Match List – I with List – II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists.
List – I (Vegetation Type)
A. Maquis
B. Fynbos
C. Chaparral
D. Matorral
List – II (Region)
1. Califor

Question

Match List – I with List – II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists.
List – I (Vegetation Type)
A. Maquis
B. Fynbos
C. Chaparral
D. Matorral
List – II (Region)
1. California
2. Mediterranean Sea Coastal Region
3. South Africa
4. Chile
Codes :

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — A, A-2, B-3, C-1, D-4. All four names in List – I describe the same thing — the dense, drought-hardy evergreen scrub of a Mediterranean-type (hot dry summer, mild wet winter) climate — but each name belongs to one particular region. Maquis is the scrub of the Mediterranean basin itself, of Corsica, Provence, Italy and Greece, so A goes to 2. Fynbos (Afrikaans for 'fine bush') is the fine-leaved shrubland of the Cape in South Africa, home of the proteas, ericas and restios, so B goes to 3. Chaparral is the North American term, used for the scrub of California and Baja California, so C goes to 1. Matorral is the Spanish term applied in biogeography to the Mediterranean scrub of central Chile, so D goes to 4. That combination — A-2, B-3, C-1, D-4 — is option (a).

Why the other options are wrong — (b) Only Fynbos–South Africa survives here. It sends Maquis to Chile and Chaparral to the Mediterranean coast, but maquis is the Mediterranean basin's own word (a maquisard in wartime France was a fighter hiding in that scrub), and chaparral is a Californian word, from the Spanish chaparro for scrub oak.  (c) Chaparral–California is right, but the rest is scrambled: Maquis is placed in South Africa and Fynbos in Chile. Fynbos is an Afrikaans word and belongs only to the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa; it cannot travel to South America.  (d) Every pair is wrong — Maquis to Chile, Fynbos to the Mediterranean, Chaparral to South Africa and Matorral to California. This is the option for a candidate who knows the four words describe one biome but has never attached them to their home regions.

Concept: A Mediterranean-type climate (Koppen Cs) — hot, dry, sunny summers and mild, rainy winters — occurs on the western margins of continents roughly between 30° and 40° latitude in five parts of the world: the Mediterranean basin, California, central Chile, the Cape region of South Africa and southern/south-western Australia. Each of these five carries the same broad vegetation: sclerophyllous evergreen shrub and low trees with small, thick, leathery, often waxy leaves, deep roots and strong fire adaptation, all of which are answers to a long summer drought. What differs is the local name — maquis (and the lower, more open garrigue on limestone), chaparral, matorral, fynbos and, in Australia, mallee and kwongan.

State PCS 2019 Q116 — Geography PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2019 Q116 — Geography PYQ with Answer