The California coastal sage and chaparral () is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion located in southwestern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico). It is part of the larger California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion.
Geography
The California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion covers about of coastal terraces, plains, and foothills between Carpinteria Beach in California and Punta Banda in Baja California. This includes the southwestern slopes of the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges, the entirety of the Santa Susana and Santa Monica Mountains, the Channel Islands, Guadalupe Island, and Cedros Island.
Major urban centers located within this ecoregion include Greater Los Angeles, San Diego-Tijuana, Ensenada, and Tecate.
Climate
The climate is Mediterranean, with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers with fog.
Flora
The plant species of the California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion are diverse, with high endemism. The main plant communities are coastal sage scrub, California coastal prairie, chaparral, southern oak woodland, pine forests, riparian woodland, and wetlands.
Coast
Prominent coast adjacent species include: California sagebrush (Artemisia californica) and brittlebush (Encelia californica), along with California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) and Munz's sage (Salvia munzii).
At the southern areas of this coastal ecoregion, cacti and succulents can be found, such as: Shaw's agave (Agave shawii), coastal dudleya (Dudleya caespitosa), coastal cholla (Cylindropuntia prolifera), golden cereus (Bergerocactus emoryi), and other prickly pear (Opuntia), Yucca and Dudleya species.
Some of the endemic plants to the ecoregion's southern coast zone include: San Diego thornmint (Acanthomintha ilicifolia), San Diego ambrosia (Ambrosia pumila) and San Diego barrel cactus (Ferocactus viridescens).
Slopes
Higher up from the shoreline the slopes are densely covered in chaparral shrubs, such as: chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum), and many California lilac (Ceanothus) and manzanita (Arctostaphylos) species. Chaparral yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei) is commonplace throughout the climate zone.
Trees
Still higher are mountain conifers such as the huge sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana), ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi), Coulter pine (Pinus coulteri), and incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens). Endemic cypress (Cupressus) species include: the Monterey cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa), Gowen cypress (Cupressus goveniana), and Sargent's cypress (Cupressus sargentii).
Another endemic tree is the rare Torrey pine (Pinus torreyana), which is only native to the coastal bluffs in Torrey Pines State Reserve near San Diego, and off the coast on Santa Rosa Island.
Riparian canyon bottoms can have California sycamores (Platanus racemosa). California oak woodlands are at many elevations in less xeric locations, with species such as the coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia). Valley oaks (Quercus lobata) once covered the adjacent sheltered plains, such in the Los Angeles basin and San Fernando Valley.
Southern California black walnut (Juglans californica) remnant populations are on some north faces of the Santa Monica Mountains, Santa Susana Mountains, and the San Jose Hills.
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are mostly covered in coastal sage and chamise chaparral with some oak woodland including endemic and/or rare: buckwheats (Eriogonum spp.), oaks (such as island oak—Quercus tomentella), and Dudleya species restricted to these islands. Bishop pine also occurs on these islands.
Other habitats
In and around these different habitats this diverse ecoregion also contains 'patches' of stream-riverside riparian zone oak-sycamore woodlands, native and introduced species grasslands, and serpentine barrens. Seasonal wetland habitats include intermittent creeks, ponds, vernal pools, and floodplains.
Wildfires are part of the natural fire ecology throughout the ecoregion. Habitats of this hot, dry coast must survive and revive following the regular forest fires, and the dominant plant species have adapted to do that.
Fauna
The coastal sage and chaparral of California are home to a variety of herbivores, such as California mule deer and southern mule deer, to predators such as American black bear, bobcats, cougars, coyotes, and gray fox. Other small mammals include San Diego pocket mouse, Stephens' kangaroo rat (Dipodomys stephensi), and Merriam's kangaroo rat.