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INTRODUCTORY
ABBREVIATION:ACEGLA SYNONYMS:Acer glabrum ssp. douglasii (Hook.) Wesmael [141] = Acer glabrum var. douglasii (Hook.) Dippel [155] NRCS PLANT CODE [321]:ACGL ACGLD3 ACGLD4 ACGLG2 ACGLG ACGLN2 ACGLT2 COMMON NAMES:Rocky Mountain maple mountain maple Douglas maple TAXONOMY:The currently accepted scientific name of Rocky Mountain maple is Acer glabrum Torr. (Aceraceae) [74,87,137,141,155,156,172,327,328]. Recognized infrataxa are as follows:
Acer glabrum var. diffusum (Greene) Smiley [136,155,328] LIFE FORM:Tree-shrub FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS:No special status OTHER STATUS:No entry AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION:Anderson, Michelle D. (2001, September). Acer glabrum. In: Remainder of Citation DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION:The distribution of Rocky Mountain maple extends from Alaska south to California, Arizona, and New Mexico [1,42,46,62,103,141,156,203,243,263,328] and east to Alberta, the Black Hills of South Dakota, and Nebraska [66,74,172,243,328]. Rocky Mountain maple has also been reported in Mexico [255]. The U.S. Geological Survey provides a distributional map of Rocky Mountain maple. ECOSYSTEMS [106]:FRES20 Douglas-fir FRES21 Ponderosa pine FRES22 Western white pine FRES23 Fir-spruce FRES24 Hemlock-Sitka spruce FRES25 Larch FRES26 Lodgepole pine FRES27 Redwood FRES28 Western hardwoods FRES29 Sagebrush FRES34 Chaparral-mountain shrub FRES35 Pinyon-juniper FRES36 Mountain grasslands FRES37 Mountain meadows STATES:
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS [39]:1 Northern Pacific Border 2 Cascade Mountains 3 Southern Pacific Border 4 Sierra Mountains 5 Columbia Plateau 6 Upper Basin and Range 8 Northern Rocky Mountains 9 Middle Rocky Mountains 10 Wyoming Basin 11 Southern Rocky Mountains 12 Colorado Plateau 15 Black Hills Uplift 16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands KUCHLER [170] PLANT ASSOCIATIONS:K001 Spruce-cedar-hemlock forest K002 Cedar-hemlock-Douglas-fir forest K003 Silver fir-Douglas-fir forest K004 Fir-hemlock forest K005 Mixed conifer forest K006 Redwood forest K007 Red fir forest K008 Lodgepole pine-subalpine forest K010 Ponderosa shrub forest K011 Western ponderosa forest K012 Douglas-fir forest K013 Cedar-hemlock-pine forest K014 Grand fir-Douglas-fir forest K015 Western spruce-fir forest K016 Eastern ponderosa forest K017 Black Hills pine forest K018 Pine-Douglas-fir forest K019 Arizona pine forest K020 Spruce-fir-Douglas-fir forest K021 Southwestern spruce-fir forest K022 Great Basin pine forest K023 Juniper-pinyon woodland K024 Juniper steppe woodland K025 Alder-ash forest K026 Oregon oakwoods K028 Mosaic of K002 and K026 K029 California mixed evergreen forest K030 California oakwoods K032 Transition between K031 and K037 K034 Montane chaparral K036 Mosaic of K030 and K035 K037 Mountain-mahogany-oak scrub K055 Sagebrush steppe SAF COVER TYPES [94]:201 White spruce 202 White spruce-paper birch 203 Balsam poplar 204 Black spruce 205 Mountain hemlock 206 Engelmann spruce-subalpine fir 207 Red fir 208 Whitebark pine 209 Bristlecone pine 210 Interior Douglas-fir 211 White fir 212 Western larch 213 Grand fir 215 Western white pine 216 Blue spruce 217 Aspen 218 Lodgepole pine 219 Limber pine 220 Rocky Mountain juniper 221 Red alder 222 Black cottonwood-willow 223 Sitka spruce 224 Western hemlock 225 Western hemlock-Sitka spruce 226 Coastal true fir-hemlock 227 Western redcedar-western hemlock 228 Western redcedar 229 Pacific Douglas-fir 230 Douglas-fir-western hemlock 231 Port-Orford-cedar 232 Redwood 233 Oregon white oak 234 Douglas-fir-tanoak-Pacific madrone 235 Cottonwood-willow 237 Interior ponderosa pine 238 Western juniper 239 Pinyon-juniper 243 Sierra