FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Ilex opaca | American Holly 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Fire easily top-kills American holly [37].  Its thin bark is easily
injured by fire [24,26].  The cambium layer is destroyed and the leaves
and crown defoliated.  Even large trees may be killed by light fires in
the understory [27,48].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
American holly sprouts from surviving basal buds following fire [31].
Initial growth after fire is slow, averaging about 6 feet (1.8 m) in 16
years under medium shade [23].  Three annual fires in a southern pine
forest reduced the number of fruit-producing holly trees by 95 percent
[27].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Fire is a very effective agent for controlling American holly.
Seedlings and sprouts can usually be eliminated as a result of normal
underburning regimes in most commercial pine stands [48].

Related categories for Species: Ilex opaca | American Holly