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Chaparral

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Wildfires and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires

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Synonyms

Mediterranean shrubland; Sclerophyllous shrubland; Scrubland

Definition

Chaparral is an evergreen shrubland or woodland vegetation type that occurs in areas characterized by hot, dry summer conditions, classified as a Mediterranean climate. Chaparral shrublands and woodlands are found on over three million ha (eight million ac) in California and in several locations in Oregon, Washington, and Arizona. Similar vegetation is found in Baja California (Mexico), the Mediterranean Basin, Central Chile, southwestern Australia, and southeastern South Africa. High-intensity wildfires that generally occur during the dry, hot season are associated with chaparral shrublands.

Introduction

Chaparral occurs in areas with a Mediterranean-type climate that is characterized by mild, moist winters and hot, dry summers. Temperatures range from −3 Â° to 18  C (26.6° to 64.4 Â°F) in the coolest month, precipitation pattern of <40 mm (1.6 in) of rain during summer, and summer temperatures above 22 Â°C...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Washington, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Seattle, WA, USA

    Anne G. Andreu

  2. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory, Seattle, WA, USA

    Roger D. Ottmar

Authors
  1. Anne G. Andreu
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  2. Roger D. Ottmar
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Roger D. Ottmar .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. United States Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA

    Samuel L. Manzello

Section Editor information

  1. USDA Forest Service, RMRS Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT, USA

    Sara McAllister

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Andreu, A., Ottmar, R. (2019). Chaparral. In: Manzello, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Wildfires and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51727-8_231-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51727-8_231-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-51727-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-51727-8

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