Nevada mixed conifer 244 Pacific ponderosa pine-Douglas-fir 245 Pacific ponderosa pine 246 California black oak 247 Jeffrey pine 248 Knobcone pine 249 Canyon live oak 250 Blue oak-foothills pine 251 White spruce-aspen 252 Paper birch 253 Black spruce-white spruce 254 Black spruce-paper birch 255 California coast live oak 256 California mixed subalpine SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES [283]:107 Western juniper/big sagebrush/bluebunch wheatgrass 109 Ponderosa pine shrubland 110 Ponderosa pine-grassland 201 Blue oak woodland 202 Coast live oak woodland 203 Riparian woodland 204 North coastal shrub 205 Coastal sage shrub 209 Montane shrubland 216 Montane meadows 322 Curlleaf mountain-mahogany-bluebunch wheatgrass 402 Mountain big sagebrush 411 Aspen woodland 412 Juniper-pinyon woodland 413 Gambel oak 415 Curlleaf mountain-mahogany 416 True mountain-mahogany 418 Bigtooth maple 419 Bittercherry 420 Snowbrush 421 Chokecherry-serviceberry-rose 422 Riparian 504 Juniper-pinyon pine woodland 509 Transition between oak-juniper woodland and mahogany-oak association 901 Alder 904 Black spruce-lichen 905 Bluejoint reedgrass 906 Broadleaf forest 907 Dryas 913 Low scrub swamp 917 Tall shrub swamp 920 White spruce-paper birch 921 Willow HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES:Rocky Mountain maple commonly occurs as an understory species in a variety of coniferous forest types, as well as in upland deciduous and riparian forests throughout its range. Rocky Mountain maple also occurs in a variety of mixed shrub vegetation [241,319]. Common Plant Associates: Common shrub associates in the northern part of Rocky
Mountain maple's range include
Pacific serviceberry (Amelanchier florida) [223],
sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) [223,269,328],
redstem ceanothus (Ceanothus sanguineus) [105,135,319],
snowbrush ceanothus (Ceanothus velutinus) [23,105,138,196,223,269],
birchleaf mountain-mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides) [297,313], curlleaf mountain-mahogany (C. ledifolius)
[35,200,223],
rock clematis (Clematis columbiana) [70,319],
Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii) [210], salal (Gaultheria shallon)
[69],
orange honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa) [319],
menziesia (Menziesia ferruginea) [8,226,257],
Pacific bayberry (Myrica californica) [210],
devil's club (Oplopanax horridus) [8,284],
Lewis' mockorange (Philadelphus lewisii) [64,319],
bittercherry (Prunus emarginata) [16,134,135,210,223,319],
bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) [223,269],
cascara (Rhamnus purshiana) [233,319],
bristly black currant (Ribes lacustre) [284],
baldhip rose (Rosa gymnocarpa) [91,284,319],
red raspberry (Rubus idaeus) [64,90,251],
blue elderberry (Sambucus cerulea) [16,210,233,319],
Greene mountain-ash (Sorbus scopulina) [16,75,90,205,233,284],
Sitka mountain-ash (S. sitchensis) [70,90,194],
white spirea (Spiraea betulifolia) [8,59,64,91,257],
tree spirea (Spiraea discolor) [69],
California laurel (Umbellularia californica) [297,313],
and big huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum) [91,151,257,264,284]. Associated species (southern): Common shrub associates occurring with Rocky Mountain maple in the southern part of its range include silvertip sedge (Carex foena) [236], true mountain-mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus) [242], cliffbush (Jamesia americana) [81,82,177,236], bush oceanspray (Holodiscus dumosa) [63,81,177,242], Arizona honeysuckle (Lonicera arizonica) [81,177], Texas mulberry (Morus microphylla) [191], mountain ninebark (Physocarpus monogynus) [81,82,177], black cherry (Prunus serotina) [97,191], smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) [242], and blueberry elder (Sambucus glauca) [48].
