FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Taxus brevifolia | Pacific Yew 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Pacific yew has thin bark and is sensitive to heat damage [14,68].
Plants are generally killed by even light ground fires [49], and this
species is almost always eliminated from burned stands [14,50].  In
western Montana, Stickney [73] observed that all plants were eliminated
from burned stands.  An abundance of Pacific yew can be equated with an
absence of fire [14].

Plants which occasionally survive fire do so because they occur in the
wettest concavities which are relatively unaffected by fire [7].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Pacific yew reoccupies burned areas through bird-dispersed off-site
seed.  Although vegetative regeneration is possible after mechanical
disturbance, Pacific yew's susceptibility to heat damage makes postfire
sprouting unlikely or impossible.

This plant may require shelter provided by other species for
reestablishment [50] and typically recovers slowly.  Hofman [31]
observed that seedling germination was delayed for at least 6 years
after a hot slash burn in northern Idaho.  Pacific yew is rare on
recently burned sites, even where it was a common component of preburn
communities [18,20,71].  In a northern Idaho study, Pacific yew was
present on 80 percent of the preburn plots but was absent from all plots
during the first years after fire [72,73].  In parts of the northern
Rocky Mountains, it is described as the "only principal residual species
eliminated by fire" [73].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Fire history:  Because of its sensitivity to fire, the age of Pacific
yew can be used to estimate minimum stand age [49].  However, because it
establishes after initial colonization, the oldest stem is often
significantly younger than the age of the stand itself [49].

Prescribed fire:  Johnson and Simon [34] recommend against prescribed
fire in Pacific yew types.  Although a light underburn will not damage
the duff layer, yew may be adversely affected.  Scher and Jimerson [68]
note that "although prescribed burning reduces the probability of
catastrophic wildfires, precautions must be exercised to maintain
biodiversity by protecting temperature-sensitive species" such as
Pacific yew.  In some areas, prescribed and/or wildfires can contribute
to the depletion of yew populations [68].  Broadcast burning after
clearcutting has virtually eliminated yew in some areas [61,68].

Related categories for Species: Taxus brevifolia | Pacific Yew