Editing Chaparral (section)

====California transmontane (desert) chaparral====
'''Transmontane chaparral''' or '''desert chaparral'''—''transmontane'' ("the other side of the mountain") ''chaparral''—refers to the desert shrubland habitat and chaparral [[plant community]] growing in the [[rainshadow]] of these ranges. Transmontane chaparral features xeric desert climate, not [[Mediterranean climate]] habitats, and is also referred to as [[desert chaparral]].<ref name="ReferenceA">A Natural History of California, Allan A. Schoenerr, Figure 8.9 – 8.10, Table 8.2</ref><ref name="co.san-diego.ca.us">{{cite web|url=http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/dplu/mscp/docs/Biodiversity/handoutvegcomm14.pdf |title=Desert Chaparral Vegetation Community |author=County of San Diego Department of Planning and Land Use Multiple Species Conservation Program |access-date=2010-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101106032023/http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/dplu/mscp/docs/Biodiversity/handoutvegcomm14.pdf |archive-date=2010-11-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Desert chaparral is a regional ecosystem subset of the [[deserts and xeric shrublands]] biome, with some plant species from the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion. Unlike cismontane chaparral, which forms dense, impenetrable stands of plants, desert chaparral is often open, with only about 50% of the ground covered.<ref name=NHC/> Individual shrubs can reach up to {{convert|10|ft|m}} in height.

[[File:Sunrise Hwy Montane chaparral-1b.jpg|thumb|Transmontane chaparral in the Laguna Mountains, Cleveland National Forest]]

Transmontane chaparral or desert chaparral is found on the eastern slopes of major [[mountain range]] systems on the western sides of the [[deserts of California]]. The mountain systems include the southeastern [[Transverse Ranges]] (the [[San Bernardino Mountains|San Bernardino]] and [[San Gabriel Mountains]]) in the [[Mojave Desert]] north and northeast of the [[Los Angeles basin]] and Inland Empire; and the northern [[Peninsular Ranges]] (San Jacinto, [[Santa Rosa Mountains (California)|Santa Rosa]], and [[Laguna Mountains]]), which separate the [[Colorado Desert]] (western [[Sonoran Desert]]) from lower coastal [[Southern California]].<ref name=NHC>''A Natural History of California'', Allan A. Schoenherr, pp. 8–9, 357, 327, {{ISBN|978-0-520-06922-0}}</ref> It is distinguished from the cismontane chaparral found on the coastal side of the mountains, which experiences higher winter rainfall. Naturally, desert chaparral experiences less winter rainfall than cismontane chaparral. Plants in this community are characterized by small, hard ([[sclerophyll]]ic) evergreen (non-[[deciduous]]) leaves. Desert chaparral grows above California's desert cactus scrub plant community and below the [[pinyon–juniper woodland]]. It is further distinguished from the deciduous sub-alpine scrub above the pinyon–juniper woodlands on the same side of the Peninsular ranges.

Due to the lower annual rainfall (resulting in slower plant growth rates) when compared to cismontane chaparral, desert chaparral is more vulnerable to [[biodiversity loss]] and the invasion of non-native weeds and grasses if disturbed by human activity and frequent fire.

=====Transmontane chaparral distribution=====
Transmontane (desert) chaparral typically grows on the lower ({{convert|3500|–|4500|ft|disp=or|m}} elevation) northern slopes of the southern Transverse Ranges (running east to west in [[San Bernardino County|San Bernardino]] and [[Los Angeles County|Los Angeles]] counties) and on the lower ({{convert|2500|–|3500|ft|abbr=on|disp=or|m}}) eastern slopes of the Peninsular Ranges (running south to north from lower [[Baja California]] to Riverside and [[Orange County, California|Orange]] counties and the Transverse Ranges).<ref>''A Natural History of California'', Allan A. Schoenherr, pp. 327, Figure 8.9, {{ISBN|978-0-520-06922-0}}</ref> It can also be found in higher-elevation [[sky island]]s in the interior of the deserts, such as in the upper [[New York Mountains]] within the [[Mojave National Preserve]] in the Mojave Desert.<ref name="Jordan_2022">{{cite journal |last=Jordan |first=Shane |date=April 2022 |title=Disjunct chaparral relicts in the New York Mountains of Mojave National Preserve: a preliminary survey |journal=2022 Desert Symposium at Copper Mountain College |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360227568 |access-date=2024-03-01}}</ref>

