The low-elevation chaparral shrublands of southern California have long been occupied and modified by humans, but the magnitude and extent of human impact has dramatically increased since the early 1900s. As population growth started to boom in the 1940s, the primary form of habitat conversion transitioned from agriculture to urban and residential development. Now, urban growth is the primary contributor, directly and indirectly, to loss and fragmentation of chaparral landscapes. Different patterns and arrangements of housing development confer different ecological impacts. We found wide variation in the changing extent and pattern of development across the seven counties in the region. Substantial growth in lower-density exurban development has been associated with high frequency of human-caused ignitions as well as the expansion of highly flammable non-native annual grasses. Combined, increases in fire ignitions and the extent of grassland can lead to a positive feedback cycle in which grass promotes fire and shortens the fire-return interval, ultimately extirpating shrub species that are not adapted to short fire intervals. An overlay of a 1930s vegetation map with maps of contemporary vegetation showed a consistent trend of chaparral decline and conversion to sage scrub or grassland. In addition, those areas type-converted to grassland had the highest fire frequency over the latter part of the twentieth century. Thus, a continuing trend of population growth and urban expansion may continue to threaten the extent and intactness of remaining shrubland dominated landscapes. Interactions among housing development, fire ignitions, non-native grasses, roads, and vehicle emissions make fire prevention a complex endeavor. However, land use planning that targets the root cause of conversion, exurban sprawl, could address all of these threats simultaneously.
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