FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Collema tenax | Black Lichen 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Lichens in general are destroyed by fire [24].  Rangeland fires can
severely damage all components of soil crusts, including C. tenax [17].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Information on the response of C. tenax to fire is sparse.  However,
after a 1977 fire in shadscale-black greasewood habitats of Camp Floyd
State Park, Utah, C. tenax was the first colonizer to invade the burned
area.  It was present on burned sites and in unburned controls with the
following cover percentages [18]:

                      1980              1982
            _____________________________________
            Burned     0.1               2.3
          Unburned     5.2               5.8


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Application of soil crust slurries to burned areas of a black
greasewood-shadscale community in central Utah resulted in rapid
stabilization of the soil due to crust reestablishment (including the
establishment of C. tenax) [30].

Related categories for Species: Collema tenax | Black Lichen