The California transmontane (desert) chaparral is found in the rain shadow deserts of the following:
* [[Sierra Nevada]] creating the [[Great Basin Desert]] and northern Mojave Desert
* [[Transverse Ranges]] creating the western through eastern [[Mojave Desert]]
* [[Peninsular Ranges]] creating the [[Colorado Desert]] and [[Yuha Desert]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="co.san-diego.ca.us"/>

=====Transmontane chaparral plants=====
* ''[[Adenostoma fasciculatum]]'', [[chamise]] (a low shrub common to most chaparral with clusters of tiny needle like leaves or ''fascicles''; similar in appearance to coastal ''[[Eriogonum fasciculatum]]'')
* ''[[Agave deserti]]'', desert agave
* ''[[Arctostaphylos glauca]]'', bigberry manzanita (smooth red bark with large edible berries; glauca means blue-green, the color of its leaves)
* ''[[Ceanothus greggii]]'', desert ceanothus, California lilac (a [[Nitrogen fixation#Root nodule symbioses|nitrogen fixer]], has hair on both sides of leaves for heat dissipation)
* ''[[Cercocarpus ledifolius]]'', curl leaf mountain mahogany, a nitrogen fixer and important food source for [[desert bighorn sheep]]
* ''[[Dendromecon rigida]]'', bush poppy (a fire follower with four petaled yellow flowers)
* ''[[Ephedra (plant)|Ephedra]]'' spp., [[Mormon tea]]s
* ''[[Fremontodendron californicum]]'', California flannel bush (lobed leaves with fine coating of hair, covered with yellow blossoms in spring)
* ''[[Opuntia acanthocarpa]]'', buckhorn cholla (branches resemble antlers of a deer)
* ''[[Opuntia echinocarpa]]'', silver or golden cholla (depending on color of the spines)
* ''[[Opuntia phaeacantha]]'', desert prickly pear (fruit is important food source for animals)
* ''[[Purshia tridentata]]'', buckbrush, antelope bitterbrush ([[Rosaceae]] family)
* ''[[Prunus fremontii]]'', desert apricot
* ''[[Prunus fasciculata]]'', desert almond (commonly infested with tent caterpillars of ''[[Malacosoma]]'' spp.)
* ''[[Prunus ilicifolia]]'', holly-leaf cherry
* ''[[Quercus cornelius-mulleri]]'', desert scrub oak or Muller's oak
* ''[[Rhus ovata]]'', sugar bush
* ''[[Simmondsia chinensis]]'', jojoba
* ''[[Yucca schidigera]]'', Mojave yucca
* ''[[Hesperoyucca whipplei]]'' (syn. ''Yucca whipplei''), foothill yucca – our lord's candle

=====Transmontane chaparral animals=====
There is overlap of animals with those of the adjacent desert and pinyon-juniper communities.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k1V8DgAAQBAJ&q=There+is+overlap+of+animals+with+those+of+the+adjacent+desert+and+pinyon-juniper+communities&pg=PA49|title=Ecological Restoration: Wildfire Ecology Reference Manual|last=Knowling|first=Doug|date=2016|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=9781365453458|language=en}}</ref>
* ''[[Canis latrans]]'', coyote
* ''[[Lynx rufus]]'', bobcat
* ''[[Neotoma]]'' sp., desert pack rat
* ''[[Odocoileus hemionus]]'', mule deer
* ''[[Peromyscus truei]]'', pinyon mouse
* ''[[Puma concolor]]'', mountain lion
* ''[[Stagmomantis californica]]'', California mantis