FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Liatris punctata | Blazing Star 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Blazing star is probably top-killed by fire.  

Because of their persistent rhizomes, Liatris species are not usually
killed by fast fire.  Fire promotes seedling establishment by removing
deep litter.  Seedlings emerge earlier because of greater light and heat
at the soil surface [31].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Blazing star is listed as tolerant of fire in the tallgrass prairie of
the Central Great Plains, where it often increases following fire [47].

Blazing star was subjected to prescribed fire in northwestern Minnesota
in the spring of 1972.  Flowering was stimulated on a dry-mesic
south-facing slope in undisturbed prairie.  Flowering decreased on a
wet-mesic level site in severely disturbed prairie.  The primary factor
responsible for increased flowering appeared to be removal of litter,
which allowed for higher temperatures and increased light intensities
near the soil surface.  This resulted in increased vegetative growth in
spring and increased flowering in summer.  Litter removal by fire varied
with site [34].

A lightning fire with 48-mile per hour (77-km/hr) winds burned in the
Nebraska National Forest in the Sand Hills in May, 1965.  By fall, 1965,
blazing star had increased in dry valley sites and choppy sand sites.
Its presence on rolling sandy sites was unchanged [46].

Fire was prescribed at the Sun River Wildlife Management Area in
west-central Montana on October 17, 1983, and April 15, 1984.  Blazing
star had greater biomass after spring fires than fall fires.  It may not
have been dormant during the fall fires, and therefore was susceptible
to damage.  There was no difference in blazing star response between
backfires and headfires within a season [26].

An area in the Badlands of western North Dakota burned on August 14,
1954.  Blazing star frequency in August, 1958, was the same on both
burned and unburned areas [13].  Other sites burned in a severe wildfire
on May 29, 1958.  Blazing star was present in August, 1958, at 25
percent frequency on unburned areas, but had decreasedd to 17 percent
frequency on burned areas [2].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Postfire soil moisture is a major factor in determining the effect of
fire on blazing star.  Drought is common in the mixed-grass prairie and
can seriously set back recovery after a fire.  In mesic areas, or in dry
areas where fires are followed by a moist summer, fire can be beneficial
[2].

Related categories for Species: Liatris punctata | Blazing Star