FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Quercus prinus | Chestnut Oak 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Small chestnut oaks are top-killed by low-severity fire.  Surviving
trees may have basal fire wounds [49].

Acorns cannot withstand the amount of heat usually generated in leaf
litter fires [34].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Chestnut oak sprouts vigorously after being top-killed.  After a fire in
south-central New York, 100 percent of the top-killed chestnut oak
saplings (less than 4 inches [10 cm] in d.b.h.) sprouted, with an
average of 5.9 sprouts per top-killed stem.  Eleven percent of the
sampled saplings were not top-killed [71].

The mortality of oak trees from fire is often delayed.  Six months after
two surface fires of different severity in southern New York, living
butt-scorched trees (larger than 1 inch [2.5 cm] in d.b.h.) were tagged
for future study.  In the less severely burned area, 22 percent of the
tagged chestnut oak were dead 1.5 years after the fire.  Small diameter
trees, especially those less than 5 inches (12.7 cm) in d.b.h., had the
highest mortality.  In the other area that burned more severely because
of a dense understory of mountain-laurel, 41 percent of the tagged
chestnut oak were dead 1.5 years after the fire.  The authors concluded
that at least one postfire growing season must elapse before fire damage
to oaks can be accurately determined [70].

Fire may increase the growth rate of chestnut oak.  Three chestnut oaks,
that had suffered no crown damage from a winter fire, averaged 38
percent higher diameter growth rate in the first postfire year than the
4 years prior to the fire.  Unburned chestnut oaks did not show
increased growth rates.  Foliar phosphorus and calcium concentrations in
burned chestnut oak trees were higher than control trees through most of
the growing season.  In addition, the proportional phosphorus resorption
and both proportional and absolute calcium deposition in leaves was
higher in burned trees.  However, it is uncertain what caused the
increase in growth rate because other factors, such as a decrease in
competition from understory shrubs, also may have contributed to the
increased growth [5].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Prescribed fire is often used to control hardwoods and promote the
establishment of pine.  In a study on the South Carolina Piedmont,
spring felling of leafed-out residual oaks (chestnut, scarlet, and
black) followed by summer burning produced greater reductions of
dominant sprout height and sprout clump crown diameters at the end of
the first postfire growing season than did winter felling followed by
summer broadcast burning.  Spring felling was probably more effective
because carbohydrate root reserves are low after leaves emerge [22].

Equations have been developed to predict lumber value losses due to fire
wounding of chestnut oak [42].  An equation has also been developed to
predict the size of a fire wound on a chestnut oak from the area of the
exterior discolored bark and the diameter of the damaged tree [55].

While fire has been suggested as a tool for improving upland oak
regeneration, it has been used with only mixed success [44].  Five- to
six-year-old naturally regenerating mixed hardwood stands were
prescribed burned in order to increase the relative dominance of oak.
The former harvested stands were 60 to 90 percent oak, but the
regenerating stand had a large number of yellow-poplar, black cherry,
and white ash (Fraxinus americana).  The fire retarded the development
of the young stand but did not increase the relative dominance of oak,
which was estimated to be not more than 30 to 40 percent of the future
stand.  The season of fire (spring versus fall) did not change the
outcome [47].  In such a stand, there may not be sufficient differences
in fire resistance between oak stems and those of other species for fire
to give oaks a distinct advantage [44].

Related categories for Species: Quercus prinus | Chestnut Oak