FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Melilotus officinalis | Yellow Sweetclover 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Fire can damage tissues of yellow sweetclover, particularly the crown
buds of second-year plants.  If these are killed by an early spring
fire, the plant cannot produce any new stems.  Fire can kill or injure
stems at the base [30].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Fire kill of the crown buds of second year effectively kills the plant.
Death or injury to branched stems at the base will severely retard new
growth; once the crown buds have expanded, new growth occur from the tip
of branches and from buds in branch axils.  No additional top growth
will occur after stems have been severed or killed below the axil of the
lowest lateral branch.  An early May fire appears to result in a
decrease in second-year plants and an increase in first-year plants.  A
July fire appears to decrease both first and second year plants, and a
fall burn results in increased winter mortality if it occurs at or
before the critical growth period [30].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Burning aids establishment of yellow sweetclover on grassland, probably
because it aids germination of seeds through scarification and by
creating openings in which sweetclover can establish. If the management
goal is to establish yellow sweetclover, then an early spring fire would
be recommended [30].

If the management goal is to suppress yellow sweetclover, there are
three strategies that may achieve that objective.  The first strategy is
an annual early May fire once the second-year shoots are visible.  The
second strategy involves burning every second year in July before the
second-year plants have ripened seed.  The third strategy is to burn
annually near the beginning of the critical growth period.  Whether the
presence of the sweetclover is more damaging than the fire regime to the
management objectives is a question that should be considered.  A
rotational scheme of this type of management is recommended:  divide the
area into plots that undergo different treatments and alter treatments
over time [30,33].

Related categories for Species: Melilotus officinalis | Yellow Sweetclover