This document is a detailed survey of the literature on shrublands in California. It summarizes the results of a multi-disciplinary project to define what is currently known about shrubland vegetation management and what additional research is needed to properly assess the social and environmental effects of such management. Fire is the most important management tool, and therefore receives the most emphasis in the publication. A general treatment of management procedures and a description of the biogeography and prehistory of shrublands are presented in the initial chapters. The effects of shrubland management (primarily by fire) are presented next, with chapters on the effects on vegetation, on soils, on water yield and water quality, on streams (with particular emphasis on the organisms that live in the streams), and on wildlife. This is followed by a chapter on shrubland ecosystem dynamics. The final chapters in the document deal with management concerns, which include management of shrublands for livestock forage, the effects of burning on air quality, the economics and policy of shrubland management, and fire behavior and burning technology.