FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Pinus strobus | Eastern White Pine 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Eastern white pine is moderately fire resistant.  Mature trees survive
most surface fires because they have thick bark, branch-free boles, and
a moderately deep rooting habit.  Younger trees are not as fire
resistant [68].  The needles have relatively low resin content so are
not highly flammable [30].

Forests dominated or codominated by eastern white pine have different
fire regimes depending on site and associated species.  The natural fire
regime in eastern white pine-red pine forests consists of nonlethal
surface fires at 5- to 50-year intervals punctuated by severe
stand-replacing fires at longer intervals.  In the Boundary Waters Canoe
Area in Minnesota, low-severity fire intervals averaged 36 years, and
severe fire intervals averaged 160 years.  Eastern white pine forests
growing on more mesic sites with a substantial shade-tolerant component
probably undergo only one fire every 150 to 350 years [16,17].  Some
large individuals survive or escape severe fires and serve as seed
sources for a new stand.  Severe fire creates large open areas with ash
or mineral seedbeds and reduces competition, good conditions for eastern
white pine regeneration [19,65].

The typical fuel type under eastern white and red pine stands is an
organic layer 2 to 4 inches (5-10 cm) deep, a continuous needle layer, a
moderate forb and shrub layer, and a moderately dense understory.
Ground fires spread slowly in this fuel type.  Dry, windy conditions are
required for fires to crown and have a high rate of spread [23].


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

Related categories for Species: Pinus strobus | Eastern White Pine