FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Cercocarpus ledifolius | Curlleaf Mountain-Mahogany 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Curlleaf mountain-mahogany may depend on fire to reduce conifer
competition and produce favorable soil conditions for seedling
establishment [4,5].  However, individual curlleaf mountain-mahogany are
severely damaged by fire [4,5,42].  Because many dead branches persist
in the crown [14] and leaves are slightly resinous, curlleaf
mountain-mahogany is probably very flammable.  Curlleaf
mountain-mahogany is occasionally a weak sprouter after fire [8].

The presettlement fire regime of curlleaf mountain-mahogany communities
probably varied with community type and structure.  Arno and Wilson [1]
reported that the mean fire interval of curlleaf mountain-mahogany
stands along the Salmon River in Idaho ranged from 13 to 22 years until
the early 1900's, but lengthened considerably thereafter.  However,
Schultz [49] found large curlleaf mountain-mahogany up to 1,350 years
old in western and central Nevada, indicating that severe fire has been
infrequent in some curlleaf mountain-mahogany communities.  Schultz also
found fire scars on large, old-growth curlleaf mountain-mahogany in the
Shoshone Range of central Nevada that suggested understory fuels were
insufficient to carry severe fire.  Some old-growth curlleaf
mountain-mahogany avoid fire by growing on extremely rocky sites [1].

In northern California fire suppression has allowed curlleaf
mountain-mahogany to proliferate in formerly open coniferous forests
[67].  The presence of curlleaf mountain-mahogany and other shrub
species has reduced pine reproduction and increased fuel loadings.  When
fires do occur on these sites, they may be more severe than in
presettlement times.


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Shrub without adventitious-bud root crown
   Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)

Related categories for Species: Cercocarpus ledifolius | Curlleaf Mountain-Mahogany