Flora
The plant species of the California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion are diverse, with high
endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
. The main plant communities are
coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is w ...
,
California coastal prairie
California coastal prairie, also known as northern coastal grassland, is a grassland plant community of California and Oregon in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. It is found along the Pacific Coast, from as far south as L ...
,
chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...
, southern oak woodland, pine forests, riparian woodland, and wetlands.
[Schoenherr, Allan A. (1992). ''A Natural History of California''. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.]
Coast
![Baja coast](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Baja_coast.jpg)
Prominent coast adjacent species include:
California sagebrush
''Artemisia californica'', also known as California sagebrush, is a species of western North American shrub in the sunflower family.
Description
''Artemisia californica'' branches from the base and grows out from there, becoming rounded; it gro ...
(''
Artemisia californica
''Artemisia californica'', also known as California sagebrush, is a species of western North American shrub in the sunflower family.
Description
''Artemisia californica'' branches from the base and grows out from there, becoming rounded; it gro ...
'') and brittlebush (''
Encelia californica''), along with California buckwheat (''
Eriogonum fasciculatum
''Eriogonum fasciculatum'' is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names California buckwheat and flat-topped buckwheat. Characterized by small, white and pink flower clusters that give off a cottony effect, this species grows vari ...
'') and Munz's sage (''
Salvia munzii'').
At the southern areas of this coastal ecoregion, cacti and succulents can be found, such as: Shaw's agave (''
Agave shawii
''Agave shawii'' is a species of monocarpic succulent plant in the genus ''Agave'', commonly known as Shaw's agave. It is a rosette-forming plant characterized by glossy, green leaves with toothed margins. After several years of slow growth, th ...
''), coastal dudleya (''
Dudleya caespitosa
''Dudleya caespitosa'' is a succulent plant known by several common names, including sea lettuce, sand lettuce, and coast dudleya. It is endemic to California, where it grows along the coastline in the southern half of the state. Taxonomically, ...
''), coastal cholla (''
Cylindropuntia prolifera''),
golden cereus (''Bergerocactus emoryi''), and other prickly pear (''
Opuntia
''Opuntia'', commonly called prickly pear or pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae. Prickly pears are also known as ''tuna'' (fruit), ''sabra'', ''nopal'' (paddle, plural ''nopales'') from the Nahuatl word f ...
''), ''
Yucca
''Yucca'' is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40–50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flo ...
'' and ''
Dudleya
''Dudleya'', commonly known as liveforevers (Spanish: ''siemprevivas'') is a genus of succulent plants in the stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, consisting of about 68 taxa in southwestern North America and Guadalupe Island. The species come in mu ...
'' species.
Some of the endemic plants to the ecoregion's southern coast zone include: San Diego thornmint (''
Acanthomintha ilicifolia
''Acanthomintha ilicifolia'', known by the common name San Diego thornmint, is a rare species of flowering plant in the mint family. It is native to Baja California and San Diego County, California, where it is a resident of the chaparral and c ...
''), San Diego ambrosia (''
Ambrosia pumila
''Ambrosia pumila'' is a rare species of herbaceous perennial plant known by the common names San Diego ragweed and San Diego ambrosia. It is native to far southern California, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It grows in floodplains and ...
'') and San Diego barrel cactus (''
Ferocactus viridescens
''Ferocactus viridescens'' is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae. This rare barrel cactus is known by several common names, including coast barrel cactus, keg cactus and San Diego barrel cactus. Most of its native range ...
'').
Slopes
Higher up from the shoreline the slopes are densely covered in
chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...
shrubs, such as: chamise (''
Adenostoma fasciculatum
''Adenostoma fasciculatum'', commonly known as chamise or greasewood, is a flowering plant native to California and Baja California. This shrub is one of the most widespread plants of the California chaparral ecoregion. Chamise produces a specia ...
''), and many California lilac (''
Ceanothus
''Ceanothus'' is a genus of about 50–60 species of Actinorhizal plant, nitrogen-fixing shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae). Common names for members of this genus are buckbrush, California lilac, soap bush, or just ceano ...
'') and manzanita (''
Arctostaphylos
''Arctostaphylos'' (; from "bear" and "bunch of grapes") is a genus of plants comprising the manzanitas () and bearberries. They are shrubs or small trees.
