FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Pinus torreyana | Torrey Pine 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Torrey pine is fire-intolerant [40].  Low-severity fires will kill trees
up to 21 inches (52 cm) dbh even if no crown damage is sustained [40].
Severe fires kills trees of all sizes [26].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Seed drop is substantial after crown fires [26,40].  Establishment of
seedlings from stored seeds released by fire-killed trees has been
confirmed after both wildfires and prescribed fires [39].
  
An arson fire in TPSR occurred on July 12, 1972.  Ninety-three mature
trees were killed on 11.3 acres (4.8 ha).  Seedling establishment
occurred in postfire year 1 [27].  In May of 1979, 220 saplings and
seedlings were found in the burned area.  Juvenile tree density was two
and a half times greater than the prefire mature tree density [26,27].

On November 6 and 7, 1978, 31,204 square feet (2,900 sq m) were burned
in the TPSR under controlled conditions.  Results on Torrey pine
regeneration were inconclusive.  However, prescribed fires in the spring
of 1984 and winter of 1985, which killed 19 trees and 17 saplings, did
promote seedling establishment.  In January 1986, a total of 201
seedlings were found in the burned area [40].
 


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Torrey pine may be declining in the TPSR because past fire-exclusion
policies have created an unnatural setting.  Infrequent, severe fires
are best for Torrey pine seedling establishment, although disturbance is
not essential to seedling establishment [26].  According to Zedler and
others [40], maintaining a natural system in the TPSR may require that
it be allowed to burn to the ground every century [40].  If fires occur
in a Torrey pine population at intervals shorter than 12 to 18 years,
(when saplings begin to produce cones), they could seriously impair the
ability of the population to survive [26].

Related categories for Species: Pinus torreyana | Torrey Pine