FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Pinus albicaulis | Whitebark Pine 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
The vulnerability of whitebark pine to fire is reduced by the open
structure of its stands and the dry, exposed habitats with meager
undergrowth in which it grows.  Whitebark pine is favored by severe,
stand-replacing fires which burn shade-tolerant associated trees.  Where
succession to shade-tolerant species is relatively rapid, fires are
important in moist sites for whitebark pine perpetuation [2].

Evidence from palynological and firescar studies shows that fires were
infrequent (fire intervals from 50 to 300 years) in whitebark pine
communities from the last Ice Age glaciation to the early 1900's.  Since
1965 only a few thousand acres of seral whitebark pine have burned.
Largely due to fire suppression, less than 1 percent of the seral
whitebark habitat types have burned since then.  At this rate the
"average" stand would burn every 3,000 years or longer [1,17].

With the lengthening of fire intervals, older stands become more
susceptible to pine beetle epidemics, which advance succession toward
dominance by shade-tolerant species.  In addition, fire may stimulate
the growth of currents and gooseberries, the alternate hosts for white
pine blister rust, and thus the spread of the rust into whitebark pine
trees [2].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Tree without adventitious-bud root crown
   Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)

Related categories for Species: Pinus albicaulis | Whitebark Pine