FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Juniperus virginiana | Eastern Redcedar 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Eastern redcedar is very susceptible to fire [50,51] and is typically
killed when aboveground foliage is destroyed or damaged.  Young or small
trees are somewhat more likely to be killed than are large individuals
[41], but even large trees are not considered fire resistant [11].  The
bark of eastern redcedar is thin, seldom more than 0.2 inch (0.5 cm)
thick on mature trees, and provides little protection from heat [11].
Trees are susceptible to bole damage from heat alone [41].  Mature trees
are often killed by the heat of a single surface fire [6].

In a Kansas gallery forest, all eastern redcedar seedlings were killed
by a single fire [2].  More than 90 percent mortality was reported after
"severe" fires in the tallgrass prairie regions of Oklahoma [51] and
after a wildfire in a loblolly pine plantation in Tennessee [21].
However, only 3 percent of eastern redcedars were killed by a light fire
in the Missouri glades [41], an area often characterized by light,
discontinuous fuels.  Researchers suggest that a severe fire would have
killed most individuals, leaving only a few, very large survivors [41].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
Eastern redcedars less than 5 feet (1.5 m) in height are particularly
susceptible to fire mortality or damage [88].  Fire scars are
occasionally observed on large trees, indicating that some individuals
may survive presumably light surface fires [41].


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Eastern redcedar reestablishes burned sites through bird- and
mammal-dispersed seed [6].  Fires are often patchy in many harsh, rocky,
redcedar-dominated sites, and a few large individuals may survive and
provide a seed source for subsequent seedling establishment.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
Postfire response of eastern redcedar varies according to fire severity
and intensity, and season of burn.  Density, frequency, and basal area
are typically most reduced by hot fires.  The following response was
reported after a wildfire in a loblolly pine forest in North Carolina
[66]:

                  Unburned          Surface fire            Crown fire
density (%)          2.4                 0.5                    0.1           
frequency (%)       90                  30                     10      
basal area           1.35                0.89                   0.19


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Prescribed fire:  Prescribed fire can be an effective and relatively
inexpensive means of reducing eastern redcedar [26,51].  Fire has been
used to control this woody invader in the Ozarks, Wisconsin, the Flint
Hills of Kansas, Oklahoma, and elsewhere [11,26,88].  In parts of
Kansas, eastern redcedar can be controlled by mid to late spring burns
(April 15 to May 1) [53].  Surviving trees can be removed through
follow-up cutting.  In some instances, mortality of large trees can be
increased by treating them with herbicides prior to fire [27].

Flammability:  The foliage of eastern redcedar is highly flammable [11].
Penfound [69] reported that "redcedars exploded with flames up to 50
feet (15.2 m) high" in post oak-eastern redcedar forests in Oklahoma.

Related categories for Species: Juniperus virginiana | Eastern Redcedar