FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Hesperostipa spartea | Porcupine Grass 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
All aboveground portions of porcupine grass are destroyed by fire.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Kruse and Higgins [29] reported porcupine grass both increasing and
decreasing following spring burns.  Four studies reported favorable
responses after spring burns which occurred from April 30 to May 26
[3,7,27,38], while four reported neutral or negative responses after
burning between April 9 and May 8 [2,20,25,52].  Positive effects
include increased seed production and flowering [3,38], an increase in
total biomass [7], and an increase in cover [27].  Negative effects
include a decrease in cover [2,25] and a reduction in culm production
[20].  Porcupine grass was listed as actively growing in one study [25],
and growing season precipitation was lower than normal in another study
[20], which may account for the negative responses.

The majority of the studies provided insufficient information for direct
comparison of the effects of burning in different seasons.  A general
statement about cool-season grasses is that they are harmed by late
spring burns when actively growing.  The four studies which gave results
contradicting this did not report the phenological stage of porcupine
grass prior to burning.



DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
Twenty-five years of annual burning decreased cover of western porcupine
grass in east-central Alberta.  No season or intensity of fire was given
[1].  Annual spring burns (late April to early May) in two Minnesota
studies favored porcupine grass [43,50].  Burning was conducted to
return the area to pre-settlement oak savannah woodlands [50], and to
determine the effects of fire on an aspen-prairie ecotone [43].

Fall burning (October 3) reduced canopy coverage and seed production.
The growth stage was not determined prior to the fire [3].



FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Due to the varied results under similar burning conditions, it is
difficult to make accurate management recommendations. 

Related categories for Species: Hesperostipa spartea | Porcupine Grass