Transverse Ranges - Ecology

Ecology

The native plant communities of the Transverse ranges include coastal sage scrub, chaparral (lower chaparral, upper chaparral, and desert chaparral), oak woodland and savanna, and pinyon-juniper woodland at lower elevations, and yellow pine forest, Lodgepole Pine forest, and subalpine forest at higher elevations. The Angeles and Los Padres National Forests cover portions of the Transverse ranges. The ranges are part of the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, but the eastern ends of the range touch two desert ecoregions, the Mojave Desert and the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert. The Carrizo Plain adjoins the northern edge of the Transverse Range.

Chaparral is a common feature of the Transverse Ranges. Common plant associates in chaparral, especially in the transition between coastal chaparral and coastal sage scrub, include California sagebrush and Toyon, the latter shrub having its southern distribution limit defined by the Transverse Ranges.