FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Quercus laurifolia | Laurel Oak 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Laurel oak is fire intolerant.  It is frequently top-killed by even
low-severity surface fires because it has relatively thin bark.  It is
also a poor natural pruner [27].

Many laurel oak stands such as those on hydric hammocks owe their
existence to protection from fire [43].  Hardwood hammocks are extremely
susceptible to fire damage, especially during the dry season.  A
dry-season surface fire may burn the organic soil down to the bedrock
[44].

If fire is suppressed, laurel oak expands from hydric hammocks into
adjacent communities [43].  Unlike the original hammock, expanding
hammocks often have a dense saw-palmetto (Serenoa repens) understory.  A
dry-season fire in Myakka River State Park, Florida, killed many large
laurel oaks in the expanding hammock but not in the original hammock.
The dense saw-palmetto understory was, in part, responsible for the high
mortality of laurel oak in the expanding hammock [19].




POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Tree with adventitious-bud root crown/root sucker
   Secondary colonizer - off-site seed

Related categories for Species: Quercus laurifolia | Laurel Oak