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You are here >1Up Info > Wildlife, Animals, and Plants > Plant Species > Shrub > Species: Chrysolepis chrysophylla | Giant Chinquapin
 

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FIRE EFFECTS

SPECIES: Chrysolepis chrysophylla | Giant Chinquapin
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : Giant chinquapin is a fire-sensitive species; aboveground portions are extremely susceptible to fire mortality [2,10]. Thin bark provides little insulation from radiant heat, which usually kills the cambium around the base of the stem [48]. As a result, low-intensity ground fires readily top-kill giant chinquapin seedlings and saplings [36]. Larger trees with thicker bark frequently survive light underburning on favorable growth sites within redwood and mixed-evergreen forests [40,63]. Although bole injuries usually result following initial burning, fire scars tend to heal over rapidly in young, vigorous trees [2,40]. Occasionally, large diameter trees survive repeated burning; these trees commonly exhibit catface-scars and rotten cores [40]. DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : Limited information on the fire ecology of giant chinquapin on mixed evergreen sites indicates that trees greater than 14 inches (35 cm) d.b.h. are generally more tolerant of ground fires than similarly sized hardwoods such as bigtooth maple (Acer macrophyllum) and tanoak [40]. On sites where the last major fire occurred 75 to 80 years prior to observation, almost all giant chinquapins over 18 inches (45 cm) d.b.h. exhibited fully or partially healed fire scars. Only the largest diameter trees, those ranging between 36 and 49 inches (91 and 122 cm) d.b.h., showed evidence of repeated burning. Fire-scarred giant chinquapins occupying more mesic situations were usually single stemmed [40]. Giant chinquapin appears more susceptible to fire mortality when it occurs beneath a mature conifer overstory [46]. Plants suffering competition are under increased stress and are less able to survive fires than when they grow in a more open environment. Although all giant chinquapins resprouted following an initial, light-intensity underburn on a mixed-conifer site in central Oregon, 50 percent died after a reburn which consumed a high percentage of duff [46]. (See Fire Case Study for more details.) PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : Giant chinquapin initiates a rapid postburn recovery by sprouting from adventitious buds located on a burl at the soil surface [22,54]. Since burls are aggregations of buds, newly resprouted giant chinquapin individuals occur as "sprout clumps" and are characterized by large numbers of sprouts [38,48]. Sprouts are quite tolerant of direct sunlight and develop well in the newly opened postburn environment [18,49,58]. Fifty years following fire on a xeric mixed-evergreen site, giant chinquapin individuals averaged two to three stems per clump with an average d.b.h. of 11.2 inches (28 cm); largest stems of sprout origin measured nearly 80 feet (24 m) tall and 18.4 inches (46 cm) d.b.h. [40]. Although abundance is initially reduced following burning, giant chinquapin is a residual species which rapidly regains preburn levels if fires are not too severe [13,26]. Preburn canopy coverage and density are usually regained within 2 to 5 years on mixed-conifer sites in the southern Oregon Cascades [36,65]. Recovery potential does not appear significantly affected by early spring versus fall burning [65]. Sprouting vigor can, however, be greatly reduced when plants are subjected to high duff consumption underburns [46]. (See Fire Case Study for more information.) DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : Western hemlock communities: Giant chinquapin grows as a small tree or aborescent shrub on undisturbed western hemlock sites in western Oregon [36]. As a result, few stems survive fire to provide seed for postburn seedling establishment. Off-site seed may be transported by animals [66]. Studies of early secondary succession on western hemlock sites in the central western Cascades of Oregon indicate that giant chinquapin exhibits only minor long-term changes in abundance following clearcut logging and burning [12,13,26]. Whereas patterns of giant chinquapin abundance varied between sampled watersheds, trends over a 20 year period showed a gradual, continuous increase in cover once preburn levels were regained (usually within 4 years). Constancy remained relatively stable or increased slightly. Giant chinquapin was a relatively minor component of the predisturbance vegetation on both sites. Trends in giant chinquapin cover at various intervals following clearcutting, broadcast burning (medium intensity, fall burn), and planting with Douglas-fir are presented below [57]. Sites support the western hemlock/Pacific rhododendron/salal habitat type which is associated with warm and moderately dry environments at low to mid elevations in the western Cascades of Oregon. Mean cover (%) undisturbed old-growth 1.40 interval since disturbance 2 years 0.09 5 years 0.05 10 years 0.22 15 years 2.52 20 years 0.63 30 years 0.56 40 years 3.85 FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : Broadcast burning: Where conifer regeneration is a primary management concern, broadcast burning is generally an ineffective site preparation tool following clearcutting in conifer-hardwood stands. Even though burning delays the recovery of giant chinquapin for approximately one growing season, removal of logging debris promotes sprouting by exposing basal buds to solar heating and permits sprouts to grow unimpeded [47]. Following logging and burning of mixed-evergreen sites in the Siskiyou Mountains and the southern Cascades, giant chinquapin is often a component of seral brushfields. Sites especially prone to the rapid development of a dense giant chinquapin cover are drier sites within mixed-conifer communities where predisturbance giant chinquapin densities are relatively high. Densities are likely to be increased on dry, nutrient-poor soils where giant chinquapin seedlings become increasingly competitive [47]. On mixed-conifer sites where depauperate plants are able to persist beneath dense conifer overstories, giant chinquapin is frequently an inconspicuous component of the preburn vegetation. Large initial increases in postburn cover can be expected from residual plants [36,64]. Preharvest burning: Giant chinquapin sprouting may be more effectively controlled by preharvest underburning [46]. Although all top-killed plants sprouted following an intial underburn, 50 percent of these plants were killed by a second burn, and the sprouting vigor of surviving plants was severely reduced [46].

Related categories for Species: Chrysolepis chrysophylla | Giant Chinquapin

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Information Courtesy: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Fire Effects Information System

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