scrubland

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Prince Edward County bird observatory scrubland.

Scrubland, scrub or brush is a plant community characterized by vegetation composed largely of shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Scrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It 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. Scrubland may be unsuitable for human habitation because of the danger of fire.

Desert scrublands

Xeric or desert scrublands occur in the world's deserts and xeric shrublands 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 organs to store water, and long taproots to reach groundwater.

Mediterranean scrublands

Mediterranean scrublands occur naturally in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biomes, located in the five Mediterranean climate 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 are known as garrigue in France, phrygana in Greece, tomillares in Spain, and batha in Israel. Northern coastal scrub and coastal sage scrub occur along the California coast, strandveld in the Western Cape of South Africa, coastal matorral in central Chile, and sand-heath and kwongan in Southwest Australia.

Interior scrublands

Interior scrublands occur naturally in semi-arid areas where soils are nutrient-poor, such as on the matos of Portugal which are underlain by Cambrian and Silurian schists. Florida scrub is another example of interior scrublands.

Dwarf shrubs

Some vegetation types are formed of dwarf-shrubs: low-growing or creeping shrubs. These include the maquis of Mediterranean climates, and the acid-loving dwarf shrubs of heathland and moorland.

Other scrub

Scrub vegetation also occurs as part of other habitats, such as grasslands, heathlands and dune vegetation.

References

• Chapter 12 Scrub Management by Natural England