FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Lupinus caudatus | Tailcup Lupine 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Aboveground parts of tailcup lupine are generally consumed by fire [55].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Some lupines are fire survivors and are present in the initial stages of
postfire plant succession [18].  Tailcup lupine is favored or relatively
unaffected by fire in sagebrush or pinyon-juniper habitats.  It also
germinates from buried seed after fire [33,52].  Pechanec [29] stated
that top-killed plants may make a ready recovery and rapid increase in
vigor, but an increase in plant numbers must await seed production,
usually in the second growing season after burning.

In sagebrush-grassland habitats of the Upper Snake River Plains, Idaho,
intense fire resulted in lower postfire forb production, most likely due
to the destruction of buried seeds.  Lupines (Lupinus caudatus and L.
leucophyllus), however, were favored by burning.  Biomass production of
the two species at postfire year 12 years is as follows [4]:

                           lbs/acre               kg/ha
           _____________________________________________________
           Unburned          2.3                   2.6
           Light burn        3.6                   4.1
           Moderate burn     5.4                   6.1
           Heavy burn       54.4                  61.2

In sagebrush habitats in the Great Basin Rate of Spread Study, done in
Nevada, there was a flush of forb growth, including tailcup lupine,
following fire.  This growth was attributed to heat breaking seed
dormancy, increased available nutrients, and possibly the removal of
inhibitory compounds in shrub litter [33].  Following the Red Rock Fire
in Nevada, tailcup lupine increased steadily in density in the first 4
postfire years [54].

Tailcup lupine was present 4 years after severe natural fires in
pinyon-juniper stands in Colorado, with a postfire frequency of 8
percent.  Its frequency on sites burned 29 years earlier was 2 percent,
but it was not present in a 90-year-old burn in the same area [10].
Tailcup lupine was present in all stages of postfire succession in
pinyon-juniper habitats in Nevada and California.  Occurence and cover
percentages follow [21]:

Successional stage    Years since fire         Occurence              Cover
_____________________________________________________________________________
Early                     0-1                     46.0                 9.0
Early-Mid                 4-8                     20.0                 7.0
Mid                      15-17                    32.0                 0.0
Mid-Late                 22-60                    25.0                13.0
Late                      60+                     19.0                 0.0

Some authors report that tailcup lupine is slightly to moderately damaged
by fire [29,31,38].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Species: Lupinus caudatus | Tailcup Lupine