FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Artemisia frigida | Fringed Sagebrush 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Limited evidence suggests that specific fire effects may vary according
to fire intensity and severity or season of burn.  Ecotypic differences
may also exist.  Fringed sagebrush may be killed or seriously damaged by
fire when aboveground foliage is consumed [4].  In southern British
Columbia, fringed sagebrush growing in big sagebrush stands was killed
when these stands were burned prior to spring greenup.

In some locations, individual plants can survive even when aboveground
vegetation is removed.  Sprouting has been reported in southern British
Columbia, east-central Alberta, and elsewhere [1,13].  Effects of fire
are minimized where fringed sagebrush sprouts readily.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
The response of fringed sagebrush to fire is highly variable.  Community
composition, site characteristics, prior grazing history, fire
intensity, and timing of burn influence response.  Little is known about
the time required for fringed sagebrush to reoccupy a site.  Fringed
sagebrush typically reestablishes a burned site either from on-site
surviving seed stored in the soil or seed dispersed from off-site.
Plants grown from seed may require up to 3 years to reach sexual
maturity on particularly harsh sites.  Specific recovery time from seed
following fire in fringed sagebrush communities has not been documented.
Under some circumstances, fringed sagebrush can regenerate vegetatively
and quickly reoccupy a site [1,13].  Stump sprouting or suckering has
been observed in British Columbia and in Alberta [1,13].  Wright and
others [88] describe fringed sagebrush as a "weak sprouter."  Sprouting
is probably much more likely following burns of low intensity and
severity.

General trends following fire in a particular season have been difficult
to discern, indicating that other factors must also be considered when
projecting the fire response of fringed sagebrush.  Dix [25] reported an
increased frequency of fringed sagebrush after summer fires in western
North Dakota grasslands, whereas Mitchell [50] reported decreases after
a July fire in a western Montana grassland.  Decreases in frequency or
cover were noted following spring and fall fires in North Dakota and
Canada [5,25] and after a spring fire in western Montana [2].  Wright
and Bailey [79] reported that fringed sagebrush is generally reduced by
spring fires in mixed-grass prairies in the northern Great Plains.
However, Anderson and Bailey [1] observed increases in fringed sagebrush
following annual early spring fires of low intensity in east-central
Alberta.  Increases in both the density and biomass of fringed sagebrush
were noted after a spring fire in Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota
[27].  Other researchers in the northern Great Plains report little
change in fringed sagebrush cover after fire [41].  Clearly, more
research is needed to fully document the response of fringed sagebrush
to fire and to account for the different responses noted.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
Season of burn, fire intensity, site characteristics, plant
associations, and geographic and climatic factors all influence the way
in which fringed sagebrush responds to fire.  Both increases and
decreases in fringed sagebrush cover or frequency has been noted after
spring and summer fires.  The following research results demonstrate the
variable response of fringed sagebrush to fire (Study locations, general
habitat, and fire intensity are given when such information was noted):

        - western North Dakota grasslands [25]

                        frequency index values
   summer burn                   fall burn              spring burn
unburned  burned            unburned    burned       unburned    burned
   15       25                 17         7             42         10

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        - western Montana grasslands - spring burn 1977 [2]

        average % cover on burned and unburned stands
   autumn 1977                   spring 1978              summer 1978
unburned    burned            unburned     burned    unburned   burned
  0.1         +                  0.2        0.1         0.5      0.1

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   - east-central Alberta - aspen parkland - low intensity spring burn [1]

                frequency (%)                   canopy cover (%)
        unburned        burned              unburned          burned
           3              7                    0.2              0.3

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  - British Columbia - mountain rangelands (% cover fringed sagebrush) [65]

burned subalpine     unburned subalpine     spruce-willow     alpine
slopes               clearings              birch
       3                     0                    0             0

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Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota - grasslands - spring burn [27]

                        ground cover (%) -
                control                         1981 burn
      1980    1981    1982   1983       1980    1981    1982    1983
site1  1.8     2.5     4.5    5.3        2.8     1.8     2.2     7.6
site2  1.1     1.1     3.0    5.3        1.1     0.3     0.3     0.4

                        frequency (%) -
site1 27.4    28.2    21.4   37.3       30.6    21.0    21.4    53.2
site2 18.3    12.7    10.3   21.4       16.3     5.6     3.2     3.2

                        density (avg. # of stems per quadrat)
                        biomass (grams)
                   control                      1981 burn
           density         biomass            density        biomass
	1982     1983   1982    1983        1982    1983   1982    1983
site1    1.5      2.2   3.80    3.28         1.1     2.4   2.98    3.00
site2    0.7      0.9   2.79    2.06         0.1     0.1   0.32    0.12

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                western Montana -grasslands [50]

              burned area                     unburned area
           cover      frequency             cover     frequency
1st year    0.4           3                  4.2          33


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Species: Artemisia frigida | Fringed Sagebrush