Plant Communities: Arizona [7,81,99,228,236,309] VALUE AND USE
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:Rocky Mountain maple is generally an important browse species for domestic livestock [150] and wildlife throughout its range [22,33,56,57,123,139,145,206,212,269,335]. In British Columbia, importance is low for caribou, moderate to high for elk and mule deer; high for mountain goats; and moderate for white-tailed deer, bighorn sheep [41], and moose [41,68]. Rocky Mountain maple is valuable for mule deer [163,223], moose [110,172], and elk [172,185,223] in the northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest, and it is preferred browse for big game animals in Wyoming [38]. Rocky Mountain maple is a potentially valuable forage species for deer and elk in Arizona [314]. Big game animals generally consume the buds and current annual twig growth [179]. However, Rocky Mountain maple often grows quickly out of reach [56,212]. Rocky Mountain maple is a principal forage species of shrubfields in the northern Rockies, which provide important winter range for deer and elk [21,70,102,179,180,196,288,326,334]. Though it is also browsed in the summer [157,286], Rocky Mountain may be heavily used in late fall and winter by mule deer and white-tailed deer [84,123,157,171,207,237,238]. It is also important winter browse for bighorn sheep [123,317], and elk [105,123,204,320,334]. Rocky Mountain maple is particularly important winter and spring moose browse [123,254,257,298]. Ruffed grouse in Idaho and blue grouse in Nevada eat the leaves and buds of Rocky Mountain maple [202]. Rocky Mountain maple seeds are also important forage for grosbeaks [172] and small mammals [172,287]. PALATABILITY:Rocky Mountain maple has poor to fair palatability for domestic livestock [85,247,325] and is palatable for big game animals [247]. It is moderately to highly palatable for deer, elk, and moose in the northern Rockies and British Columbia [25,69,105,131,145,179,273,325,335]. The palatability of Rocky Mountain maple for domestic livestock has been rated as follows [85]:
NUTRITIONAL VALUE:The nutrient content (%) of Rocky Mountain maple current annual growth from two sites in Idaho was as follows [25]:
Rocky Mountain maple has low winter nutritional value for moose in British Columbia. Samples collected had the following nutrient content (in % by dry weight): 5.9% protein, 2.4% ether extract, 33.3% crude fiber, and 54.2% nitrogen-free extract [68]. Rocky Mountain maple has fair energy value and poor protein value for domestic cattle, sheep and horses [85]. COVER VALUE:In early to mid stages of growth, Rocky Mountain maple provides hiding cover for big game animals as well as small mammals and birds [81,142,195,325]. It also provides nesting sites for sharp-shinned hawks in Utah [258]. Cover value of Rocky Mountain maple has been rated as follows [85]:
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:Rocky Mountain maple is used for revegetating cutslopes and roadsides following highway construction [77], and is recommended for riparian revegetation projects in the western United States [54]. Rocky Mountain maple seed is commercially available [76] and should be stored dry at 35 to 41 degrees Fahrenheit (1.7-5 oC) [322]. Though storage for less than 2 years is recommended [129,322], Rocky Mountain maple seeds may be viable up to 3 years [123,279]. Germination requirements include 180 days of warm stratification [322,325] at 68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit (20-30 oC) [243] and 180 days of cold stratification [129,243,279,322,325] at 37 to 41 degrees Fahrenheit (2.8-5 oC) [243]. In a laboratory test, 40% of seeds kept at 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit (10-15.6 oC) both night and day germinated within 30 days [243]. Shade is recommended for seedling establishment [322]. Rocky Mountain maple can also be transplanted; though better results are achieved with older plants than with seedlings [325], bareroot seedlings are often used for restoration and rehabilitation projects [129]. OTHER USES AND VALUES:Because it is heat and drought tolerant, Rocky Mountain maple is valuable as an ornamental shrub in western landscaping [118,159]. It may also be useful for watershed protection [325]. MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:Browsing by big game may locally prevent full development of Rocky Mountain maple [23]; however, it may stimulate vigorous resprouting [123]. Shrub cover increases substantially in the absence of wildlife