Scrubland

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Scrubland

Scrubland is a plant community characterized by scrub vegetation

Vegetation

refers to the flora system of a specific region....
. Scrubland consists of shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s, mixed with grass

Grass

Grass is the common word that generally describes monocotyledonous green plants. The family Poaceae are the "true grasses" and include most plants grown as grains, for pasture, and for lawns ....
es, herb

Herb

A herb is a plant that is valued for qualities such as medicinal properties, flavor, scent, or the like....
s, and geophytes. Scrublands may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. They may be the mature vegetation type in a particular region and remain stable over time, or a transitional community that occurs temporarily as the result of a disturbance, such as fire. A stable state may be maintained by regular natural disturbance such as fire or browsing.

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Encyclopedia

Scrubland is a plant community characterized by scrub vegetation

Vegetation

refers to the flora system of a specific region....
. Scrubland consists of shrub

Shrub

Grass

Herb

Desert scrublands

Xeric scrublands or desert scrublands, occur in the world's Deserts and xeric shrublands

Deserts and xeric shrublands

Desert and xeric shrublands is a biome characterized by, relating to, or requiring only a small amount of moisture. Deserts and xeric shrublands receive an annual average rainfall of ten inches or less, and have an arid or hyperarid climate, characterized by a strong moisture deficit, where annual potential loss of moisture from evapotransp...
ecoregions, or in areas of fast-draining sandy soils in more humid regions. These scrublands are characterized by plants with adaptations to the dry climate, which include small leaves to limit water loss, thorns to protect them from grazing animals, succulent leaves or stems, storage organ

Storage organ

A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores....
s to store water, and long taproots to reach groundwater.

Mediterranean scrublands

Mediterranean scrublands occur naturally in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome

Biome

Biomes are Climateally and geographically defined areas of ecologically similar climatic conditions such as Community of plants, animals, and Soil biology, and are often referred to as ecosystems....
s, located in the five Mediterranean climate

Mediterranean climate

A Mediterranean climate is one that resembles the climate of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, which includes over half of the area with this climate type world-wide....
regions of the world. Scrublands are most common near the seacoast, and have often adapted to the wind and salt air of the ocean. Low, soft-leaved scrublands around the Mediterranean Basin

Mediterranean Basin

The Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around and surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub...
are known as garrigue
Garrigue

Garrigue is a type of low, soft-leaved scrubland found on limestone soils around the Mediterranean Basin, generally near the seacoast, where the climate is ameliorated, but where annual summer Drought obtain....
in France

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, phrygana in Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
, tomillares in Spain

Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
, and batha in Israel

Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
. Northern coastal scrub

Northern coastal scrub

Northern coastal scrub is a scrubland plant community of California and Oregon. It occurs along the Pacific Coast from Point Sur in Monterey County in Central California to southern Oregon....
and coastal sage scrub

Coastal sage scrub

Coastal sage scrub is a low scrubland plant community found in the California chaparral and woodlands terrestrial ecoregion of coastal California and northern Baja California....
occur along the California

California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
coast, strandveld in the Western Cape

Western Cape

The Western Cape is a Provinces of South Africa in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the huge Cape Province....
of South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
, coastal matorral in the central Chile

Chilean Matorral

The Chilean Matorral is a terrestrial ecoregion of central Chile, located on the west coast of South America. It is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion, part of the Neotropic ecozone....
, and sand-heath and kwongan

Kwongan

The Kwongan heath form an ecoregion confined to Southwest Australia. Kwongan is found on coastal plains from Cape Naturaliste to Perth, Western Australia, though large areas have been cleared....
in Southwest Australia

Southwest Australia

Southwest Australia is a biodiversity hotspot that includes the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregions of Western Australia. The region has a wet-winter, dry-summer Mediterranean climate, one of five such regions in the world....
.

Interior scrublands

Interior scrublands occur naturally in semi-arid areas where soils are nutrient-poor, such as on the matos

Matorral

Matorral is a Spanish language word for shrubland, thicket or bushes. Matorral originally referred to the Maquis shrubland of Spain's Mediterranean climate regions, but the term followed Spanish settlement of the Americas, and is used to refer to both Mediterranean-climate and deserts and xeric shrublands in Geography of Mexico, Geography...
of Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
which are underlain by Cambrian

Cambrian

The Cambrian is a geologic period that began about Mya at the end of the Proterozoic eon and ended about Ma with the beginning of the Ordovician period ....
and Silurian

Silurian

The Silurian is a geologic period that extends from the end of the Ordovician period, about 443.7 ? 1.5 annum , to the beginning of the Devonian period, about 416.0 ? 2.8 Mya ....
schists. Florida scrub

Florida scrub

Florida Scrub is an endangered temperate coniferous forest ecoregion of the state of Florida in the United States. It is found on coastal and inland sand ridges and is characterized by a Xerophyte plant community dominated by shrubs and dwarf oaks....
is another example of interior scrublands.

Dwarf shrubs

Some vegetation types are formed of dwarf-shrub

Chamaephyte

A Chamaephyte or dwarf-shrub is a plant that bears hibernating buds on persistent shoots near the ground ? woody plants with Perennating organ buds borne close to the ground, no more than above soil surface....
s: low-growing or creeping shrubs. These include the maquis

Maquis shrubland

Maquis or macchia is a shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs such as Salvia, juniper and myrtle....
of Mediterranean climates, and the acid-loving dwarf shrubs of heathland and moorland

Moorland

File:Pennine scenery.jpgMoorland or moor is a type of Habitat found in upland areas, characterised by low growing vegetation on acidic soils....
.

Other scrub

Scrub vegetation also occurs as part of other habitats, such as grassland

Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found....
s, heathlands and dune

Dune

In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by aeolian processes. Dunes are subject to different forms and sizes based on their interaction with the wind....
vegetation.