FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Thuja occidentalis | Northern White-Cedar 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Northern white cedar is highly susceptible to fire because of thin bark,
shallow roots, and high oil content [26].  In the understory of a pine,
aspen, or birch (Betula spp.) forest, northern white-cedar acts as a fuel
ladder, carrying fire into the overstory [23].

The risk of fire on most northern white-cedar sites is low, but fires
occasionally originate on drier sites and spread into northern
white-cedar stands [34].  Forested peatlands with a moss ground cover
will not carry spring fires because of a high water table, but forested
fens with a ground cover of sedges (Carex spp.) and grasses carry fire
in the spring when the grasses and sedges are dry.  Most fires in
peatlands with a moss ground cover occur in July, August, or September.
Given sufficient winds, northern white-cedar stands can carry a crown
fire [22].

Northern white-cedar reproduces well on moist organic soils exposed by
fire if a seed source is nearby.  Many northern white-cedar forests in
the Lake States originated after fire [14].  However, if the peat burns
and the humus is destroyed, northern white-cedar may not become
established for a long time [34].

Vogl [47] classifies northern white-cedar as a fire-initiated species in
which fire simultaneously terminates and initiates a long-lived species.
Fires are infrequent and usually severe.  The longest lived specimens
occur in locations where fire is infrequent or nonexistent because of
rocky substrate, sparse ground cover, or low stand density [5].
Examples of such sites include the lakeshores and islands of Lake
Duparquet, Quebec [6] and the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario [32].
Recurring fire may be responsible for the exclusion of northern
white-cedar from some sites [6].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Tree without adventitious-bud root crown
   Secondary colonizer - off-site seed

Related categories for Species: Thuja occidentalis | Northern White-Cedar