FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Umbellularia californica | California Bay 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
The thin bark of this tree provides little protection against fire.
Moderate-severity fire kills California bay seedlings and top-kills
saplings and mature trees.  Severe fire kills the seed [9,42].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Top-killed California bay recovers rapidly from fire.  Taber and Dasmann
[43] reported crown sprouts appearing 4 to 6 weeks after late winter and
spring fires in the North Coast Ranges of California.  Sprouting may
also occur after summer or fall fires.  Most California hardwoods sprout
within a few weeks following fire in any season [29], and California bay
presumably has this ability.  Reproductive ability is regained quickly;
flowers have been noted on first-year sprouts [9].  Seedlings establish
from postfire year 1 until the next fire cycle.  In the redwood (Sequoia
sempervirens) forest of Muir Woods National Monument, for example, 567
seedlings per acre (1,400 seedlings/ha) were observed at postfire year
134.  The dense understory was codominated by redwood and California bay
trees that began as sprouts and seedlings following the 1845 fire [25].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Hardwood timber:  Prescribed burning is an effective tool for reclaiming
California bay in hardwood forests invaded by conifers [9].

Conifer timber:  Prescribed burning alone is not effective in removing
California bay from clear-cut timber areas.  Prescribed fire will
top-kill California bay, but follow-up mechanical or chemical control of
sprouts will be necessary until conifer seedlings are established [9].

Other considerations:  California bay was an integral part of a fire
hazard reduction project in the Berkeley Hills, where highly flammable
exotic eucalyptus were removed to release the less flammable understory
of California bay and coast live oak [38].

California bay in riparian areas is not usually threatened because fire
is rare there [19,40].

Related categories for Species: Umbellularia californica | California Bay