browsing [146]. Rocky Mountain maple percent cover has been found to increase in response to thinning of forest stands [147]. The abundance of Rocky Mountain maple either remains static or increases slightly following logging operations or overstory removal [62]. In Idaho, Rocky Mountain maple demonstrated increased density following a clearcut with no site preparation, a shelterwood cut with mechanical scarification, and a clearcut with mechanical scarification [295]. However, severe mechanical disturbance to the root crown will decrease the abundance of Rocky Mountain maple [86]. Rapid resprouting is likely to follow cutting of Rocky Mountain maple, producing an increase in the total number of stems present. The crown normally becomes more dense and rounded form following canopy removal [62]. Three seasons following mechanical cutting of 19 feet (5.8 m) tall Rocky Mountain maple, clump height ranged from 4 to 6 feet (1.2-1.8 m), crown diameter from 8 to 12 feet (2.4-3.7 m), and stem diameter from 1 to 8 inches (2.5-20.3 cm). Plants produced up to 10 sprouts each, and the treatment released 4-foot (1.2 m) conifer seedlings from shading [216]. Herbicide applications of glyphosate, triclopyr, hexazinone, and 2,4-D ester, result in low to severe damage to Rocky Mountain maple [33,62,65,213,214,214,217,218,220,235,250]; however, Rocky Mountain maple is likely to resprout following damage [62,197,235]. Picloram treatments may achieve up to 80% control of Rocky Mountain maple [272]. Treatments that cause top-kill will likely result in sprouting [62,197,235], though height reduction to improve browse availability may not be substantial or for any extended duration [197]. On sites treated with combination herbicide and mechanical treatments, percent cover, presence, and height of Rocky Mountain maple were substantially lower on scarified than unscarified sites [46]:
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS:Rocky Mountain maple is a native, deciduous tall shrub or small tree [56,66,74,123,141,159,169,172,203,256,310,325,328,333]. It often grows 20 to 30 feet ( 6.1-9.1 m) tall, with crown widths from 10 to 20 feet (3-6 m) wide and a stem diameter up to 12 inches (30.5 cm) [74,123,150,156,172,175,203,234,243,310,325,328], though it can reach 40 feet (12.2 m) tall [169,259] and 2 feet (0.6 m) in diameter [169]. Rocky Mountain maple is usually tall and spindly in closed stands, with a more dense and brushy growth form in open stands [233,234]. Though it may have a single dominant stem [80], Rocky Mountain maple most often occurs as a multi-stemmed shrub 5 to 6.5 feet (1.5-2 m) tall [74,80,123,169,172,325]. Rocky Mountain maple has opposite, ascending to erect branches, rounded twigs, and a narrow crown [123,150,325]. The bark of Rocky mountain maple is smooth until maturity, when fissures develop [150,156,159,310,325]. Rocky mountain maple has a wide, spreading root system with a combination of deep and lateral woody roots [123,310,325]. Rocky Mountain maple may be monoecious [74,123,150,172,203,256,310] or dioecious [74,123,141,172,203,310,325,328]. Flowers are borne in loose terminal cymes arising from lateral buds [74] and grow in drooping clusters [123]. The paired seeds are winged samaras [74,123,141,150,325,328]. Seeds are 0.16 to 0.2 inch (4-5 mm) long [256] and samaras are 0.08 to 0.12 inch (20-30 mm) long [203]. RAUNKIAER [262] LIFE FORM:Phanerophyte REGENERATION PROCESSES:Seed production: The mating system of Rocky Mountain maple is dioecious or staminate plants with some bisexual flowers [136]. Rocky Mountain maple likely begins to produce seed before 10 years of age [243]. The large seeds [128] are dispersed by wind [123,176,256,284,294,295], and Rocky Mountain maple often seeds into disturbed areas [62]. Seeds are both animal and wind pollinated [256]. Existing literature is conflicting regarding on-site seed storage; Stathers and others [289] report that Rocky Mountain maple regenerates from seed stored on-site, while Steele and Geier-Hayes [291,294,295] state that seed is not stored. Large seed crops occur every 1 to 3 years [123,243]. Seeds remain viable for short periods of time, losing their viability during dry, frosty periods [123]. Rocky Mountain maple seeds germinate in partial shade on mineral soil [86,123,294,295] or shallow organic layers [123]. Due to embryo dormancy, Rocky Mountain maple seeds require approximately 6 months of chilling to germinate [279]. Vegetative regeneration: Development: SITE CHARACTERISTICS:Temperature: Rocky Mountain maple occurs in