FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Hylocomium splendens  | Mountain-Fern Moss 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Mountain-fern moss is generally killed by fire, although small patches
may survive low-severity fire [31].  Some moss species on burned areas
can survive as fragments in the soil [1].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Mountain-fern moss takes many years to recover following fire.  Although
small patches may survive fire, it is not until a closed or nearly
closed canopy is established that mountain-fern moss can spread and
become the dominant ground cover [31].  Ten to thirty years after fire,
mountain-fern moss will replace the early successional mosses and
liverworts.  In mesic, high-nutrient habitats, mountain-fern moss
generally appears 30 to 50 years after fire and quickly becomes the most
abundant ground cover [17].  However, in Finland, mountain-fern moss
began appearing 10 years after fire.  Recovery was slow and 50 years
after fire, this moss still had not reached preburn levels [1].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Species: Hylocomium splendens | Mountain-Fern Moss