FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Chamaebatia foliolosa | Sierra Mountain Misery 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
The resinous, finely divided leaves of Sierra mountain misery are highly
flammable, especially when draped with fallen pine needles and other
forest debris.  Sierra mountain misery will carry surface fire, and the
species is an important element of fuel loads in California's mixed
coniferous and ponderosa pine forests.  Expert opinions on natural fire
frequencies in these forests vary.  Fire scar studies show average
frequencies of 8 years [4].  Some authorities, however, feel this method
gives results that are too conservative.  Van Wagtendonk and Biswell [4]
estimated a natural fire occurrence of about every 4 years in mixed
coniferous forests.  Biswell [4] believed ponderosa pine forests of
California burned approximately every 2 to 3 years.  Prior to fire
suppression, fires in mixed coniferous and ponderosa pine forests were
almost always surface fires, carried in large part by highly
concentrated fine fuels composed of Sierra mountain misery and
coniferous needles, cones, and twigs caught in its foliage and tangled
woody stems [4,32].

Sierra mountain misery survives fire by sprouting from the rootcrown,
roots, and rhizomes following top-kill [15].  It reestablishes on burns
almost exclusively from sprouting [16].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Small shrub, adventitious-bud root crown
   Rhizomatous shrub, rhizome in soil
   Geophyte, growing points deep in soil

Related categories for Species: Chamaebatia foliolosa | Sierra Mountain Misery