• FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS
• POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY

FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS:

The major adaptation of western wheatgrass to fire is its rhizomatous growth form [151]. Western wheatgrass is characterized by loosely clustered, coarse culms with a minimum of leafy material. During a fire these culms usually burn rapidly with little heat transferred downward into meristematic tissue.

Fire did not alter species composition after fire in a South Dakota mixed-grass prairie community containing western wheatgrass [158]. This may not be true of all communities in which western wheatgrass occurs. To learn more about the fire regimes in specific communities in which western wheatgrass occurs, refer to the FEIS summary for those species, under "Fire Ecology or Adaptations."

POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY:

Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil

Related categories for SPECIES: Pascopyrum smithii | Western Wheatgrass