[Geography Notes] on Scrubland Pdf for Exam

The tropical scrub forest is a biome that makes up the arid land. This type of biome consists of desert region and areas of low-lying regions, there are dense bushes which are growing over these places. Scrubland is an area with little precipitation and plenty of continuous winds, with a poor drainage system, and with medium to poor soil quality. The plants and animals of the tropical scrub forest have to adapt and flourish in this type of harsh environment.

Scrubland Meaning

Shrubland, scrubland, and scrub or the brush, also known as the bush come under plant community. They are characterized by vegetation that is dominated by shrub plants and often they include grass type, herbs, and geophytes. The shrubland might occur naturally or this could be the result of human activity. Scrubland may like the mature vegetation type that grows in a particular region, which remains stable over some time. They also come under a transitional community which occurs temporarily as the cause of the fire. This stable state is maintained by regular and natural disturbances like fire or by browsing. These shrublands are not suitable for human habitation as they are prone to fire outbreaks.  

The species found in the shrubland generally show a great range of adaptations to fire with such a heavy seed production, and they are fire-induced germination

Scrub Vegetation 

From the name itself ‘scrub vegetation’ we can know the vegetation. This vegetation is dominated by shrubs. Shrubs are the low woody plant they generally form an intermediate community that is between the grass or community or heath and high forest. 

The ecoregion covers the Deccan Plateau which is the Deccan plateau that extends across the Indian states of Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh to Sri Lanka in its northern province. There remain only small patches of natural habitat which is cleared for grazing. 

Scrub Plant 

Dogwood 

Alder

Viburnum

Pincherry

Typical plants included in this scrubland vegetation are dogwood, Viburnum , Pincherry, Alder, and other species. Shrubland habitats are mostly temporary which exists on the land for a very short period.

The Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush. Bush is a variety of plant communities that are characterized by vegetation that is priorly dominated by shrubs, they include grasses, herbs, and other geophytes. The Shrubland may either occur naturally or this will be the result of human activity.

Scrub Forest and Grassland

The vegetation consists of many southern tropical thorn which is the scrub-type forests. These all consist of the open woodland with the thorny trees and with short trunks and low, branching outgrowth. There are xerophytic shrubs featured with spines. They occur in dry grasslands. 

Tropical Scrub Forest

The Tropical scrub forest is the real scrub jungle or the Shrubs and Scrubs forest type vegetation. They are also referred to as the chaparral as referred to in California. This vegetation is found across the southern United States, which is along the Mediterranean coastline, in the northern and central African region. They are also located within the interior of Australia. The average annual rainfall is approximately about 2 to 9 inches, while the temperature fluctuates minorly. All the scrub tropical forest is found in the equatorial region, where the temperature fluctuates little regardless of the season. 

Vegetation

The vegetation cultivated in the tropical scrub biome has adapted to the arid type conditions. The Plants are typically thick, waxy leaves that have developed to store moisture. The trees which grow in this biome include these hardwoods like oaks and varieties of both deciduous and evergreen trees such as olives and cedars. The flowering shrubs like manzanita grow into the dense evergreen thickets. The summers in this vegetation are dry, and most plants are dormant until the winter rain starts.

Animals

Like the vegetation in this region, the local animals also adapt to the harsh, dry conditions of the tropical scrub forest. Small mammals and nocturnal, can change their body temperature quite rapidly and take advantage of the pleasant night temperatures. While, other nocturnal and burrowing animals of this biome include snakes, lizards, and small rodents. These animals have also evolved with longer legs who have high agility to facilitate their movement along and shifting to hot soil.

Did you know?

• There are Mediterranean scrublands that occur naturally in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biomes. They are located in five Mediterranean climatic regions of the world. The scrublands are the most common near the seacoast which has often adapted to the wind and salt air in the ocean. 

• The scrubland that is low with soft-leaved plants around the Mediterranean Sea is called garrigue in France, in Greece it is called Phrygana, Tomilares in Spain, and Batha in Israel.

• The Interior scrublands occur naturally in the semi-arid areas where the soils are less-nutrient, like in the Matas of Portugal which is underlain by Cambrian.  

• Some of the vegetation types are formed of the dwarf-shrubs which have dwarf shrubs. They are a low-growing or creeper variety of shrubs. They include the maquis and garrigues of the Mediterranean-type climate.