FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Juniperus communis
| Common Juniper
Common juniper is generally described as "susceptible" to
fire [25,59]. It is described as being "not equipped with fire-surviving
regeneration properties" [81]. Foliage is resinous and very flammable
[31]. The degree of damage received increases with progressively greater
fire severity. In eastern Canada, older common juniper often survive fires
of low severity. Some fire regimes allow common juniper to survive
several fires [31].
Where common juniper is killed by fire, some seeds may survive
in the soil on-site and germinate when conditions become favorable. Other
seed is brought to the site by bird [25] or, less commonly, mammal
dispersers. These factors contribute to slow postfire reestablishment
on many sites.
For information on fire regimes in forest and woodland
communities where common juniper occurs,
see the FEIS species summaries on dominant tree species including:
species fire return interval
interior ponderosa pine 2-45 years
(P. ponderosa var. scopulorum)
Rocky Mountain juniper
( J. scopulorum)
lodgepole pine 25-300 years
(P. contorta)
quaking aspen
(Populus tremuloides)
big sagebrush
(Artemisia tridentata)
Tree without adventitious bud/root crown
Shrub without adventitious bud/root crown
Secondary colonizer - off-site seed
Species Index
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