FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Chrysolepis sempervirens | Bush Chinquapin 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Fire top-kills bush chinquapin [4,30].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Very little research has been conducted on postfire recovery of bush
chinquapin.  Most sprouting schlerophyllous shrubs of California and
Oregon begin growth within weeks of fire, even when soils are dry [10].
Bush chinquapin presumably sprouts soon after fire.  Following a
wildfire of unreported severity in a mixed coniferous forest of the
Shasta-Trinity National Forest, bush chinquapin sprouts did not grow as
quickly as greenleaf manzanita seedlings but outcompeted snowbrush
ceanothus.  Bush chinquapin density at postfire year 5 was 9,650 plants
per acre (3,860 plants/ha), with plants averaging 1.7 feet (0.6 m) in
height.  There were no bush chinquapin seedlings present [30].  Reports
of seedling colonization of other burn sites were not found in the
literature.

Montane chaparral species, including bush chinquapin, recover from fire
more slowly than species of other types of chaparral due to the shorter
growing season [22].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Countryman [11] supplies data regarding characteristics of bush
chinquapin fuel, including ash content, density, surface-to-volume
ratio, heating value (Btu/lb), and weight of solvent extractives present
in leaves.  He also details fuelbed characteristics of bush chinquapin
and mixed bush chinquapin-mountain whitethorn-snowbush ceanothus stands,
including standing fuel loading and standing fuel vertical distribution,
dead fuel loading, and litter loading.  Carpenter [6] provides data
regarding seasonal moisture content of bush chinquapin leaves, twigs,
and stems.

Frequent fires in ponderosa or Jeffrey pine forests following logging
operations may convert these communities to montane chaparral [23].

Related categories for Species: Chrysolepis sempervirens | Bush Chinquapin