Chaparral!
by Paul Wittle
This biome is commonly known as the Mediterranean biome.
Contents!
This biome is found around the mediterranean sea and some other places at the same longitude. It is also found in the southern hemisphere, although there is not as much of it.
Some examples are: Mediterranean = Italy, Spain, and Greece. West Coast of North America(Los Angeles). Southern hemispere = Chile, South Africa and the south west tip of Australia.
As is the case with any biome try to remember two or three examples as they like you to give examples in the exam!
ALWAYS READ THE QUESTION CAREFULLY!
The climate is characterised by a summer drought and a mild, wet winter. The temperature is high all year round but the rainfall only occurs in the winter months.
The flora(Plants) in this climate must survive a drought every year. This means that evergreen thickets, small oaks and eucalyptus trees are the favoured flora. This type of hard-leaved scrub is adapted to the summer droughts.
Some of the plants (like the Californian Chamise [Adenostoma fasciculatum]) are able to regenerate their root systems. This is great because the chaparral biome has a frequent occurance of forrest fires. Plants that can regenerate their roots are able to survive such an event. The forrest fires help to maintain the typical scrub vegetation.