FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Achnatherum speciosum | Desert Needlegrass 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Fire probably top-kills desert needlegrass.  Most needlegrasses (Achnatherum 
spp.), especially young plants, are very susceptible to fire damage
[41].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Surviving tufts of desert needlegrass probably will sprout.

Two years after a lightning fire on the Nevada Test Site, many new
seedlings and surviving bunches of desert needlegrass were present [12].
Fire did not kill belowground root crowns.

In pinyon-juniper woodlands of the Great Basin, desert needlegrass was
one of the perennial grasses that remained the same or increased in
frequency 15 to 17 years after fire [14].

A recent (number of postfire years not mentioned) fire in pinyon (Pinus
edulis)-juniper rangeland resulted in 1,271 pounds per acre (1,425
kg/ha) of desert needlegrass compared with nonburned production of 612
pounds per acre (686 kg/ha) [29].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Season of burning may be critical to desert needlegrass survival.  Early
summer fires caused higher mortality than fall fires in other
needlegrass species (needle-and-thread (Nassella comata) and Thurber
needlegrass) populations [41].

Related categories for Species: Achnatherum speciosum | Desert Needlegrass