• FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS
• POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY

FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS:

Fuels: Though green year-round, inkberry is highly flammable [105,106,168] due to the volatile and easily ignited substances in the plant tissues [26,94,107,163]. However, flammability is also affected by fuel moisture content, fuel load, and live moisture content. Higher leaf moisture content corresponds to a decrease in the amount of volatiles and a decreased flammability of leaves [26]. The heat value of inkberry leaves is greater than 5000 calories per gram [86]. The volatile oils in inkberry foliage ignite quickly under certain weather conditions, and when the temperature is high enough may suddenly flame to create an "intense" fire [106].

Once ignition has occurred, the intensity of a fire is strongly influenced by the structure of the fuels in allowing heat transfer and by the energy content of the fuel [166]. Over the temperature range of 200 to 900 degrees Fahrenheit (100-500 ^oC), the majority of inkberry combustion gases are derived from ether and benzene-ethanol extractives [166,175], both of which play an important role in the initiation of combustion at low temperatures (below 572 ^oF or 300 ^oC). The benzene-ethanol extractives also increase the intensity of the fire at higher temperatures (above 572 ^oF or 300 ^oC) [175]. The total extractive content, or combustible gases, of inkberry is 44.6% of foliage dry weight. A summary of inkberry foliage extractive content by dry weight is presented below [166]:

Though foliage comprises 30 to 45% of inkberry's total dry weight, inkberry stems present a greater contribution to fuels composition, comprising 55 to 69% of dry weight [129]. 

In the pine flatwoods of the southeastern United States, the presence of inkberry, especially inkberry thickets, increases the frequency, hazard, and severity of forest fires [69,82,147,192]. Average fuel weights of inkberry (tons/acre) in inkberry-dominated roughs of the longleaf-slash pine forest type in the Osceola National Forest, are presented below [22]. Average fuel weights were based on air-dry weight of 2 samples of all material less than 1 inch in diameter that usually burn in headfires under dry conditions.

Fire regimes: Inkberry is an important understory component in longleaf-slash pine and loblolly-shortleaf pine ecosystems. Longleaf-slash pine communities experience frequent surface fire, historically occurring at 1- to 8-year intervals. Surface fire in loblolly-shortleaf pine communities also occurs frequently, at 2- to 15-year intervals [195].

Fire regimes for plant communities and ecosystems in which inkberry occurs are summarized below. For further information regarding fire regimes and fire ecology of communities and ecosystems where inkberry is found, see the 'Fire Ecology and Adaptations' section of the FEIS species summary for the plant community or ecosystem dominants listed below.

POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY [183]:

Related categories for SPECIES: Ilex glabra | Inkberry