FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Equisetum arvense | Field Horsetail 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Field horsetail is top-killed by most fires.  The rhizomes are
particularly resistant to fire because they are buried deep in the
mineral soil [39].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Field horsetail regenerates rapidly after a fire [40].  The frequency of
occurrence of field horsetail is usually unchanged or increased after
fire.  Gameteophyte establishment requires the presence of moist,
exposed mineral soils (as well as a source of spores) [7].

In the first summer following a late May, 1983, wildfire in white spruce
stands, a number of herbaceous species established from seed.  These
included Bicknell gernaium (Geranium bicknelli), Corydalis sempervirens,
false dragonhead (Dracocephalum parviflorum), and fireweed.  By 1985,
they were replaced by more persistent species including field horsetail
and bluejoint reedgrass (Calamagrostis canadensis) [61].

In newly burned white spruce sites, field horsetail occurred in most
stands within weeks of the fire and gradually increased through postfire
succession.  Field horsetail is dominant in the herbaceous layer by 46
to 150 years after fire and persists into the climax stage (300 or more
years) [15,21].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Species: Equisetum arvense | Field Horsetail