FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Achnatherum richardsonii | Richardson Needlegrass 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Specific fire effects probably depend largely on season of burn,
phenology, and fire intensity and severity.  Generally, needlegrasses
(Achnatherum spp.) are top-killed by fire.  Occasionally, a few culms may
survive along the periphery of the crown.  When fire severity is
moderate to high, heat may be transferred below the soil surface,
damaging roots and killing the plant.  Needlegrasses often exhibit
subsurface charring following fire [37].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Production of most needlegrasses is initially reduced by fire; the
degree of reduction appears dependent on species and season of burn
[11].  In southwestern Montana, however, production of Richardson
needlegrass in a rough fescue habitat type with a heavy preburn canopy
of mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata var. vaseyana) increased
from 4 pounds per acre (1.8 kg/ha) to 306 pounds per acre (137.7 kg/ha)
2 years after a spring prescribed fire.  Basal area and biomass of most
needlegrasses are also often reduced following fire, with basal area
commonly being reduced by as much as 50 percent [37].  Small needlegrass
plants with a lower ratio of dead to living plant material and less fuel
volume generally respond more favorably to fire than do larger plants
[37].  Richardson needlegrass is nonrhizomatous; therefore postfire
regeneration is through seed or sprouting by surviving plants [10].
 


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Elimination of large scale fires has enabled coniferous forests to
encroach into grassland habitats.  Fire policy in Glacier National
Park before 1972 favored the development of coniferous forests at the
expense of fescue grasslands [16].  Fire policies should assure the
preservation of vegetation types such as the fescue grassland, of which
Richardson needlegrass is an important component [16].  

Related categories for Species: Achnatherum richardsonii | Richardson Needlegrass