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You are here >1Up Info > Wildlife, Animals, and Plants > Plant Species > Shrub > Species: Purshia mexicana var. stansburiana | Stansbury Cliffrose
 

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FIRE ECOLOGY

SPECIES: Purshia mexicana var. stansburiana | Stansbury Cliffrose
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : The sagebrush, salt desert, and creosotebush (Larrea tridentata) shrublands in which Stansbury cliffrose occurs have historically had low fuel loads and long periods between fires. Prior to invasion of exotic cheatgrass, big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) communities burned at 30- to 70-year intervals [99,100]. Cheatgrass invasion in big sagebrush communities of northern Nevada and Utah has increased fuel loads and shortened fire-free periods to an average of 5.5 years [9]. Effects of this fire interval change on Stansbury cliffrose are not documented but have probably been detrimental. Intervals between fire in the other two desert shrubland types where Stansbury cliffrose occurs are very long and have not been quantified. Vegetation is usually sparse. Both saltbush (Atriplex spp.) and creosotebush communities have been characterized as "essentially nonflammable" [37] due to the open, infrequent distribution of dominant shrubs and paucity of herbaceous associates [28]. Rare fires may provide bare, disturbed seedbeds where Stansbury cliffrose can establish from seed transported on-site. Fire plays a more visible role in the other plant communities in which Stansbury cliffrose occurs. Open, dry-site ponderosa and Arizona pine types within Stansbury cliffrose's distribution historically had periods between low-severity surface fires averaging 1 to 13 years [2]. Frequent, low-severity fires probably maintained Stansbury cliffrose as a low, bushy understory plant. The mountain shrub and Arizona chaparral types are dominated by sprouting shrubs and typically experienced fire every 3 to 60 years. When these communities do not burn within 15 to 20 years, succeeding fires are severe and likely to consume much of the existing vegetation [16,47,47,100]. Relatively long-return interval (40+ years), intense fires, which kill a larger proportion of sprouting shrubs than do shorter-interval fires [42], may have provided opportunities for Stansbury cliffrose seedling establishment by reducing competition and providing a bare, disturbed seedbed. Fire autecology: The majority of the literature indicates that Stansbury cliffrose is usually killed by fire [11,25,35,68,73,74,89,95]. Some sources cite a variable or weak ability to sprout after fire [61,74,100]. Since Stansbury cliffrose is a colonizer [61], it probably establishes from wind- and animal-dispersed seed on fire-disturbed seedbeds, but documentation of postfire seedling establishment is lacking. POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Species: Purshia mexicana var. stansburiana | Stansbury Cliffrose

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Information Courtesy: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Fire Effects Information System

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