UPPSC 2019 Prelims GS Paper-I · Question 116 of 150

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).

• (b)A-4 B-3 C-2 D-1 — 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)A-3 B-4 C-1 D-2 — 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)A-4 B-2 C-3 D-1 — 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.

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.

The trap in this question is that ecology cannot help you. All four are the same biome, so there is nothing to reason from — you must remember which language each word comes from. Maquis is French/Corsican, so it stays in the Mediterranean. Chaparral is Spanish-American and travelled with the Spanish to California (the leather 'chaps' worn by riders take their name from pushing through it). Matorral is plain Spanish for scrubland and is used in biogeography for central Chile. Fynbos is Afrikaans, so it can only be the Cape. Notice also that the question omits the fifth Mediterranean region, Australia, whose mallee and kwongan would be the natural fifth row.

• Mediterranean-type climate and vegetation occur in five regions: the Mediterranean basin, California, central Chile, the Cape of South Africa, and southern/south-western Australia.
• Regional names for the same scrub: maquis and garrigue (Mediterranean basin), chaparral (California), matorral (Chile), fynbos (South Africa), mallee/kwongan (Australia).
• The vegetation is sclerophyllous — small, thick, leathery evergreen leaves, deep root systems and fire-adapted seeds — all adaptations to the summer drought.
• Fynbos is Afrikaans for 'fine bush'; it forms the Cape Floristic Region, one of the world's richest concentrations of endemic plants (proteas, ericas, restios) and a UNESCO World Heritage listing.
• The same climate supports the classic Mediterranean crops — olives, grapes, citrus, figs and cork oak — grown on winter rain.

• Sending Chaparral to Chile because both begin with 'Ch' — chaparral is Californian; Chile's scrub is the matorral.
• Assuming Mediterranean vegetation exists only around the Mediterranean Sea, when four other regions of the world share the same climate and scrub.
• Confusing maquis with garrigue; both are Mediterranean-basin scrub (garrigue is the lower, more degraded form on limestone), so neither can be the South African or Chilean entry.

UPPSC and UPSC both like the 'one biome, five local names' matching set — the same drill produces prairie/steppe/pampas/veld and maquis/chaparral/matorral/fynbos, so learn the region-name pairs as vocabulary rather than trying to derive them from ecology.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The scrub vegetation known as 'Chaparral' is characteristic of which one of the following regions?

  • (a)Central Chile
  • (b)California
  • (c)South-western Australia
  • (d)The Cape region of South Africa

  Answer(b) California — chaparral is the North American name for Mediterranean-type evergreen scrub; Chile's is matorral, Australia's is mallee/kwongan and the Cape's is fynbos.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which one of the following regions does NOT have a Mediterranean type of climate and vegetation?

  • (a)Central Chile
  • (b)The Cape region of South Africa
  • (c)The Congo basin
  • (d)Southern California

  Answer(c) The Congo basin — it lies on the equator and carries hot, wet, year-round equatorial rainforest, not summer-dry Mediterranean scrub.