FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Pinus strobiformis | Southwestern White Pine 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Southwestern white pine is not fire adapted; it does not have
fire-induced sprouting, seed germination, or biomass increases [12].
Southwestern white pine is fire sensitive in young age classes.  Older
trees with somewhat thicker bark are relatively more fire resistant
[20].  The thin bark and horizontal or drooping branches increase its
susceptibility to fire.

Lightning-ignited fires occur in the southwestern forests during spring
or early summer before the rains begin [2].  Arizona and New Mexico
mixed-conifer forests have the highest frequency of lightning fires in
the United States [77].

Fire-scarred cross sections of living and dead southwestern white pine
and other conifers were examined to determine the role of fire in
southwestern forests.  Over time spans of 288 and 426 years, the average
intervals between fires in western Texas and east-central Arizona were
4.7 to 9 or 22 years [2,8,20].  These chronologies have been used with
climatic data to develop fire hazard forecasting models [68].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Tree without adventitious-bud root crown
   Secondary colonizer - off-site seed

Related categories for Species: Pinus strobiformis | Southwestern White Pine