FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Acacia greggii | Catclaw Acacia 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Fires generally top-kill catclaw acacia.  In southern California, a July
wildfire in a chaparral-desert ecotone resulted in nearly all catclaw
acacia plants being charred and defoliated, but less than 10 percent of
the plants were killed [53].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Following top-kill by fire, catclaw acacia survives by producing
numerous sprouts from the root crown [25,49,53].  Following a July fire
in a chaparral-desert ecotone in southern California, more than 90
percent of catclaw acacia plants survived by sprouting [53].  Similarly,
a high percentage of plants resprouted following a fire in south-central
Arizona [49].  Plants started sprouting within 2 months after the
California fire.  Regrowth following this southern California wildfire
is summarized below [53]:

                                       Average length of sprouts

                    Average #      Mesic canyon        Xeric ridge
                  sprouts/plant   (inches)  (cm)      (inches)  (cm)

2 months after   
fire (Sept)           30            1.7      4.3        ---      ---

4 months after
fire (Nov)            90            8.6     21.8        5.7     14.6 
  
7 months after  
fire (Feb)            89           10.1     25.7        7.0     17.8
             
10 months after
fire (June)           166          13.0     33.0        4.8     12.1


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Species: Acacia greggii | Catclaw Acacia