FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Celtis laevigata | Sugarberry 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Light-severity fires will kill or top-kill seedlings and saplings of
sugarberry, and top-kill larger trees; severe fires may kill even the
largest trees [5].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Fire-damaged seedlings and saplings sprout from the root collar [5].
After an April wildfire in Texas that top-killed all vegetation,
sugarberry was observed to be sprouting from the root collar by July
[61].

Wounding by fire increases susceptibility to butt rot (any of 30 species
of Fomes, Polyporus, Hericium or Pleurotus).  

In a study of 55 years of postfire succession in a Florida mixed
hardwood forest, sugarberry, while not an important species, increased
in frequency [26].  Sugarberry is often a component of areas that have
undergone some type of disturbance, including fire, although it is not
an initial colonizer of disturbed areas (usually establishing by 4 or 5
years) [33].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Sugarberry occurs as scattered individuals in Florida pine flatwoods
that are usually maintained by fire.  When fire is eliminated,
succession usually proceeds to either southern mixed hardwoods or
bayhead communities, with a concomitant increase in basal area of
sugarberry [38].

Related categories for Species: Celtis laevigata | Sugarberry