CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. THE CALIFORNIA CHAPARRAL

Fire and Chaparral

Where Is Chaparral Found?

Chaparral Is Found with Other Vegetation Types

Coastal Sage Scrub Is Not Chaparral

How Organisms Are Named

2. MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE

The Pacific High

Rainfall—Always Unpredictable

Winds That Carry Water or Take It Away

Temperature

Microclimates

Convergence

Rain Beetles Mate Only When There Is Rain

3. FIRE

The Fire Cycle

The Fire Regime

Sources of Ignition

Aboriginal Burning

Nineteenth-Century Fire

Fire Patterns in the Twentieth Century

Modern Fires

Natural Responses of Plants and Animals to Fire

4. PLANTS

An Evergreen, Shrubby Vegetation

Common Shrubs and Shrub Families

The Rose Family (Roseaceae)

The Buckthorn Family (Rhamnaceae)

The Heath Family (Ericaceae)

The Oak Family (Fagaceae)

The Sumac Family (Anacardiaceae)

Other Chaparral Shrubs

Conifers: Cypresses, Pines, and Bigcone Douglas Fir

Common Herb and Subshrub Families

The Waterleaf Family (Hydrophyllaceae)

The Poppy Family (Papaveraceae)

The Lily Family (Liliaceae)

The Legume Family (Fabaceae)

The Snapdragon or Figwort Family (Scrophulariaceae)

Other Chaparral Herbs and Subshrubs

Introduced Weeds

5. ANIMALS

Mammals

Rodents (Order Rodentia)

Rabbits and Hares (Order Lagomorpha)

Deer and Bighorn Sheep (Order Artiodactyla)

Carnivorous Mammals (Order Carnivora)

Birds

Perching Birds (Order Passeriformes)

Hawks (Order Falconiformes)

Owls (Order Strigiformes)

Reptiles

Snakes (Order Squamata, Suborder Serpentes)

Lizards (Order Squamata, Suborder Lacertilia)

Amphibians

Insects and Arachnids

Insects (Class Insecta)

Trap Door Spiders, Ticks, and Scorpions (Class Arachnida)

Other Chaparral Insects

6. LIVING WITH THE CHAPARRAL

Prescribed Fire

Fuel Reduction and Fuel Breaks

Artificial Seeding of Burns

Fire Causes Its Own Weather

Geographic Risk

Floods

Threats to Chaparral

Options for Wise Growth

The Value of Chaparral

Glossary

Supplemental Readings and References

Art Credits

Index