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Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, and geophytes. Shrubland 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 it may be 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.
Shrubland may be unsuitable for human habitation because of the danger of fire. The term was coined in 1903.Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003).
Shrubland species generally show a wide range of adaptations to fire, such as heavy seed production, lignotubers, and fire-induced germination. (1999). 9780806131467, University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 9780806131467
There is a descriptive system widely adopted in Australia to describe different types of vegetation is based on structural characteristics based on plant life-form, as well as the height and foliage cover of the tallest stratum or dominant species.Costermans, L. F. (1993) Native trees and shrubs of South-Eastern Australia. rev. ed. For shrubs that are high, the following structural forms are categorized:
For shrubs less than high, the following structural forms are categorized:
In some places, shrubland is the mature vegetation type. In other places, it is the result of degradation of former forest or woodland by logging or overgrazing, or disturbance by major fires.
A number of World Wildlife Fund biomes are characterized as shrublands, including the following:
Desert scrublands
Xeric or desert scrublands occur in the world's deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregions or in 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 scrub biome, 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 Chilean Matorral, and sand-heath and kwongan in Southwest Australia.
Interior scrublands
Interior scrublands occur naturally in semi-arid areas with nutrient-poor soils, such as on the matas 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 Chamaephyte, low-growing or creeping shrubs. They include the Maquis shrubland and the Garrigue of Mediterranean climates and the acid-loving dwarf shrubs of heathland and moorland.
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