There are about 60 species, of ''Arctostaphylos'', ranging from ground-hugging arc ...
'') species. Chaparral yucca (''
Hesperoyucca whipplei'') is commonplace throughout the climate zone.
Trees
![Torrey Pines State Reserve View](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Torrey_Pines_State_Reserve_View.jpg)
Still higher are mountain
conifer
Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
s such as the huge sugar pine (''
Pinus lambertiana
''Pinus lambertiana'' (commonly known as the sugar pine or sugar cone pine) is the tallest and most massive pine tree, and has the longest cones of any conifer. The species name ''lambertiana'' was given by the Scottish botanist David Douglas, ...
''), ponderosa pine (''
Pinus ponderosa
''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...
''), Jeffrey pine (''
Pinus jeffreyi
''Pinus jeffreyi'', also known as Jeffrey pine, Jeffrey's pine, yellow pine and black pine, is a North American pine tree. It is mainly found in California, but also in the westernmost part of Nevada, southwestern Oregon, and northern Baja Califo ...
''), Coulter pine (''
Pinus coulteri
The Coulter pine or big-cone pine, ''Pinus coulteri'', is a native of the coastal mountains of Southern California in the United States and northern Baja California in Mexico. Isolated groves are found as far north as Clearlake, California on the ...
''), and incense cedar (''
Calocedrus decurrens
''Calocedrus decurrens'', with the common names incense cedar and California incense-cedar (syn. ''Libocedrus decurrens'' Torr.), is a species of coniferous tree native to western North America. It is the most widely known species in the genus, ...
'').
Endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
cypress (''
Cupressus
''Cupressus'' is one of several genera of evergreen conifers within the family Cupressaceae that have the common name cypress; for the others, see cypress. It is considered a polyphyletic group. Based on genetic and morphological analysis, the ge ...
'') species include: the Monterey cypress (''
Cupressus macrocarpa''), Gowen cypress (''
Cupressus goveniana
''Cupressus goveniana'', now reclassified as ''Hesperocyparis goveniana'', with the common names Californian cypress and Gowen cypress, is a species of cypress, that is endemic to California.
Distribution
The tree is endemic to the Monterey Pen ...
''), and Sargent's cypress (''
Cupressus sargentii
''Cupressus sargentii'' is a species of conifer in the family Cupressaceae known by the common name Sargent's cypress. It is endemic to California, where it is known from Mendocino County southwards to Santa Barbara County. This taxon is limit ...
'').
Another endemic tree is the rare
Torrey pine (''
Pinus torreyana
The Torrey pine (''Pinus torreyana'') is a rare pine species in California, United States. It is a critically endangered species growing only in coastal San Diego County, and on Santa Rosa Island, offshore from Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara ...
''), which is only native to the coastal bluffs in
Torrey Pines State Reserve
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is of coastal state park located in the community of La Jolla, in San Diego, California, off North Torrey Pines Road. Although it is located within San Diego city limits, it remains one of the wildest stretches ...
near
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, and off the coast on
Santa Rosa Island.
Riparian
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...
canyon bottoms can have California sycamores (''
Platanus racemosa
''Platanus racemosa'' is a species of plane tree known by several common names, including California sycamore, western sycamore, California plane tree, and in North American Spanish aliso. ''Platanus racemosa'' is native to California and Baja ...
'').
California oak woodland
California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. Oak woodland is widespread at lower elevations in coasta ...
s are at many elevations in less xeric locations, with species such as the coast live oak (''
Quercus agrifolia
''Quercus agrifolia'', the California live oak, or coast live oak, is a highly variable, often evergreen oak tree, a type of live oak, native to the California Floristic Province. It may be shrubby, depending on age and growing location, but is ...
''). Valley oaks (''
Quercus lobata
''Quercus lobata'', commonly called the valley oak or roble, grows into the largest of California oaks. It is endemic to California, growing in interior valleys and foothills from Siskiyou County to San Diego County. Mature specimens may attain ...
