FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Pinus contorta var. murrayana | Sierra Lodgepole Pine 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Sierra lodgepole pine is fire sensitive [2,48].  After stand-replacing
fire, it typically establishes from wind-dispersed seed.  Agee [1]
reported that establishment of Sierra lodgepole pine in Crater Lake
National Monument, Oregon, was favored by fires of moderate to high
severity.  Fire-return intervals in Sierra lodgepole pine forests vary.
On the western slope of the Cascade Range in Oregon, stand-replacing
fires may occur several hundred years apart.  On the eastern slopewhere
drier conditions prevail, such fires may occur at intervals of less than
20 years [2].  Keeley [64] reported a fire-return interval of several
hundred years was also common on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada.
Stand-replacing fires are related to insect attacks, particulary by pine
mountain beetle, and declining vigor and high fuel loading in older
stands [2,16,63].  When fires occur in Sierra lodgepole stands, they are
usually intense and extensive [2].


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

Related categories for Species: Pinus contorta var. murrayana | Sierra Lodgepole Pine