• FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS
• POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY

FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS:

Numerous wild and domestic animals consume and disperse honey mesquite seed [104]. Little is known about honey mesquite seed banks, seed longevity in the field, or the importance of seed banks in recovery after fire [171]. Seed from off-site honey mesquite could potentially be transported to burned areas by animals. Johnston [97] states that where mesquite dominates brushy ranges, the successional changes may not have been from mesquite-free grasslands to brushlands, but from low stature mesquite grasslands to brushlands. Brown and Archer [33] hypothesize that since mesquites evolved with browsing Pleistocene megafauna, low densities of honey mesquite in southwestern grasslands prior to European-American introduction of livestock resulted primarily from limited seed dispersal after the Pleistocene [129].

Fire regimes: More is known about historic fire regimes in communities of the typical variety of honey mesquite than in western honey mesquite communities. Western honey mesquite occurs in the Mojave and Sonora deserts; not much is known of their fire histories. It is assumed that fuels in these desert were so discontinuous in the past that fire was infrequent [121]. In former desert grassland communities that honey mesquite has invaded in southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and southwestern Texas, fires occurred at "rather frequent intervals" prior to livestock introduction [90]. McPherson [121] states that it is difficult to know detailed fire history in desert grasslands but indirect evidence, primarily accounts of European- American settlers, suggests that fires occurred at least every 10 years. Also, based on known rates of velvet mesquite establishment and growth in grasslands, McPherson [121] concluded that fires had to have occurred at 7 to 10 year intervals to prevent its establishment. Using a similar analysis, Paysen and others [135] concluded that the likely historic average fire return interval in mesquite savannas was 10 years. There were large numbers of livestock in some areas of the desert grassland as early as 1880, and fire frequency was reduced due to lack of fuel rather than fire suppression [90].

Honey mesquite also grows in dune fields that, because of low fuel loading, have seldom if ever burned. An example of such a habitat is the Wild Horse Desert of southern Texas, a sandy rangeland where fuel is discontinuous and honey mesquite grows 15 to 20 feet (4.6-6.1 m) tall [90].

Fire regimes for plant communities and ecosystems in which honey mesquite occurs are presented below. More information regarding fire regimes and fire ecology of these communities can be found in the 'Fire Ecology and Adaptations' section of the FEIS species summary for the plant community or ecosystem dominants below.

POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY [166]:

Related categories for SPECIES: Prosopis glandulosa | Honey Mesquite