FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Torreya taxifolia | Florida Torreya 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Because sprouting from the roots, bole, and root crown are natural
methods of regeneration in this species [14,15,20,21,22], Florida
torreya probably sprouts from those organs after fire.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Schwartz, a biologist with the Florida Nature Conservancy, suggested
that in the past, smoke may have acted as a natural fungicide,
suppressing the fungi now infecting Forida torreya.  Ground fires
resulting from lightning strikes were a constant feature of the region's
longleaf pine forests until recently.  Smoke drifting from these upland
fires settled in the ravines where Florida torreya grew.  This may have
kept the fungal spore load low.  After fire suppression, the spore load
may have reached a critical mass, resulting in the present outbreak
[21].  In August and October of 1987, 2,670 acres (1,080 ha) of a
longleaf pine-slash pine (P. elliottii) forest were burned.  Two of the
eleven fungal pathogens identified in stricken Florida torreya were
suppressed by smoke [13].  The Tall Timbers Research Station in
Tallahassee, Florida, is currently researching the effects of smoke on
the fungi that infect Florida torreya.  The research is as yet
unpublished [23].

Related categories for Species: Torreya taxifolia | Florida Torreya