FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Pinus resinosa | Red Pine 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Red pine is fire resistant.  Mature trees survive fire because they have
thick bark, branch-free boles, a moderately deep rooting habit, and
often occur in moderately open stands [4].  Fire is necessary for red
pine regeneration because it prepares a seedbed, opens up the canopy by
killing some trees, and reduces brush and understory species which shade
out and compete with seedlings [40].

Saplings are killed by moderate-severity fires, and young stands are
highly flammable because the crowns are still near the ground [40].
Once the canopy closes, lower branches die, and a large gap develops
between the ground and the crown [33].  On good sites, red pine boles
are fairly free of fire hazardous branch material well above 15 feet
(4.6 m) by age 30.  On poor to medium sites, boles are free up to 7 feet
(2.1 m) by age 30 [22].  Because trees do not bear seed until 15 to 25
years of age at the earliest, a fire-free interval of at least 20 to 40
years is required for red pine recruitment [6].

The natural fire regime in red pine forests is characterized by
alternating stand-replacing fires and nonlethal fires.  Low- and
moderate-severity fires occur at 20- to 40-year intervals, and
high-severity fires at 150- to 200-year intervals. Most
moderate-severity fires do not kill canopy trees.  The high-severity
fires kill trees and thus create openings in the stand, ideal for red
pine recruitment [3].  Because the fire frequency within red pine's
native range has changed as the climate has changed [6], it appears that
red pine is fairly resilient to changes in fire frequencies [44].
However, complete absence of fire will eventually eliminate red pine, as
will frequent, stand-replacing fires [13].

The fire regime of the boreal forest at the northern edge of red pine's
native range is characterized by crown fires and high-severity surface
fires.  Red pine is resticted to lake landscapes or rough topography at
its northern limits because these natural fire breaks permit some mature
trees to survive [3].

The typical fuel type under red pine stands is an organic layer 2 to 4
inches (5-10 cm) deep, a continuous needle layer, a moderate herb and
shrub layer, and a moderately dense understory.  Ground fires spread
slowly.  Dry windy conditions are required for fires to crown and have a
high rate of spread [16].

Red pine litter is less compact and less dense than jack pine litter
because of its long and curved needles.  Thus, the drying rate and
potential combustion rate of red pine needles is higher than that of
jack pine [5].  Needle litter accumulates under a red pine stand at an
increasing rate until shortly after closure of the crowns.  Accumulation
then levels off at 11,000 to 16,000 pounds per acre (12.3-17.9 t/ha),
with more on good sites [22].



POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Tree without adventitious-bud root crown
   Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)
   Secondary colonizer - on-site seed
   Secondary colonizer - off-site seed

Related categories for Species: Pinus resinosa | Red Pine