Chaparral Shrublands

Management Implications

Of the vegetation types in Arizona considered for treatment in the Barr Report, chaparral was given low priority because little improvement in water yield was thought possible on these sites. However, studies have since shown strong water yield increases after chaparral conversion. On the other hand, conversions in the pinyon-juniper type have shown little promise of increasing water yield (Hibbert 1979). It appears now that the chaparral potential was misjudged because its precipitation was generally underestimated. Precipitation in the chaparral was estimated in the Barr Report to vary between 14 and 18 inches; it is now known that most of the chaparral gets more than 18 inches (Hibbert et al 1974).