FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Festuca rubra | Red Fescue 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Red fescue culms and leaves are probably killed by fire.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
No information was available on short-term response of red fescue to
fire.

A wildfire on the border of northern British Columbia and Yukon
Territory burned 19,768 acres (8,000 ha) over a 13-day period in July
1988.  The dominant tree species were lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta)
and black spruce (Picea mariana) which were about 120 years old.  By the
fifth postfire year, red fescue was the only herb on the wet lower slope
providing more than 1 percent cover, although it had spotty
distribution.  Red fescue was present only in trace amounts at other
sites [60].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Red fescue can be used to revegetate burns.  Red fescue was broadcast
seeded on November 1, 1944, on a burned area near Priest River, Idaho.
Elevation was 2,500 feet (762 m).  The area had been covered with
Douglas-fir, western larch (Larix occidentalis), and grand fir (Abies
grandis).  After seeding, plots were fenced; light grazing was allowed
after 1945.  Red fescue established fair to excellent stands.  Red
fescue prevented brush encroachment, and ponderosa pine (Pinus
ponderosa) seedlings were abundant by 1955.  By 1960 trees dominated
the seeded area and few grasses or legumes were left [70].

Red fescue and other seeds were used to revegetate burned land in the
Peace River region of northern Canada.  Wildfires burned 1,000,000 acres
(404,700 ha) of wooded land in September 1950.  Following the fire,
depth of ash ranged from 1 to 3 inches (2.5-7.6 cm).  Seeding was done
in October 1950 and in early April the following spring.  Snow covered
the ash at both seeding times and the burned soil and debris were
disturbed as little as possible.  Time of seeding did not influence the
establishment of red rescue.  Percent ground cover was determined in the
first and fifth growing seasons after seeding.  Red fescue cover varied
from 72 to 83 percent in 1952 and from 17 to 80 percent in 1955 [3].

Discussion of effects of seeding after fire on recovery of other native
species is not available in the literature.  Since red fescue can
outcompete other native species on disturbed sites in both temperate and
arctic communities [15,89], it may also do so on burned sites.

The red fescue cultivar "Clatsop" was selected from native vegetation on
the coastal dunes of Oregon.  "Clatsop" grows during the summer as well
as during the cooler seasons; this continued growth reduces the hazard
of wildfires on dunes [29].

Red fescue seed-producing fields can be burned after harvest to kill
weed seeds, discourage diseases and harmful insects, and prevent red
fescue stands from becoming too thick [34].  For successful burning,
soil and sod should be dry and the plants in semidormancy.  Weather
should be hot and dry, with enough wind to produce a quick, thorough
fire.  Flammable material should be well distributed to prevent hot
spot fires.  Burning should be done each year; old, thick sods burn
slowly and with too much heat for plant survival [34,88].

Related categories for Species: Festuca rubra | Red Fescue