'') once covered the adjacent sheltered plains, such in the
Los Angeles basin
The Los Angeles Basin is a sedimentary basin located in Southern California, in a region known as the Peninsular Ranges. The basin is also connected to an anomalous group of east-west trending chains of mountains collectively known as the Tr ...
and
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
.
Southern California black walnut (''
Juglans californica
''Juglans californica'', the California black walnut, also called the California walnut, or the Southern California black walnut, is a large shrub or small tree (about 20-49 feet tall) of the walnut family, Juglandaceae, endemic to Southern Calif ...
'') remnant populations are on some north faces of the
Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...
,
Santa Susana Mountains
The Santa Susana Mountains are a transverse range of mountains in Southern California, north of the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. The range runs east-west, separating the San Fernando and Simi valleys on its south from the Santa Cla ...
, and the
San Jose Hills
The San Jose Hills are a part of the Transverse Ranges in eastern Los Angeles County, California, marking the border between the San Gabriel Valley and the Pomona Valley. It includes portions of Covina, West Covina, Walnut, Pomona, and San Dim ...
.
Channel Islands
The
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
are mostly covered in coastal sage and chamise chaparral with some oak woodland including endemic and/or rare: buckwheats (''
Eriogonum
''Eriogonum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is found in North America and is known as wild buckwheat. This is a highly species-rich genus, and indications are that active speciation is continuing. It in ...
'' spp.), oaks (such as island oak—''
Quercus tomentella
''Quercus tomentella'', the island oak, island live oak, or Channel Island oak, is an oak in the section ''Protobalanus''. It is native to six islands: five of the Channel Islands of California and Guadalupe Island, part of Baja California.
...
''), and ''
Dudleya
''Dudleya'', commonly known as liveforevers (Spanish: ''siemprevivas'') is a genus of succulent plants in the stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, consisting of about 68 taxa in southwestern North America and Guadalupe Island. The species come in mu ...
'' species restricted to these islands.
Other habitats
In and around these different habitats this diverse ecoregion also contains 'patches' of stream-riverside
riparian zone
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...
oak-sycamore woodlands, native and introduced species
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...
s, and serpentine barrens. Seasonal
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
habitats include intermittent creeks,
pond
A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...
s,
vernal pool
Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe ...
s, and
floodplain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
s.
Wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...
s are part of the natural
fire ecology
Fire ecology is a scientific discipline concerned with natural processes involving fire in an ecosystem and the ecological effects, the interactions between fire and the abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem, and the role as an ecosystem p ...
throughout the ecoregion. Habitats of this hot, dry coast must survive and revive following the regular forest fires, and the dominant plant species have adapted to do that.
Fauna
![Bobcat in the Santa Monica foothills](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Bobcat_in_the_Santa_Monica_foothills._%2814534364089%29.jpg)
The coastal sage and chaparral of California are home to a variety of herbivores, such as
California mule deer
The California mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus californicus'') is a subspecies of mule deer whose range covers much of the state of California.
Anatomy
One of the principal means of distinguishing the closely related black-tailed deer and whi ...
and
southern mule deer, to predators such as
American black bear
The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), also called simply a black bear or sometimes a baribal, is a medium-sized bear endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. American black bear ...
,
bobcat
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...
s,
cougars
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...
,
coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
s, and
gray fox
The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener, the diminutive island fox (''Urocyon littora ...
. Other small mammals include
San Diego pocket mouse
The San Diego pocket mouse (''Chaetodipus fallax'') is a rodent species in the family Heteromyidae. It occupies the northern region of Baja California near San Diego extending into Mexico.
Description
The San Diego pocket mouse occupies the no ...
, Stephens' kangaroo rat (''
Dipodomys stephensi
Stephens's kangaroo rat (''Dipodomys stephensi'') is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to the Southern California region of the United States, primarily in western Riverside County. The species is named after American ...
''), and
Merriam's kangaroo rat
Merriam's kangaroo rat (''Dipodomys merriami'') is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. The species name commemorates Clinton Hart Merriam. It is found in the Upper and Lower Sonoran life zones of the southwestern United States, Baja ...
.
