FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Quercus lobata | Valley Oak 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Valley oak has a number of strategies which enable it to survive fire.
Mature trees are fire resistant, while top-killed seedlings and saplings
sprout from the root crown [30,32].  The symbiotic relationship between
this species and animals which store acorns underground favors postfire
species regeneration, as buried acorns usually survive fire [15].

Historically, valley oak woodland burned on approximately a yearly
basis.  Lightning usually struck the taller, older oaks.  These hollow,
punky oaks were frequently the source of fire ingition once hit.  Fires
were typically hot but burned quickly, carried by dry grasses and oak
litter, with few downed woody fuels [74].


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

Related categories for Species: Quercus lobata | Valley Oak