FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Peltigera aphthosa | Green Dog Lichen 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Lichens, including P. aphthosa, are destroyed by fire [26].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Members of the genus Peltigera often establish in moss mats within 5
years following fire [43].  In burned areas, P. aphthosa may occur in
the most lightly burned or unburned spots, and then spread out
vegetatively [26].

In s black spruce (Picea mariana)/feathermoss (Pleurozium
schreberi)-Cladonia plant community in Alaska, P. aphthosa was present
in unburned controls, but was not found on burned or fireline sites in
the first 9 years after a fire [40].  Peltigera aphthosa did not survive
severe burning in the Wickersham Dome Fire near Fairbanks, Alaska.  On
severely burned black spruce and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)
sites, P. aphthosa was not present in the first 3 years following the
fire.  It had control plot frequencies of 20 and 5 percent, respectively
[41].  Lichens, including P. aphthosa, were not present the first year
after the 1950 Porcupine River Fire in Alaska.  Other members of the
genus Peltigera appeared by postfire year 4, but P. aphthosa appeared
late and expanded very slowly for the next 30 years.  It eventually
became dominant among lichens on mineral soil [13].  Peltigera aphthosa
had the following frequency and cover percentages on mesic black spruce
sites in the taiga of interior Alaska [12]:

                         Years since fire         cover       frequency
_________________________________________________________________________
Newly burned                    0-1                 0              0
Moss-herb                       1-5               >0.5            1.0
Tall shrub-sapling              5-30               1.0            9.0
Dense tree                     30-55              >0.5           31.0
Mixed hardwood-spruce          56-90              >0.5           13.0
Spruce                         91-200+            >0.5            2.0


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Lichens often serve as an initial point of ignition in woodlands and
tundra, and have an essential role in the spread of fire.  Lichens dry
rapidly during periods of low relative humidity because of their absence
of roots and water storage tissue, and low resistance to water loss.
Dry lichens resemble dead litter more than live tissue in their
susceptibility to fire.  Continuous lichen mats present an uninterrupted
surface along which fire spreads.  They typically accumulate tree and
shrub litter, which adds to their flammability [3].

The slow growth of lichens is widely recognized [2,38].  Lichen mats may
take 70 to 100 years to regain former abundance [34].  However, some
studies indicate that fire may increase lichen cover, especially where a
thick moss carpet has developed [43].  In the northern boreal lichen
belt, lichen mats may be increased by burning sphagnum peatlands, black
spruce muskegs and forests, or tundra heaths.  Fires in these
communities results in lichen mats in some 40 to 50 years.  Because
black spruce and mosses occur in later seres than do lichens, good
lichen growth persists for at least 100 years [2].

Related categories for Species: Peltigera aphthosa | Green Dog Lichen