FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Arctostaphylos glauca | Bigberry Manzanita 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Adaptations:  Bigberry manzanita is an obligate postfire seeder
[37,38,51].  It is best adapted to high-intensity, long-interval (100+
years) fires [19,28,29].  Long periods between fires allow plants to
reach arborescent proportions, appropriating a large amount of space and
holding it until fire [30].  The greatly increased seed production of
older shrubs helps assure that large numbers of seed will break dormancy
when fire occurs [29].  Fuels accumulated over a 100-year time span
result in a high-intensity fire, which is probably most effective in
cracking the hard seedcoat of this species [8].  High-intensity fire
also results in higher mortality rates of sprouting species, therefore
reducing competition [3].

Southern California chaparral undergoes both short and long intervals
between fire, with longer fire intervals favoring bigberry manzanita.
Frequency of lightning-ignited fire in California decreases greatly from
north to south and from high elevation to low elevation.  Natural fire
frequency in low-elevation southern California chaparral is therefore
more irregular than in more northerly or higher elevation chaparral,
where lightning-ignited fires are frequent [30,32].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)

Related categories for Species: Arctostaphylos glauca | Bigberry Manzanita