• FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS
• POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY

FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS:

Little information is available on big galleta's response or adaptations to fire. However, other species of the Pleuraphis genus have been studied. Following fire, galleta sprouts from rhizomes [24] and tobosa grass (P. mutica) sprouts from rhizomes and the basal root crown [6,34].

In the Mohave Desert, big galleta communities generally have fuels too sparse to carry fire. However, fire may occur in big galleta swales where density of the grass is great enough to support the spread of fire [23].

Fire regimes for plant communities in which big galleta occurs are summarized below. For further information regarding fire regimes and fire ecology of communities where big galleta is found, see the `Fire Ecology and Adaptations' section of the FEIS species summary for the plant community or ecosystem dominants.

 

Community Dominant	Range of Fire Return Interval
Pinus edulis	10-49 years [8]
P. cembroides	20-70 years [33,48]
Cercocarpus ledifolius*	10-1,350 350 years [1,43]

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* fire return interval varies widely; trends in variation are noted in the species summary

POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY:

Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil

Related categories for SPECIES: Pleuraphis rigida | Big Galleta