FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Polystichum munitum | Western Sword Fern 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Fire top-kills western sword fern.  It can survive intense fire [28,30],
but aboveground structures may lacking for several years afterwards
[30].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Recovery depends upon degree of fire severity.  Morris [53] found that
western sword fern was equally adundant on burned and unburned sites
following slash burning in Washington and Oregon.  A study in the
Tillamook Burn of northwestern Oregon, however, found frequency in
burned areas was about 2 percent, while frequency was 4 percent in the
unburned forest [55].  On severely burned sites, western sword fern is
greatly reduced and recovers slowly over a period of 15 or more years
[30].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
On highly productive sites where competition from western sword fern
delays tree seedling establishment, slash burning and prompt forest
regeneration allow tree seedlings to establish before western sword fern
recovers [73].  On sites where shrubs such as salmonberry are dominant,
clearcutting followed by slashburning, conifer planting, and release
treatments may convert the understory to western sword fern [36].

Related categories for Species: Polystichum munitum | Western Sword Fern