• IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT
• DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT
• PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE
• DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE
• FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT:

Indian ricegrass has not been the subject of intensive research. Pechanec and others [90] report that it is slightly damaged by fire. However, in Utah, Ralphs and others [96] note that is "moderately damaged" by fire. According to West [118], plants are generally killed by fire.

DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT:

No entry

PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE:

Indian ricegrass regenerates from seed following fire [118]. In western and central Utah, Indian ricegrass may represent important cover on burned areas and often exhibits good growth characteristics. Low culm density reduces charring of crowns below soil, thereby protecting growing points. Spring burning in Utah did little damage to Indian ricegrass, and growth began within 3 weeks after burning [124]. In Nevada, summer wildfires reduced the basal area of Indian ricegrass, but little mortality was observed [122]. Rapid postfire responses such as these suggest that Indian ricegrass may also sprout from tillers.

Postburn cover of Indian ricegrass may be more a function of preburn conditions rather than length of time since disturbance [41]

DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE:

In singleleaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla)-Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) communities of the Great Basin, Everett [41] reported that Indian ricegrass could increase in density soon after fire. Postfire recovery time of Indian ricegrass is listed as 2 to 4 years [124]. However, West and Hassan [119] report that only a small portion of preburn cover had been gained one year after a July burn in Utah. Specific values are as follows [119]:

                    1981(prefire)    1982      1983 
mean kg/ha   50.03                14.59     48.96 

After an annual early spring burn of grassland-shrublands in Canada, canopy cover and frequency of Indian ricegrass increased significantly (p<0.005) [7]:

frequency (%)              canopy cover (%)  
unburned   burned         unburned     burned
3               16                0.1               0.6

On burned pinyon-juniper (Colorado pinyon (Pinus edulis)-Utah juniper) sites in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, Indian ricegrass and other perennial grasses dominated the site by the fourth year after fire [40].  

FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:

Annual burning may produce a more arid environment than usually found in fescue (Festuca spp.) prairie, favoring mixed-prairie grasses such as Indian ricegrass.

Some changes in postfire nutritional characteristics have been reported. Specific values are as follows [19]:

                 Aboveground Root     Total N SiO²     Total K        Total Si0²     K
                 biomass (g)                 biomass (g)       (mg), (%)     (mg), (%)    (mg)

unburned   1.60                             0.35                  47 (2.0)        34 (1.7)       27
burned       1.27                             0.26                  39 (4.0)       49  (1.7)       22

Related categories for SPECIES: Achnatherum hymenoides | Indian Ricegrass