Soil The fertile soil in this region takes a long time to form. It is also very nutrient poor. This is usually because human activities change the soil the way they like it to fit their needs. When a biome is destroyed, usually by overgrazing or by clear cutting, the plants that hold the ground together die. That leaves the soil without any nutrients and vulnerable to erosion. After it’s eroded away, by rain or by wind, the soil becomes either bare rock, very thin, or clay. Wind erosion can be prevented if there was enough vegetation to cover the soil.
The soil is thin and not very fertile because of the lack of nutrients it obtains..
Closeness to the sea provides a slightly longer winter rainy season that nearby temperate deserts have. Rainy seasons like these also cause mud slides in the chaparral biome.