FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Abies bracteata | Bristlecone Fir 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Bristlecone fir is concentrated on steep, rocky, fire-resistant sites
[13].  Bristlecone fir occurs on sites that have experienced fire less
frequently than the surrounding forests [27].  The presettlement fire
history of the Santa Lucia Mountains is not well known.  Data for fires
during the Native American (11,000 years BP-1792 A.D.) and the
Spanish-Mexican (1792-1848) periods are scarce.  The Anglo period
(1848-1929) included much indiscriminate burning by prospectors,
hunters, and ranchers.  By the late 1800's, tales of huge fires in the
Santa Lucia Mountains were common in newspapers and government reports
[12].  A probable mean fire interval for lightning fires alone was
estimated for oak woodlands (in which bristlecone fir can occur) as 10
to 30 years.  The mean fire interval for mixed evergreen forests (in
which bristlecone fir occurs) was estimated at 30 to 100 years for
lightning fires.  Recent fire history (since 1929) gives a mean fire
interval of 215 years for mixed evergreen forests [9].  Talley and
Griffin [29] reported a range of 19 to 78 years between fire scars (from
1640 to 1977) on sugar pine in the area where bristlecone fir occurs.
Because of topography, the fire-free interval for bristlecone fir stands
on steep slopes is probably longer than any of these figures.


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Tree without adventitious-bud root crown

Related categories for Species: Abies bracteata | Bristlecone Fir