FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Liriodendron tulipifera | Yellow-Poplar 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Yellow-poplar seedlings and saplings have thin bark which makes them
very susceptible to fire damage.  Fire generally kills young trees less
than 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter.  Once bark is thick enough to insulate
the cambium (0.5 inch [1.3 cm]), yellow-poplar becomes extremely
resistant to fire damage [1,2].  Little mortality occurs once trees are
greater than 3 or 4 inches d.b.h. [31].  Yellow-poplar seeds are
generally resistant to heat damage [31].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
Compared with other hardwoods, yellow-poplar is relatively resistance to
fire-damage-induced decay.  A study comparing wound size with amounts of
bark discoloration found that yellow-poplars were more resistant to
wounding than oaks.  Even when large amounts of bark were discolored,
larger diameter yellow-poplars developed only small wounds [31].
Several studies have determined that within a given size class,
yellow-poplar is generally more resistant to fire damage than oaks [31].
 


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Sprouting:  Yellow-poplar sprouts from the root crown following top-kill
by fire [2,16].

Seedling establishment:  Prescribed fire enhances the regeneration of
yellow-poplar by releasing seed stored on the forest floor [31].
Following fall prescribed fire in the Upper Piedmont of South Carolina,
the number and height growth of yellow-poplar seedlings were
significantly higher on burned than on unburned plots.  After one
growing season, the burned plots had about 12,000 seedlings per acre;
the unburned, 2,000.  After three growing seasons, seedlings on the
burned plots averaged 3.5 feet (1.06 m) in height; seedlings on the
unburned plots averaged 3.0 feet (0.91 m) [26].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
While mature yellow-poplar is very fire resistant, the saplings are
susceptible to fire [1].  In a 5-year-old stand burned with varying
severities, the densities of saplings over 4.5 feet (1.4 m) in height 3
years (areas 1 and 3) and 2 years (areas 2 and 4) after fire had
decreased significantly from prefire densities.  Sapling densities
(stems/acrer) were as follows [22]:


                Area 1      Area 2      Area 3      Area 4
                Burn        Burn        No Burn     Burn
              (Moderate)   (Light)     (Control)   (Severe)

Saplings          709         74          677         294
Postfire change  -438        -21         +23          -8

Severe basal wounding of 8- to 18-inch-diameter yellow-poplars had no
significant effect on diameter growth rate 7 to 14 years after a fire
[31].


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Species: Liriodendron tulipifera | Yellow-Poplar