FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Aralia nudicaulis | Wild Sarsaparilla 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Mineral soil protects wild sarsaparilla rhizomes from most fires [42].
Wild sarsaparilla occurs in communities with diverse fire regimes.  In
Saskatchewan, it is a dominant understory component in aspen-birch
forests that experience frequent fires [33].  Wild sarsaparilla occurs in
the understory of mixed woods in New Brunswick where fires occur every 9
to 45 years [42].  It is common in aspen-Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga
menziesii) stands in the Black Hills, South Dakota, that have fire
return intervals of 80 to 90 years [102].  Wild sarsaparilla is
codominant with queencup beadlily in the moist lower elevation habitat
types of subalpine fir series where fires are infrequent and severe
[31,41].  Wild sarsaparilla is present in woodland communities, such as
black oak in Indiana, that are present due to fire suppression since the
time of settlement [15].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
   Geophyte, growing points deep in soil
   Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)

Related categories for Species: Aralia nudicaulis | Wild Sarsaparilla