Fire Enhances Whitebark Pine Seedling Establishment, Survival, and Growth

Periodic fire is thought to improve whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm.) regeneration by reducing competition and creating openings, but the mechanisms by which fire affects seedling establishment are poorly understood. I compared seedling vegetation production in adjacent sites, one last burned in 1880 and the other in 1988, to test the hypothesis that recent fire increases whitebark pine seedling growth. I experimentally tested effects of fire on seedling recruitment and growth by planting seeds in prescribed burned and nearby unburned sites. Experimental results showed nearly three times greater seed germination and seedling survival in recently prescribed burn plots. Seedling vegetation production in the 1880 and 1988 burn sites were measured using stem diameter and number of new needle bundles. Stem diameter was approximately 26 % greater after the more recent fire in the 1988 burn site, and new needle bundle production was approximately 40 % greater in this site relative to seedlings in the adjacent site that was last burned in 1880. Seedling growth, measured as both above- and belowground biomass, was approximately 57 % greater in a recently prescribed burn site relative to growth in an adjacent site that was unburned since 1910. Higher growth rates after prescribed fire corresponded with greater soil NO3− and soil-available P concentrations relative to unburned controls. However, high N concentrations in leaves of seedlings in unburned plots indicated that whitebark pine seedlings were not N-limited. Higher P, increased light availability, and earlier snowmelt after fire may be important factors in general postfire success of whitebark pine.ResumenLa mejora de la regeneración del pino de corteza blanca (Pinus albicaulis Engelm.) es atribuida a los incendios periódicos, al reducir la competencia y crear aperturas o claros, aunque los mecanismos mediante los cuales el fuego afecta el establecimiento de sus plantines no se comprenden bien. En este trabajo he comparado la producción de plantines en sitios adyacentes, uno de ellos quemado por última vez en 1880 y el otro en 1988, para probar la hipótesis de que los fuegos recientes incrementan el crecimiento de plantines del pino de corteza blanca. He probado experimentalmente los efectos del fuego en el reclutamiento y crecimiento de los plantines, sembrando esta especie en sitios con quemas prescritas y en otros adyacentes sin quemar. Los resultados experimentales mostraron casi el triple de germinación y supervivencia de plantines en las parcelas con quemas prescritas recientes. La producción de plantines en los sitios quemados en 1880 y 1988 fueron medidos utilizando el diámetro del tallo y la cantidad de ramilletes de acículas nuevas. El diámetro del tallo fue de aproximadamente 26 % más grande después del fuego más reciente, en el sitio quemado en 1988, y la producción de ramilletes de acículas fue aproximadamente un 40 % más grande en este sitio en relación con los plantines en el sitio adyacente que fue quemado por última vez en 1880. El crecimiento de los plantines medido como la biomasa aérea y subterránea fue aproximadamente un 57 % mayor en un sitio con una quema prescrita reciente en relación al crecimiento en un sitio adyacente que permaneció sin quemar desde 1910. Las tasas de crecimiento más altas luego de la quema prescrita se corresponden con una mayor cantidad de NO3− y de concentraciones de P disponible en el suelo en comparación con controles sin quemar. Sin embargo, altas concentraciones de N en las hojas de plantines de parcelas sin quemar, indicaron que el pino de corteza blanca no presentó limitaciones de N. Los altos contenidos de P, el aumento de la disponibilidad de luz, y el derretimiento temprano de la nieve tras el fuego pueden ser factores importantes en el éxito general post-fuego del pino de corteza blanca.

• Publication year

  2015

• Venue

  Fire Ecology

• Publication date

  2015-08-01

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.4996/fireecology.1102084
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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