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You are here >1Up Info > Wildlife, Animals, and Plants > Plant Species > Graminoid > SPECIES: Festuca altaica | Rough Fescue
 

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FIRE CASE STUDIES

SPECIES: Festuca altaica | Rough Fescue

CASE NAME:


Alberta plains rough fescue study

REFERENCES:


Gerling, H. S.; Bailey, A. W.; Willms, W. D. 1995 [40]

FIRE CASE STUDY AUTHORSHIP:


Tirmenstein, D. 2000.

SEASON/SEVERITY CLASSIFICATION:


spring, summer, fall/not reported

STUDY LOCATION:


The study took place on the University of Alberta's ranch at Kinsella, Alberta. It is located 93 miles (150 km) southeast of Edmonton, Alberta.

PREFIRE VEGETATIVE COMMUNITY:


The prefire community was an "almost pure" stand of plains rough fescue (Festuca altaica ssp. hallii) that had been ungrazed for 13 years. Porcupine grass (Hesperostipa curtiseta) occurred on drier sites with minor bearded wheatgrass (Elymus trachycaulus), goldenrod (Solidago spp.), cerastium (Cerastium spp.), thickspike wheatgrass (E. lanceolatus), and sedges (Carex spp.) including blunt sedge (C. obtusata).

PLANT SPECIES PHENOLOGICAL STATE:


Burns were conducted on 5 separate treatment dates:

1) April 8th immediately after snowmelt (plants had not yet initiated growth)
2) April 27th (during initiation of growth)
3) June 1st (prior to anthesis)
4) July 31st (following seedset)
5) October 19th (during period of slow growth)

SITE DESCRIPTION:


The study site was located on Viking moraine consisting of loam-sandy loam soil with average annual precipitation of 17 inches (422 mm).

FIRE DESCRIPTION:


All prescribed burns were conducted in late afternoon using a headfire. Wind speeds ranged up to 5 miles per hour (8 km/hour) with gusts to 14 miles per hour (22 km/hour). Total herbaceous fuel ranged from 9,360 to 11,540 kg/ha. Two defoliation treatments (burning and mowing) were examined on 5 dates in a factorial experiment arranged in a split-plot design with 8 replicates. Site fuel and weather conditions at times of burning were:

Burn 1) April 8th - high moisture content of fallen litter resulted in mostly standing fuel burning and only 43% consumption

Burn 2) April 27th - moisture content of litter was 29% when the fire temperatures were highest

Burn 3) June 1st - no additional information

Burn 4) July 31st - conditions were driest on July 31st, but precipitation at the time of burning increased moisture of the standing fuel

Burn 5) October 19th - greatest percentage of fuel burned on this date

  Air temperature (oC) Relative humidity (%)
burn 1 9 38
burn 2 42 25
burn 3 21 35
burn 4 26 33
burn 5 18 34

  Total fuel Moisture content (%) Fire temp.* Fuel consumed
  (kg/ha) standing fuel fallen litter soil (oC) (%)
burn 1  11,540 38 51 43 225 43
burn 2  9,360 10 29 34 261 64
burn 3  10,380 33 33 23 224 51
burn 4  9,920 50 10 16 257 71
burn 5  11,300 33 25 26 234 74
*Approximate fire temperature was recorded using temperature pellets, each designed to melt at a specific temperature. These were arranged on a asbestos card, covered with mica and positioned 4 inches (10 cm) above ground level. This was the height at which maximum temperature occurred in this grassland.

FIRE EFFECTS ON PLANT SPECIES:


Tiller density increased after burning or mowing (with harvester and lawn mower) in each treatment. The standing crop of plains rough fescue produced in the first growing season after treatment was decreased. Defoliation in early spring had little effect on the standing crop of plains rough fescue, however. The inflorescence density increased after burning or mowing on April 8th and June 1st. Plains rough fescue recovered to prefire levels by the 2nd year after burning following 1 spring or 1 fall burn. Details are as given below.

Yield of rough fescue herbage (kg/ha) produced in the current year, harvested in August 1978 after burning or mowing:

1978
  Burn 1 Burn 2 Burn 3 Burn 4 Burn 5
burned 2,491 1,702 972 ---- ----
mowed 2,153 1,663 1,026 ---- ----
control 2,885 3,427 3,386 ---- ----

1979
  Burn 1 Burn 2 Burn 3 Burn 4 Burn 5
burned 4,105 3,839 3,265 2,644 2,475
mowed 4,213 3,842 3,183 2,461, 2,353
control 3,733 4,182 3,917 3,675 3,566

Tiller density (number/m2) of plains rough fescue in 1978 and 1979 (after treatment in 1978):

1978
  Burn 1 Burn 2 Burn 3 Burn 4 Burn 5
burned 6,599 6,463 5,747 ---- ----
mowed 6,200 6,928 5,019 ---- ----
control 5,572 5,172 4,719 ---- ----

1979
  Burn 1 Burn 2 Burn 3 Burn 4 Burn 5
burned 11,588 11,075 9,613 10,850 11,313
mowed 10,525 10,738 10,125 11,200 10,975
control 7,975 7,125 8,575 8,013 7,500

Length (cm) of longest leaf of 2-leaf tillers of plains rough fescue in 1978 and 1979 (after treatment in 1978):

1978

  Burn 1 Burn 2 Burn 3 Burn 4 Burn 5
burned  30.15 25.8 24.7 ---- ----
mowed  28.0 22.2 21.6 ---- ----
control  39.8 42.5 39.2 ---- ----

1979
  Burn 1 Burn 2 Burn 3 Burn 4 Burn 5
burned  43.0 38.9 34.4 24.2 28.6
mowed  42.3 38.9 34.2 25.9 27.2
control  48.4 50.7 49.8 49.0 50.7

Leaf growth (cm) of plains rough fescue over a 9-day period in June, 1979:

1978
  Burn 1 Burn 2 Burn 3 Burn 4 Burn 5
burned  3.6 3.4 3.2 1.9 2.5
mowed  3.8 3.3 2.9 1.9 2.4
control  6.7 6.3 6.0 6.9 6.9

1979
  Burn 1 Burn 2 Burn 3 Burn 4 Burn 5
burned  48 66 61 2 3
mowed  45 68 88 3 12
control  12 12 12 15 7

FIRE MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS:


Plains rough fescue grasslands are tolerant of fire and can be maintained with fire. Spring burns may, in some instances, be more beneficial than fall burns. (Spring burns reduced standing herbage and tiller length the least, but increased inflorescence density the most). Annual burning in plains rough fescue grasslands stopped invasion of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides).

Related categories for SPECIES: Festuca altaica | Rough Fescue

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Information Courtesy: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Fire Effects Information System

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