Fire in the Mediterranean
Biome
Many species are aromatic and contain flammable oils. - A twenty-year cycle of fire maintains a subclimax of chamise
- Ceonothus, sumac, toyon, and manzanita dominate w/o fires
- Dwarfed oaks and closed-cone pines may also occur w/o fire
- The flammable oils of chamise and other shrub species promote
fire;
- Chamise sprouts from the roots after a burn
- The resin coating the cones of closed-cone pines melts in a hot
fire
- Perennial forbs survive fires as underground bulbs
- The rosette shape of yuccas protects the inner growth bud
- An "elfin forest" of live oaks may develop in absence
of fire.
- Photographs
following Malibu Bluffs fire
