Essay Database

COASTAL SAGE ECOSYSTEM The coastal sage scrub ecosystem that we researched in is a community of soft chaparral plants, which evolved either from trees or herbs in dry climates most similar to that of a Mediterranean shrub land. The climate has hot, dry summers with at least one month of protracted drought and cool, moist winters. The moisture is kept deep in the soil where the shrub obtain its most of its nutrients from compared …

…and mineralization of nitrogen and carbon. The soil in this community is fairly dry in which the nutrients are low. An adaptation for this ecosystem is to conserve its nutrients. The shrub land is very patchy with woody growth and open area of grasses. Its vertical structure (stratification) is quite low, which means that the forest is less dense, and many shrubs. Vegetation in this ecosystem has adaptations to fire and to low nutrient levels.