FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Salix bebbiana | Bebb Willow 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Fire will kill aboveground parts of Bebb willow.  High-severity fires
can completely remove organic layers and leave charred roots of willow
exposed, thus eliminating basal sprouting [46,18].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
Spring and fall prescribed burns in a Minnesota prairie killed
aboveground portions of Bebb willow.  In wet habitats, fire killed the
tops of Bebb willow but did no apparent harm to underground parts [38].


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Bebb willow will sprout vigorously from the basal stem following fire
[17,18,35].  Quick hot fires will maximize sprouting [17,18].  The light
seeds readily colonize exposed mineral soil after hot fires.  Bebb
willow usually becomes the dominant species in willow stands that follow
forest fires on upland sites and in thickets adjacent to streams,
swamps, and lakes of interior Alaska [41].  The degree to which this
species invades after fire, however, depends on the time of year,
weather, and presence of a mineral seedbed.  A wet period after seed
dispersal allows for germination, but a dry period can cause enough seed
viability loss to prevent germination.  The chance of Bebb willow
establishing after a fire lessens as available mineral soil seedbeds
become occupied by faster growing herbaceous species and mosses [42].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
Following a low-severity August evening burn in central Saskatchawan,
revegetation started within a few days.  By the sixth growing season,
alder (Alnus spp.), Bebb willow, and aspen (Populus spp.) were the
dominant broadleaf species [7].  Bebb willow was common in the moss-herb
stage 2 to 5 years after fire on white spruce (Picea glauca) dominated
sites in Alaska and persisted through the shrub and tree stage 6 to 25
years after fire.  Bebb willow density declines in these stands as more
shade-tolerant species become established [11,13,27,42].


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Prescribed burning is a common wildlife management tool used to
rejuvenate decadent Bebb willow communities [18].

Related categories for Species: Salix bebbiana | Bebb Willow