FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Cornus sericea | Red-Osier Dogwood 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Red-osier dogwood is able to sprout from surviving roots or stolons and
from the base of aerial stems following fire [38,39,101,149].  It can be
killed by severe fires which cause extended heating of the upper soil
[38].

Red-osier dogwood is considered to be a semi-fire-tolerant, seed-banking
species [117]. Light fires which partially remove the duff stimulate
germination of buried seed [48].  In a northern Idaho grand fir (Abies
grandis) forest seed bank study, red-osier dogwood seed was found in the
top 2 inches (5 cm) of soil; however, viability was low (4%) [77,78].
In another postfire soil germination study, all red-osier dogwood plants
were sprouts from root fragments [1].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   survivor species; on-site surviving roots
   ground-stored residual colonizer; fire-activated seed on-site in soil

Related categories for Species: Cornus sericea | Red-Osier Dogwood