FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Calamagrostis purpurascens | Purple Pinegrass 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Purple pinegrass mortality following fire has not been widely
documented.  Fire, however, will presumably kill aboveground vegetation
of purple pinegrass.  Severe fires may kill belowground rhizomes.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Purple pinegrass will typically colonize sites after fire through
wind-dispersed seeds [8].  After low-severity fires this grass will
presumably sprout from on-site surviving rhizomes.  In the Rockies of
Alaska, purple pinegrass typically invades dry south-facing slopes after
fire.  This grass will persist here until the canopy closes; this
process, however, appears to be very slow in many places [8].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
In subalpine and alpine habitats where purple pinegrass commonly occurs,
vegetation recovers slowly from disturbance because of the cold climate
and short growing season [7,8].  The exposed nature of these sites may
increase the possibility of lightning strike, but the lack of fuels
reduces the likelihood of fire spreading through the stand.  The
subalpine grasslands that form the early successional stage may last a
century or more [7].

Related categories for Species: Calamagrostis purpurascens | Purple Pinegrass