FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Picea sitchensis | Sitka Spruce 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
The immediate effect of a cool to hot fire is damage to the cambium
layer, usually resulting in death of the tree [5,8].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Sitka spruce will invade a burned site via wind-dispersed seed from
adjacent unburned forests [49].  Wind-dispersed seed travels 33 to 880
yards (30-792 m) from the parent tree [24].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Arguments for and against slash burning in spruce forests recur
throughout the literature.  The strategy chosen will yield different
results, depending on latitude.

In the northern portion of Sitka spruce's range broadcast burning will
favor Sitka spruce over western hemlock, but unless Sitka spruce is
planted, seedling establishment will be delayed until the next seed crop
[14,26,48,49].  Ruth and Harris [49] list the advantages of slash
burning as follows:

      (1)  Reduces fire hazard
      (2)  Destroys advance regeneration *
      (3)  Changes timber type

* This can have both positive and negative ramifications.  It reduces
competition with western hemlock, but growth of Sitka spruce seedlings
in one study was reduced [14].

In the southern portion of its range broadcast burning will favor the
establishment of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) mixed forest, while
long-term fire exclusion will result in loss of Douglas-fir from the
overstory.  This is advantageous due to the increased stumpage value of
Douglas-fir and the negative impacts of the spruce weevil [44,49].

In the coastal area of Alaska, broadcast burning has been recommended to
reduce the negative aesthetic value of large quantities of slash from
clearcut old-growth Sitka spruce forests [53].

However, removal of the slash by burning in Sitka spruce forests is not
required because of the to rapid decay in that moist environment [48].
Burning is not recommended on steep slopes and where water quality may
be degraded [48,53].

Related categories for Species: Picea sitchensis | Sitka Spruce