FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES : Ceanothus integerrimus | Deerbrush 


FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Deer brush recovers from fire by establishing from seed and by sprouting
from the root crown [12,22,36,37,30,41,44,55].  Seedling establishment
is the most common method of postire regeneration.  Heat scarification
of seed and increased light after fire favor deer brush seedling
establishment, and seedlings are often dense in the first few years
after fire [14,30].  Deer brush is apparently a weak sprouter after
fire.   

Fire regimes:  Chaparral - Historic fire return interval in chaparral
has been estimated at 20 to 30 years [59].  Fires perpetuated a mosaic
of age classes on chaparral landscapes, which decreased the chances for
widespread fires.  The intense, fast-moving chaparral fires tended to be
confined by natural fuel breaks formed from age-class boundaries and
topographic features [18].

Mixed conifer - These forests were characterized by frequent,
low-intensity surface fires that favored ponderosa and sugar pines,
oaks, and sprouting shrubs over shade-tolerant, fire-sensitive species
such as incense-cedar and white fir (Abies concolor) [18].  Based upon
fire scar data, fire return intervals averaged 8 years [67,83] and
ranged from 4 to 20 years [43].

Deer brush appears to be important in early postfire succession but only
a minor species in mature mixed-conifer forest.  Deer brush in the
understory of mixed coniferous forest is usually decadent, and decadent
plants show poor sprouting response after top-kill.  Seedling
establishment, however, is usually good, even if deer brush plants are
no longer present in the understory [22,36,37].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Tall shrub, adventitious-bud root crown
   Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)

Related categories for SPECIES : Ceanothus integerrimus | Deerbrush