subalpine boreal, boreal, temperate, semiarid, and mesothermal climates [164,167]. Approximate temperatures on Rocky Mountain maple sites range from 14 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit (-10-24 oC) [188,257,265,313]. Annual precipitation may by as low as 9 inches (229 mm) and as high as 60 inches (1,542 mm) [100,127,177,188,257,313,316]. Location: Elevation: In northern California, northwestern Nevada, and Oregon, Rocky Mountain maple is common between 2,800 and 9,000 feet (853-2,743 m) [64,175,244]. In Idaho, Montana, and Washington, Rocky Mountain maple occurs between 1,500 and 8,900 feet (457-2,712 m) [36,56,70,75,91,112,196,257,269,293,295,335] on all aspects [61,100,196,234,249]. On sites in Idaho, percent cover of Rocky Mountain maple increased with elevation, but frequency did not [339]. Though it occurs on all aspects, studies in northern Idaho found that Rocky Mountain maple had significantly greater (F=0.05) percent cover on southern aspects than on northern aspects [233]. In British Columbia, Rocky Mountain maple occurs from 1,148 to 4,760 feet (350-1,450 m) [188,189].
Soils: Drought and Shade Tolerance: SUCCESSIONAL STATUS:Rocky Mountain maple occurs in old-growth and second-growth forests [13,148,187,209,257]. It is found in early seral stages [12,15,23,30,71,72,109,126,145,176,193,199,201,208,257,266,294,318,338,339], growing within the first 10 years following fire [303] through mature and climax stages [12,15,23,56,67,72,108,115,120,128,148,201,225,226,257,266,294,302,333,338,339]. In British Columbia, Rocky Mountain maple is common in deciduous pioneer forest communities [69] and in late successional and climax floodplain vegetation [60]. On sites in northern Idaho, Rocky Mountain maple was present in unlogged stands as well as stands 7, 14, and 25 years following logging. However, the presence of Rocky Mountain maple was found to decrease in later successional stages [333]. Also in northern Idaho, Rocky Mountain maple was found in closed, non-disturbed stands as well as stands subjected to various harvest and burn treatments [233]. As a prolific resprouter, Rocky Mountain maple rapidly revegetates disturbed areas [56]. Rocky Mountain maple is one of the most common deciduous species occurring on mesic sites in avalanche paths due to its ability to survive avalanche impact pressures via resprouting, and is characteristic of avalanche paths in northern Montana [52,53]. Rocky Mountain maple is a major component or dominant in seral shrub-dominant vegetation, which develops rapidly following disturbance in the northern Rockies [36,55,57,58,70,105,113,114,125,133,184,245,299,329,338]. Seral shrubfields result from recurring disturbance including fire and downslope movement of snow, ice, water, and rocks [55,184]. These shrubfields may actually inhibit tree seedling establishment through direct competition and indirectly by providing habitat for browsing animals that damage seedlings [125]. The Rocky Mountain maple/mallow ninebark complex frequently becomes dominant on sites in the northern Rockies [65]. Similar seral shrubfields occur in the southern Rockies. Rocky Mountain maple may actually provide shade to Douglas-fir seedlings aiding in establishment and survival [63]. Rocky Mountain maple may have higher percent cover or occur with greater frequency on more open sites [145,173]. However, Antos [15] found that Rocky Mountain maple shows little response to successional development, maintaining >5% cover in both young and old stands. Rocky Mountain maple is described as shade intolerant to shade tolerant [128,164]; the ability to persist in heavy shade makes it an important species in closed canopy stands [234]. SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT:Bud swell of Rocky Mountain maple occurs from late March through April [88,246], with bud burst occurring in early April to mid-May [88,123,275]. Leafing out occurs between mid-April and late May [88,135,246], with leaf growth occurring into late June [88,123,275]. Stem elongation begins in late April and continues to late August [88,246]. Rocky Mountain maple flowers from late April to late June [88,123,159,203,246,275]. Buds form in early to mid-July [88]. Fruit develops from June through August [246], and ripens from July into October [123,243,275]. Seed dispersal begins in September [123,243,275], but seeds may remain on stems as late as February [123,243]. Foliage coloration extends from early August to early September [88,123,275], and leaf fall lasts from early August to