FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Chamaecyparis thyoides | Atlantic White-Cedar 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Atlantic white-cedar is readily killed or damaged by fire [5,45], often
by even low-intensity fires [5].  Crown fires will generally kill the
trees [25,35] and can eliminate an entire stand [12,26].  Large trees
not killed outright usually die gradually, beginning at the top [35].
Mature trees may occasionally survive low-intensity fires on wet sites
in parts of the South [47].  On these sites, crown fires do not occur
"even under the impetus of strong winds and fires that have crowned in
adjacent associations" [47].  Seedlings, however, are readily killed by
these low-intensity fires [47].

Wet swampy stands dominated by Atlantic white-cedar often serve as
natural fire breaks, but trees at the edge are usually commonly killed
before the fire is stopped [24,35].  Korstian [19] observed that in a
portion of the Great Dismal Swamp, all Atlantic white-cedars were killed
by a fire which occurred when the swamp was "full of water."  However,
dry-season burns are typically most damaging to young growth and buried
seeds [19].  Dry season burns often remove the upper layer of peat and
can eliminate all on-site seed [12,39].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Atlantic white-cedar readily establishes on burned sites through seed
stored on-site in peat or transported from adjacent stands [5,24].
Germination is generally favored when surface peat is too wet to burn
[34].  Seeds often germinate in abundance and dense stands commonly
develop after a single fire [5,12,19].  Little and others [50] reported
the presence of 111,520 seedlings per acre (45,109/ha) 1 year after
fire, with numbers declining to 11,360 per acre (4,599/ha) by the second
year.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Prescribed fire:  Prescribed fire can be used to stimulate the
regeneration of Atlantic white-cedar and increase deer browse [28].
Slash fires can enhance germination of Atlantic white-cedar by clearing
the forest floor [19].  Competing hardwoods can also be reduced or
eliminated if peat is heated enough to kill underground regenerative
structures [11,19].

Fuels/flammability:  Logging slash left in Atlantic white-cedar types is
highly flammable and sites often "burn to the waters edge" [19].

Wildlife:  Deer can seriously damage or kill postfire regeneration [26].

Lightning:  Ward and Clewell [47] reported that in mixed
hardwood-Atlantic white-cedar forests of the Gulf Region, lightning is
apparently the primary natural factor determining the upper age and size
limit of Atlantic white-cedar.

Related categories for Species: Chamaecyparis thyoides | Atlantic White-Cedar