Reptiles of note include
Sagebrush lizard
The sagebrush lizard or sagebrush swift (''Sceloporus graciosus'') is a common species of phrynosomatid lizard found at mid to high altitudes in the western United States of America. It belongs to the genus ''Sceloporus'' (spiny lizards) in ...
s,
western fence lizard
The western fence lizard (''Sceloporus occidentalis'') is a common lizard of Arizona, New Mexico, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, Northern Mexico, and the surrounding area. As the ventral abdomen of an ad ...
s, the San Diego subspecies of the
coast horned lizard
The coast horned lizard (''Phrynosoma coronatum'') is a species of phrynosomatid lizard endemic to Baja California Sur in Mexico. As a defense the lizard can shoot high pressure streams of blood out of its eyes if threatened.
Taxonomy
It was ...
, and the
western banded gecko (''Coleonyx variegatus''). Resident snake species include the
rosy boa
''Lichanura'', the rosy boas, are a genus of snakes in the family Boidae. They are distributed across the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, ...
, red-diamond rattlesnake (''
Crotalus ruber
:''Common names: red diamond rattlesnake, red rattlesnake, red diamond snake,Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . more''
''Crotalus ruber'' is a venomous pit viper spec ...
''), and western patch-nosed snake (''
Salvadora hexalepis'').
Invertebrates of note include the cheese-weed moth lacewing (''
Chrysoperla'' species). The
Hermes copper and
Quino checkerspot butterflies among the 200 butterfly species found here.
Vernal pools in the ecoregion are home to Riverside fairy shrimp (''
Streptocephalus woottoni'').
Birds
The
California gnatcatcher
The California gnatcatcher (''Polioptila californica'') is a small long insectivorous bird which frequents dense coastal sage scrub growth. This species was recently split from the similar black-tailed gnatcatcher of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan ...
is a small bird, endemic to this coastal ecoregion, which has been protected as its habitat is now designated an
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
. Other birds found here are the endemic Nutall's woodpecker (''
Picoides nuttallii'') of the oak woodland, and the coastal populations of the protected cactus wren (''
Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus
The cactus wren (''Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus'') is a species of wren endemic to the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. It is the state bird of Arizona, and the largest wren in the United States. Its ...
'').
Important Bird Areas in Mexico include
Isla Guadalupe
Guadalupe Island ( es, Isla Guadalupe, link=no) is a volcanic island located off the western coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula and about southwest of the city of Ensenada, Baja California, Ensenada in the Baja California (state), sta ...
and
Isla Cedros
Cedros Island (''Isla de Cedros'', "island of cedars" in Spanish) is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the state of Baja California, Mexico. The dry and rocky island had a population of 1,350 in 2005 and has an area of which includes ...
, and parts of
Sierra de Juárez
The Sierra de Juárez, also known as the Sierra Juarez, is a mountain range located in Tecate Municipality and northern Ensenada Municipality, within the northern Baja California state of northwestern Mexico.
It is a major mountain range in the ...
and
Sierra de San Pedro Mártir
Sierra de San Pedro Mártir ( Kiliwa: ʔxaal haq, en, mountains of Saint Peter the Martyr) is a mountain range located within southern Ensenada Municipality and southern Baja California state, of northwestern Mexico.
It is a major mountain ran ...
.
Threats and preservation
![Vernal pool restoration site at Camp Pendleton (35051727211)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Vernal_pool_restoration_site_at_Camp_Pendleton_%2835051727211%29.jpg)
This attractive coastline is highly vulnerable to urban, recreational, and agricultural development and only 15% of original habitat is intact. Habitats are vulnerable to livestock grazing, which has removed much native vegetation on the Channel Islands, such as
Santa Cruz where sheep were grazed for over 100 years.
Another threat, ironically, is
fire control
Fire control is the practice of reducing the heat output of a fire, reducing the area over which the fire exists, or suppressing or extinguishing the fire by depriving it of fuel, oxygen, or heat (see fire triangle). Fire prevention and control i ...
, which only allows the amount of dry material in the forest to build up, resulting eventually in massive fires. However, in many chaparral regions such as the Santa Monica Mountains, increased fire frequency is the larger concern because fire return intervals in mature chaparral communities should be 30–150 years, unlike much of the region which often has return intervals of 20 years or less.
There are patches of coastal sage scrub in
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by Oc ...
, the
Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...