mid-November [88,123,246,275]. The timing of foliage coloration and leaf fall of Rocky Mountain maple may be related to moisture availability [88]. FIRE ECOLOGYFIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS:Rocky Mountain maple has been characterized as fire dependent, and may decline with fire exclusion [22]. Prolific sprouting and wind dispersal of seed of Rocky Mountain maple facilitate rapid revegetation of burned areas [56,144,176,259,284]. In quaking aspen/Rocky Mountain maple communities in Colorado, this rapid regeneration results in postfire vegetation that quickly resembles the prefire community [259]. Following fire, enhanced growth of Rocky Mountain maple may result in moderate growth loss of conifers and mortality of shade-intolerant conifers [86]. Due to aggressive competition, it may also interfere with conifer seedling establishment [280]. Rocky Mountain maple occurs as a major component or dominant in seral shrubfields in the northern Rockies. These shrubfields result from canopy removal by repeated severe fires [55,58,63,105,113,135,139,179,196,227,288,329,337]. Seral shrubfields have also been maintained with prescribed fire [184]. A lack of seed combined with increased soil temperatures and moisture stress inhibit tree regeneration and maintain the shrubfields. Fuels in persistent shrubfields consist primarily of the shrubs themselves with little large downed woody material and low litter amounts; in one study conducted in northern Idaho, fuel loading averaged 19.7 tons/acre. Persistent shrubfields may burn in any season; if fuels are continuous and dry, spring fires spread readily, and in summer, hot and dry conditions are exacerbated by nighttime inversions [288]. Fire regimes for plant communities and ecosystems in which Rocky Mountain maple occurs are summarized below. For further information regarding fire regimes and fire ecology of communities and ecosystems where Rocky Mountain maple is found, see the "Fire Ecology ad Adaptations" section of the FEIS species summary for the plant community or ecosystem dominants listed below.
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY [304]:Tall shrub, adventitious bud/root crown Initial off-site colonizer (off-site, initial community) Secondary colonizer (on-site or off-site seed sources) FIRE EFFECTS
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT:Though top-killed by fire, Rocky Mountain maple generally has low susceptibility to fire due to its ability to survive via resprouting from the root crown [229,301,305,325]. Rocky Mountain maple may remain on sites where most of the understory vegetation is removed by fire [29]. However, after moderate to severe fire, survival of Rocky Mountain maple may be substantially reduced [43,44,62,132]. Generally, it is only temporarily reduced by fire because often the root crowns are so large that some buds always survive [230]. DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT:No entry PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE:Rocky Mountain maple is generally favored by fire, recovering and increasing by resprouting vigorously from the root crown [44,71,132,178,182,185,193,224,229,264,288,303,325]. Resprouting of Rocky Mountain maple was observed 1 year after a severe fire in northern Montana [154]. After a severe crown fire in Idaho, Rocky Mountain maple resprouted within the first growing season [293]. The greatest resprouting response, however, is observed following light severity fires, with the least response occurring after a high severity burn [86]. Following a broadcast burn in Idaho, Rocky Mountain maple regenerated its entire preburn crown volume in the first postburn year [339]. Following fire, Rocky Mountain maple may grow 4 to 5 feet (1.2-1.5 m) in 3 years [86]. Rocky Mountain maple usually increases following fire, though survival and response may be reduced by severe fire [43,44,288,300]. Rocky Mountain maple also colonizes sites after fire via wind-dispersed seed [288]. DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE:Stickney [299] found Rocky Mountain maple to be sensitive to fire, with low survival, slow redevelopment, and slow recovery of percent cover on sites in Montana burned by wildfire and on broadcast burned sites. FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:Rocky Mountain maple was a principal component of slowly recovering open sites in western Montana after stand-replacing fire and broadcast burning [299]. It is highly competitive with tree species after burning [86,281]. Fire results in a