WHERE TO FIND CHAPARRAL OLD-GROWTH CHAPARRAL PLANTS AND ANIMALS OF THE CHAPARRAL CHAPARRAL GEOLOGY FUNGI AND TINY THINGS

Old-Growth Chaparral Old-growth manzanita (Arctostaphylos glauca), over 33 feet high with a trunk 6 foot, 8 inches thick. Pete Veilleux of East Bay Wilds can be seen in the canopy exploring the beauty of this ancient friend on Cedar Mountain, south of San Francisco. Pete mentions that manzanitas should never be climbed like this under normal circumstances due to the brittle nature of the wood. With great care so as not to break any branches or scar any living tissue, Pete found a quick nesting spot in order to help provide scale for the camera. Photo taken by Paul Furman. Brushphobia There are a number of individuals who appear to have difficulty enjoying the beauty and dynamic nature of chaparral...especially old-growth chaparral. They frequently use pejorative descriptions of chaparral at wildfire conferences and in newspaper editorials. Managed forests appear to be their favored environments and they see chaparral as a threat. They refer to shrubbery and old-growth chaparral as "trash," needing elimination. Rather than recognizing chaparral as a viable ecosystem, they think of it as a "scrub infested" savanna. Some appear to have vested interests in sending forth chipping machines to grind up large tracts of backcountry wilderness to provide fuel for power generators (yes, this is a serious proposal) while others are just sincerely ignorant. Whatever the cause, allowing brushphobia to influence public policy has very real, and serious implications. It justifies damaging one of California's most valuable natural resources and the state's defining ecosystem. Suggested treatment: Leave the office, take a walk into the chaparral with a few children...they have the uncanny knack for helping adults rediscover their natural (and often buried) appreciation for nature. Old-growth manzanita chaparral (foreground), scrub oak chaparral (background left of road), and a grove of Tecate cypress trees across the middle top third of photo. This area has no fire history and could be in excess of 150 years old. Location: Guatay Mountain in San Diego County.   A Matter of Perspective Is old-growth chaparral really something that "needs" to burn in order to remain healthy? Is chaparral older than 50 years really the "trash" some have claimed? Here are some of the typical quotes stating or implying that old-growth chaparral is in need of removal or is in some way undesirable: "Chaparral stands older than 60 years often are decadent..." "Eventually they (chaparral plants) get too big for their britches. The older they get, the more they look like hell in summer." "Chamise-chaparral stands in southern California older than 60 years often are senile." "...scrub-infested savannas." "...chaparral-choked areas." Chaparral "turns into a rather trashy ecosystem when it's 50 years old." All of these are value judgments and are not supported by scientific evidence nor by informed observations of old-growth chaparral stands. The ability of old-growth chaparral to recover from wildfire. This paper dispels the myth that old-growth chaparral is "un-natural" and consequently will be damaged by wildfire due to its heavy fuel load. J.E. Keeley, A.H. Pfaff, and H.D. Safford 2005. The beautiful auburn colors of fall shown by this old-growth stand of chamise chaparral are certainly not being produced by a "decadent" patch of dying vegetation (fall in the chaparral actually occurs during the first few weeks of "summer"). The reddish-brown hues are from the fading flower clusters on the top of of the shrubs. In the background you can see mountains that were burned in the 2003 Cedar fire. Here's some of that so-called "decadent", "senile", old-growth chamise chaparral in full bloom. Red shanks in the background. And, whoops, there is one dead ceanothus shrub in the back right hand corner...but it hardly qualifies this 50-year-old (plus) stand as the "trashy" habitat it has been accused of being. Photo was taken near the same spot as the one above. A dense carpet of 8-foot-tall old-growth manzanita and scrub oak chaparral with islands of mulit-stemmed oaks punching up through the canopy. Is this rare plant community type in need of burning? Hardly.