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Mediterranean Chaparral Climate Mediterranean Climate (Cs) The Mediterranean Chaparral has a very interesting climate. It has four seasons. These are spring, summer, fall, and winter. The chaparral has significantly hot and dry summers. It has cool and moist winters. Spring and fall are usually a mix between both summer and winter. There are moderate amounts of rain, and mild temperatures. The vegetation is mostly made up of shrubsand small trees. These include evergreen shrubs and most deciduous forms of shrub. The trees, like cork oak, live oak , stone pine, and olive, usaually have low branches, are very gnarled and have thick bark. Some of the adaptations of the vegetation are that the yucca rosette shape defends the growth in the inside of the bulbs from ruin except from extremely hot fires. Another adaptation of the vegetation is that the pinecone resin, which coats the closed-cone pines melts and allows the cones to open and spread their seeds. Also, the small leaves of thyme, oregano, and rosemary keep the moisture from the precipitation in the leaves. The fauna is very interesting. Some of the adaptations of the Mediterranean chaparral fauna are that they don't need a lot of water and they have learned to live in their biome. What I find interesting about my biome's climate is its natural forest fires. These are caused by two things. One is the shortage of rain in the chaparral in the summer. Another is that many types of shrubs and flora are aromatic, like sage, thyme, rosemary, and oregano. These hold highly flammable oils. Did you know that the chaparral burns out every 30-40 years? There is very little precipitation in the Mediterranean chaparral. The average annual precipitation is 10-20 inches. The kind of precipitation is rain. The average rainfall for the entire winter is 6.8 inches. The average rainfall for the entire spring is 2.2 inches. The average rainfall for summer is .2 inches. The average rainfall for fall is 4.2 inches. The average annual temperature is 59 ° F. The highest temperature is 91.5 °F. The lowest temperature is 37°F. The average temperature for winter is 46°F. The average temperature for spring is 56*F. The average temperature for summer is 71.7°F. The average temperature for fall is 64.75°F These readings are for the entire months and seasons. In the summer it feels dry and hot . In the winter it feels somewhat cool and moist. The latitude range for the climate that you are reading about is between 30 to 50 degrees north and south latitude. Köppen's climate classification letter code for the chaparral is Cs. This means a hot grassland, like the chaparral. Also this letter code describes an area with little rain. 2001 bibliography : "Loomis Weather" http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/loomisweather/climate profile.html 11/20/00 "Chaparral" http://www.leolehigh.edu/enviorosci/weather/bitsofbiomes/chapparal.html "Mediterranean Shrublands" http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/medit/medit.html 11/6/01 "Köppen's Classification" http://www.tescarta.com/www.resources/library/biomes/ chaparral 11/6/00 "Mediterranean Chaparral" http://www.doc.mmu.ac/uk/aric/eae/climate/older/mediterraneanclimate.html 11/7/00
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