FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Yucca schidigera | Mojave Yucca 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Mojave yucca is generally not killed by fire even when aboveground
vegetation is totally consumed.  Researchers in chaparral-desert
ecotones of southern California observed that less than 10 percent of
all Mojave yuccas were actually killed by fire [30,31].  In a desert
grassland, only a few plants were killed by a summer fire which removed
old shoots to or near the ground level [37].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Mojave yucca generally sprouts from the roots or from nodules located on
the stembase after aboveground foliage is partially or totally consumed
by fire [7,35,37].  Because of this prolific sprouting ability, plants
often become multistemmed and stands more dense after fire [30,31].
Individual plants which had burned to ground level 1 year before formed
an average of one to four sprouts in desert grasslands of the Southwest
[37].  Plants produced even more sprouts in southern California
chaparral-desert shrub ecotones.  An average of 5 to 153 sprouts per
plant were present by 1 year after fire, or 10 to 1,228 sprouts per acre
(25-3,034 per hectare).  Sprout production was somewhat greater on
ridges than in canyons [30,31].

Sprouts tend to be small and growth is generally slow [37].  Researchers
estimate that in many desert grasslands, Mojave yucca requires 5 or 6
years to equal prefire cover, and many more years are necessary for
recovery in height and biomass [37].  On a southern California chaparral
site, however, leaves averaged more than 3 feet (1 m) in length only 2
years after fire, and at least 23 leaf clusters, representing a 2.5
increase in plant numbers, were present [30,31].  Recovery rates may
vary according to fire severity and intensity, season of burn, and
specific site characteristics.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
The tender young sprouts of Mojave yucca are palatable to many rodents
and lagomorphs.  Burned areas may fail to recover if large numbers of
small mammals are present [37].

Related categories for Species: Yucca schidigera | Mojave Yucca