substantial increase in Rocky Mountain maple sprouts [295]. Prescribed fire may initially reduce the percent cover of Rocky Mountain maple substantially, though in several years it is expected to approach or surpass pretreatment coverage [285]. Percent cover of Rocky Mountain maple may increase dramatically over preburn levels within 5 years of burning, however, variable results may be expected [62]. Rocky Mountain maple may experience an increase in crown volume following disturbance, resprouting more after burning than after logging treatments [56]. Within 3 years, crown diameters of Rocky Mountain maple may be equal to or greater than diameter prior to burning [180]. However, other studies have found that 2 years after burning, Rocky Mountain maple only recovered 8% of its prefire crown volume, and proportion of total shrub volume had decreased from 80% prefire to 14% postfire [193]. Three out of 4 harvest and burning treatments in Montana were found to effectively reduce Rocky Mountain maple shrub volume, though it began increasing again after 2 years posttreatment. The 4th treatment (no burning) left more individuals intact and they subsequently demonstrated less sprouting and Rocky mountain maple experienced no dramatic decline or increase in shrub volume [274]. After prescribed burning in Idaho, Rocky Mountain maple averaged 120 sprouts per plant; fall burning produced fewer but longer sprouts than spring burning [182]. Mean heights for Rocky Mountain maple were found to be greater on logged/broadcast burned sites than on logged or logged/piled/burned sites in Idaho [233]. Prescribed burning is used to maintain seral shrubfields and provide winter range for elk by retarding conifer dominance, decreasing the height of browse plants, increasing browse quality and palatability, and stimulating forage plants to regenerate from seed [179,180,212,240,288]. However, Rocky Mountain maple quickly grows out of reach of browsing animals due to its rapid regrowth after fire [139,180,326]. Miller and others [212] found that low-temperature fires might encourage excessive growth with leaders exceeding 6.5 feet (2 m) in a single growing season. Severe burns that actually damage Rocky Mountain maple and stunt leader growth may be better utilized to reduce leader heights to a usable level of 1.6 feet (.5 m) or less. Prescribed fire effectively improves forage availability in the short-term [25,56,193,195,326,331], and has been found to reduce height of Rocky Mountain maple from 7 to 16 feet (2.1-4.9 m) before fire to less than 7 feet (2.1 m) after fire [198]. Asherin [25] found that by the end of the 3rd postfire growing season, Rocky Mountain maple height exceeded 8 feet (2.4 m). Four years after burning in Idaho shrubfields, 80% of twig production remained within reach of elk [181,182]. Repeated burns at 10 to 15 year intervals are expected to maintain Rocky Mountain maple availability [181,182,184,288]; however, it is often difficult to re-establish trees on these sites in the future [288]. Broadcast burning of clearcuts in the northern Rockies may produce these seral shrubfields [162,281,338]; in 1 study, shrub-dominant vegetation occurred by the 8th postfire year [338]. Rocky Mountain maple was present within 4 years on another lightly burned clearcut [126]. After burning, browse production may be higher than prefire production initially [56,183], but annual production was observed to taper off by the 10th year, falling below prefire browse production [183]. Both spring and fall burning appear to increase Rocky Mountain maple palatability, based on heavy use in burned areas and browsing of larger twigs [180]. Crude protein levels may be higher in Rocky Mountain maple for up to 4 years following fire [240]. Injury due to fire may increase Rocky Mountain maple susceptibility to infection by parasitic Cytospora species [78].Acer glabrum: References1. Achuff, Peter L. 1989. Old-growth forests of the Canadian Rocky Mountain national parks. Natural Areas Journal. 9(1): 12-26. [7442] 2. Agee, James K. 1996. Fire in the Blue Mountains: a history, ecology, and research agenda. In: Jaindl, R. G.; Quigley, T. M., eds. Search for a solution: sustaining the land, people and economy of the Blue Mountains. Washington, DC: American Forests: 119-145. [28827] 3. Alexander, Billy G., Jr.; Fitzhugh, E. Lee; Ronco, Frank, Jr.; Ludwig, John A. 1987. A classification of forest habitat types of the northern portion of the Cibola National Forest, New Mexico. Gen. 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