FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Pinus pungens | Table Mountain Pine 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Table Mountain pine is considered fire resistant [13].  Intermediate
bark thickness gives mature trees a low to moderate fire tolerance, but
populations survive as seeds after severe fires.  The delayed seed
release from serotinous cones results in prolific reproduction following
a fire.  Seedlings can survive low-intensity fires because the basal
stem crook protects buds from fire [11,13,22].

Table Mountain pine has a pyrogenic strategy.  Dense stands with high
fuel loads in the crowns foster severe fires that expose the
mineral soil needed for germination, eliminate competing vegetation, and
release seeds from serotinous cones.  The common even-aged stand
structure of Table Mountain pine is the result of fire. [5,7,11,22].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   crown-stored residual colonizer; long-viability seed in on-site cones
   crown-stored residual colonizer; short-viability seed in on-site cones
   off-site colonizer; seed carried by wind; postfire years 1 and 2

Related categories for Species: Pinus pungens | Table Mountain Pine