FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Pinus leiophylla var. chihuahuana | Chihuahua Pine 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Chihuahua pine has fire-associated regeneration [6].  It endures and
regenerates after fire due to abundant seed production, delayed seed
release from some serotinous cones, and sprouting potential, even in
mature trees [10,45].  When pine-oak woodland is burned, fire-enduring
species such as Chihuahua pine survive to become dominant since the less
tolerant species are eliminated [10].

Fire frequencies in Chihuahua pine forests have not been studied.
Stand-replacing fires may encourage the growth of competing vegetation;
oak and alligator juniper (Juniperus deppeana) sprout, and manzanita
(Arctostaphylos spp.) and ceanothus (Ceanothus spp.) seeds germinate
after stand-replacing fires [20].

Chihuahua pine grows in oak-pine woodlands; these are probably
fire-tolerant, fire-maintained communities, although their fire regime
is not well understood [62].  Chihuahua pine occurs in the oak-pine
forest and adjacent conifer gallery forest in Rhyolite Canyon in the
Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona.  Historically, surface fires
occurred every 1 to 38 years [63].  Based on the fire scars of
cooccurring Apache pine, the mean fire interval from 1655 to 1924 was
12.5 years in the lower canyon area [62].  In this and similar areas,
fire intervals increased with livestock grazing and the subsequent
reduction in surface fuels [63].

Fire is characteristic of interior ponderosa pine forests.  Fires from
these communities may extend downward into mixed pine or oak-pine
forests in which Chihuahua pine occurs.  In the Rincon Mountains close
to the northern latitudinal limits of Chihuahua pine, the estimated mean
fire intervals from 1757 to 1983 for Arizona pine communities ranged
from 1 to 13 years, based on fire-scarred trees [3].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Tree with adventitious-bud root crown/soboliferous species root sucker
   Crown residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
   Secondary colonizer - off-site seed

Related categories for Species: Pinus leiophylla var. chihuahuana | Chihuahua Pine