FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Liquidambar styraciflua | Sweetgum 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Fire typically top-kills sweetgum.  Hot summer fires may deplete
carbohydrate reserves and eventually kill the tree [41,48].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
Fire scars on living trees provide entry points for insects and
diseases.  As long as the sapwood is not killed by fire, basal wounds
are often covered with a gum exudation that protects them.  After
repeated fires, however, a tree is apt to have some sapwood killed and
fungi and insects may become established [24,47].


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Sweetgum generally sprouts prolifically when top-killed by fire.
Repeated annual summer burns, however, will eventually deplete
carbohydrate reserves and kill the plant [41,48].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Fire has been demonstrated to be a good management tool for controlling
sweetgum.  In the Coastal Plain of South Carolina, five consecutive
summer fires killed 85 percent or more of the root stalks of sweetgum.
Winter fires did not kill appreciable numbers of root stalks but did
top-kill most sweetgum 2 inches (5 cm) or less d.b.h. [11].

Related categories for Species: Liquidambar styraciflua | Sweetgum