The ecosystem of California
In the world we live, inn, everything is connected to another. The plants, animals, the people, water, soil, weather are all a part of something. An ecosystem is a biological environment and one that includes the living organisms around it. It also includes nonliving, physical components. An ecosystem also involves the interaction between the living and the nonliving. California has a beautiful ecosystem ranging from having some of the tallest mountains among the 48 contiguous states. The Whitney Mountain stands up to 14, 445 feet tall. It has the deepest valley, the Death Valley that is 282 feet below the sea level and a beautiful coastline. California also has wide variations in its temperature, precipitation, and evaporation. California has a total of 4800 native plants species of which 29% of them are epidemic and are only found in California. Some of the principal plant communities in California include the Chaparral. The chaparral plant is a hard brush that does not depend on summer. It is adapted to heat and drought. The chaparral plant can be able to change the pH level, it can alter with precipitation, and it can also produce a litter layer or a mulch layer of leaves that facilitate the germination of the oak and the pines. The Chaparral is also known as the brushland or the brush. This planned community is surprisingly adapted to fire.
The ecology of California is diverse. It can, therefore, be best described by dividing it into four distinct ecoregions. These four ecoregions of California contain different ecological communities that comprise of plants and animals. These ecoregions include the desert ecoregion an example of the Mojave desert. The Mediterranean ecoregion like the central valley, the forested mountains ecoregion like the Sierra Nevada and the coastal forests. On to the desert ecoregion, California has two significant deserts that are the Mojave desert and the vast basin desert. The Mojave desert is best known for its Joshua trees. The regions of the desert ecoregion in California receive minimal amounts of rainfall, and the available plants consist of the shrubs and the bushes that are adapted to the low rain. An example of plants in this ecoregion includes the saltbush, big sagebrush, shad scale, creosote bush, and back bush.
Biodiversity takes place from genetic variations to variations among the habitats and species variations. Biodiversity is a product of evolution that works through natural selection to produce gene combines species that best adapts to their environment. California is one of the most diverse states in the United States. California’s high levels of endemic species and plant communities and its physical diversity, its unique Mediterranean climate, and its unique evolutionary history give it the title of the top biodiversity. The difference of California is that of geologic, topography, and environment, and it exceeds that of other US states. The variety of the plant community in California helps in the providence of habitats for animal species.
The ecosystem of California holds several endemic species of animals that are only found in California. These animals’ species are significant, and they depend on their ecosystem for survival and vice versa. Some of the rare animals found in California’s ecosystem include the Tule Elk or the cervus Canadensis nonnodes. It is a bird. Then there are the California Clapper rails that are just a stall like an ordinary chicken. They get their name from their calls as they sound like the sound of clapping. They eat insects, Mollusc as well as frogs and other small animals. The California clapper is an endangered species since it is edible. The species uses its ecosystem for food and its climate.
The scientist name of the clapper rail is rallus Iongirostris Obsoletus. Another rare animal found in the ecosystem of California is the San Francisco garter snake or scientifically known as the Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia. This snake is fast and endemic only to California. It is among the most beautiful animals in the world with a striking red and blue with black margins. This species is sleek and shy. The garter snake is among the class of 67. The class of 67 is a list of the first list of endangered species that was declared by the federal government under the endangered species act of 1966. This species, however, is in danger of predators who are human beings, for its beautiful skin. The black Backed woodpecker, for instance, is slowly belonged rare due to factors such as fire suppression and post-fire logging. The black-backed woodpecker is a species for management indication for the snag forest habitat species.
Among the significant threats facing California’s ecosystem is human activity. The central valley ecoregions, for instance, have been affected by social activities like agriculture, grazing, urbanization, and deforestation. These activities have seen the reduction of the plant communities in California’s ecosystem and animals. Another threat is fire. Due to the Mediterranean climate of California, the landscape of the land is predisposed to fires. The rain of California is only in the winter, and due to the influence of the ocean, the temperatures of the place is mild, thus leading to the abundant growth of plants that act as fuel when the fires start. The fires in California are a natural process of the ecosystem.