, the
San Joaquin Hills
The San Joaquin Hills are a low mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges System, located in coastal Orange County, California.
They extend in a northwest–southeast direction, starting in the northwest in Newport Beach at the southern edge of t ...
near
Laguna Beach
Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservation efforts, and a ...
, and the
Irvine Ranch
The Irvine Company LLC is an American private company focused on real estate development. It is headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with a large portion of its operations centered in and around Irvine, California, a planned city of more ...
in
Orange County, California
Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...
. Additional patches of coastal sage scrub exist in Southern California in the Angeles National Forest.
Protected areas
A 2017 assessment found that 1,925 km², or 6%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas.
[Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b]
/ref> Protected areas include Channel Islands National Park
Channel Islands National Park consists of five of the eight Channel Islands off the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. Although the islands are close to the shore of the densely populated state, they have been relatively undevelope ...
, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is a United States national recreation area containing many individual parks and open space preserves, located primarily in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. The SMMNRA is in t ...
, Point Mugu State Park
Point Mugu State Park is a state park located in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in Southern California. The rugged, nearly impassible shoreline of the western Santa Monica Mountains gives way to tidal lagoons and coastal sand ...
, Malibu Creek State Park
Malibu Creek State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving the Malibu Creek canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains. The park was established in 1974. Opened to the public in 1976, the park is also a component of Santa Monic ...
, Topanga State Park
Topanga State Park () is a California state park located in the Santa Monica Mountains, within Los Angeles County, California. It is part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
The park is located adjacent to the community of ...
, Griffith Park
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the Ameri ...
, Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park
Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park is a California State Park of approximately located on the boundary between Ventura and Los Angeles counties, between the communities of Chatsworth and Simi Valley. Geologically, the park is located where ...
, Ballona Wetlands State Ecological Reserve, Chino Hills State Park, Crystal Cove State Park
Crystal Cove State Park is a state park of California, United States, encompassing of Pacific coastline, inland chaparral canyons, and the Crystal Cove Historic District of beach houses. The park is located in Newport Beach, and is part of the ...
, the Santa Rosa Plateau
The Santa Rosa Plateau is an upland plateau and southeastern extension of the Santa Ana Mountains in Riverside County, southern California. It is bounded by the rapidly urbanizing Inland Empire cities of Murrieta and Temecula to the northeast an ...
Reserve, and Torrey Pines State Reserve
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is of coastal state park located in the community of La Jolla, in San Diego, California, off North Torrey Pines Road. Although it is located within San Diego city limits, it remains one of the wildest stretches ...
.
In Baja California, the chaparral ecology of Guadalupe Island
Guadalupe Island ( es, Isla Guadalupe, link=no) is a volcanic island located off the western coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula and about southwest of the city of Ensenada in the state of Baja California, in the Pacific Ocean. The ...
, Isla Todos Santos
Isla Todos Santos is a pair of islands about off Ensenada, Baja California, at best known for surfing. Access is only by boat, which can be rented in Ensenada, or La Bufadora. The waves off the smallest island are among the biggest in North ...
, and the Coronado Islands
The Coronado Islands (''Islas Coronado'' or ''Islas Coronados''; en, Islands of the Coronation(s); Kumeyaay: Mat hasil ewik kakap) are a group of islands located off the northwest coast of the Mexican state of Baja California. Battered by the w ...
are protected within the Baja California Pacific Islands Marine Conservation Area.
See also
*List of ecoregions in Mexico
The following is a list of ecoregions in Mexico as identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). A different system of ecoregional analysis is used by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, a trilateral body linking Mexican, Canadian ...
*List of ecoregions in the United States (WWF)
The following is a list of ecoregions in the United States as identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The United States is a megadiverse country with a high level of endemism across a wide variety of ecosystems.
Terrestrial ecoregi ...
*Southern California Bight
The Southern California Bight is a 692-kilometer-long (430 mi) stretch of curved coastline that runs along the west coast of the United States and Mexico, from Point Conception in California to Punta Colonet in Baja California, plus the area of t ...
External links
*
References
{{reflist
California chaparral and woodlands
Ecoregions of California
Plant communities of California
Ecoregions of Mexico
Natural history of Baja California
Nearctic ecoregions
Sclerophyll forests