FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Leymus salinus | Salina Wildrye 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
No information could be located in the avialable literature concerning
the effect of fire on Salina wildrye.  This bunchgrass typically forms
somewhat large, well spaced bunches that are rather densely packed [2];
in addition, crowns are characterized by coarse stems and leaves [44].
Such attributes suggest that plants burn somewhat quickly with little
heat transferred downward into the crown [52].  As a result, basal buds
located at or just below the ground surface are not subjected to
prolonged heating and probably survive to resprout.  The rhizomatous
nature of this species, especially in more mesic situations, also
suggests that Salina wildrye is moderately resistant to fire mortality.
Summarized fire effects information for basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus),
a morphologically similar buchgrass, is presented below; the extent to
which this information applies to Salina wildrye is presently unknown.

Few studies have documented detailed fire effects information concerning
basin wildrye.  Generally this cool-season bunchgrass is recognized as
being quite resistant to fire mortality [10,51].  Range and others [33]
reported that the coarse stems and leaves of basin wildrye are
remarkablly resistant to high intensity burning.  Bunchgrass crowns
characterized by coarse stems and leaves are generally considered to be
less prone to prolonged burning than fine-leaved bunchgrasses such as
Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis) [50,52]; during burning little heat is
transferred downward into the crown and basal buds located at or just
below the surface of the ground are not subjected to prolonged heating.
Although basin wildrye plants are frequently reduced to charred stubble
and typically exhibit reduced basal diameters immediately following
burning, the majority survive to resprout.  Resprouting usually occurs
from the root crown.  Apparently some ecotypes are also able to
regenerate via rhizomes [20,35,57]; however, the literature contains
little information as to the nature of rhizome location or depth in this
species.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
Results of prescribed burns conducted on sagebrush-grass communities in
Nevada suggest that basin wildrye plants burned in late August suffer
more damage than those burned in early October [33,57].  One tagged
plant died following late summer burning; unfortunately, no preburn data
was reported for this individual.  On a similar study site, these
researchers tagged a 10 inch (25 cm) diameter plant.  The late August
burn reduced this plant to stubble, burning with an intensity of 280
btu/ft/sec and a rate of spread of 25 ft/min (660 btu/ft sq); basal
crown temperature reached a maximum of 1,500 degrees F (815 degrees C)
[57].  Although surviving summer burning, this individual developed a
dead center within 2 years.  In contrast, relatively large diameter
plants are remarkably resistant to fire mortality when burning occurs in
the fall.  An extremely intense October burn (3,770 btu/ft/sec with a
rate of spread of 40 ft/min) merely defoliated two basin wildrye plants
whose basal diameters measured 26 inches (65 cm) and 19.6inches (49 cm).
Immediately following burning, plant crowns consisted of blackened stems
and leaves measuring 4.8 inches (12 cm) in height.  Fire survival is
generally thought to be more inhibited in large diameter bunches where
dense stubble accumulations can generate hot fires within the crown
[50],53].  Rough fescue (Festuca scabrella) is a native bunchgrass which
is somewhat similar to basin wildrye in that plants can attain large
diameter crowns which are characterized by coarse-stemmed, densely
tufted culm bases.  Antos and others [1] reported that fescue mortality
can be quite high following hot midsummer wildfires on mountain
grassland sites in westcentral Montana.  On these sites reduced fire
frequencies had produced heavy litter accumulations within large
bunches; survival appeared to be inhibited in plants where crown
diameters exceeded 7.8 inches (20 cm).


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Fire response information for Salina wildrye has not been well
documented in the available literature.  Circumstantial evidence
suggests that this densely tufted bunchgrass is well adapted to
disturbance by fire since plants are most often associated with xeric
hillsides [2].  Fire response information for basin wildrye (Leymus
cinereus), a morphologically similar bunchgrass, is summarized below.
It is presently unknown the degree to which this information can be
applied to fire response in Salina wildrye.  This species commonly
occupies rocky sites that have probably burned less frequently but
perhaps with more severity than the saline and/or alkaine lowland and
upland sites charateristically occupied by basin wildrye; this suggests
that postburn reestablishment and response may be somewhat different
between these two bunchgrasses.  The more rhizomatous nature of Salina
wildrye [19,49] indicates that plants are probalbly more tolerant of
higher severity fires than basin wildrye; however, both species
apparently exhibit low seed germination and poor seedling vigor [32].

Basin wildrye is quite tolerant of burning; generally plants are
stimulated by fire and recover quite rapidly on most sites [28,36,40].
Recent studies involving late season burning on sagebrush-grassland
communities in Nevada indicate that although plants suffer initial
decreases in basal diameter and height, the majority regain preburn
measurements within approximately 4 years [57].  Resprouting typically
occurs from basal buds.  Apparently some ecotypes are also able to
regenerate via rhizomes; however, the literature contains little
information as to the nature of rhizome location or depth.  Residual
plant survival appears to be the predominant mode of postburn
regeneration in this bunchgrass.  Although basin wildrye exhibits
considerable ecotypic variation in seed habits [41,48], Young and Evans
[56] reported that yield, viability and germination of wildrye seed from
central Great Basin stands is typically quite low.  Seedbed requirements
for this grass are virtually unstudied and its presently unknown whether
exposed mineral soil is more condusive than litter for successful
seedling establishment.  Presumablly off-site seed sources also play a
limited role in the postburn reestablishment of basin wildrye.  Basin
wildrye invaded and established dense stands on widely dispersed badger
diggings within mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp.
vaseyana) communities in Utah; except for its occurence on these
disturbed sites, this bunchgrass was a rare component of the community
[46].

Individual postburn plant response in basin wildrye is sometimes quite
dramatic [11,16].  Zschaechner [57] reported that despite a reduction in
basal diameter immediately following an October prescribed burn, one
basin wildrye plant recovered its preburn basal diameter within 2 years;
by the end of the fourth postburn growing season, crown diameter had
nearly doubled and height was 142% of the original.  Fall burning is
most often recognized as being least damaging to this cool-season
bunchgrass [45,52]; plants also recover rapidly from early spring
burning [7,16,23,47].  In Washington, Daubenmire [13] observed that
basin wildrye remained vigorous and productive following repeated annual
burning (season not indicated) of basin wildrye/saltgrass (Leymus
cinereus/Distichlis stricta) habitat types.

Trends in postburn frequencies and coverages of basin wildrye have
received little documentation.  Even though production is consistently
enhanced after fire, in many degraded plant communities thoroughout the
Great Basin this species does not occur in sufficient quantities to
contribute significantly to postburn vegetative cover.  On many sites,
postfire abundance of basin wildrye does not change significantly for
the first several years [16,36,47].  In big sagebrush/ Thurber
needlegrass (Artemisia tridenta/Stipa thurberiana) communities in
Nevada, Young and Evans [55] reported that densities of basin wildrye
remained constant at .02 plants/ square meter for upto 2 years following
a mid-season wildfire; densities during the third and fourth postburn
seasons declined to .01 plants / square meter when sites were subjected
to intense cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) invasion.  Researching
successional patterns on a series of increasingly older burns within
sagebrush-grassland communities in southeastern Idaho, Humphrey [21]
found that basin wildrye was a prominent species in almost all stages of
vegetational development.  On these sites, coverages of basin wildrye
gradually increased to a maximum relative cover of 6% on 17 year old
burns; apparently this species was present on 25 to 35 year old burn
sites, but in lower abundances.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Species: Leymus salinus | Salina Wildrye