RESPONSE OF ARBUTUS ARIZONICA (ARIZONA MADRONE) TO FIRE IN SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA

Abstract

Abstract I investigated the response to fire of Arbutus arizonica, an important but little-studied tree species of fire-prone Madrean pine-oak communities of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Arbutus arizonica exhibited a marked ability to tolerate both moderate-severity and high-severity fire. Although all individuals were top-killed by high-severity fire, the shoots of nearly half of the trees survived moderate-severity fire, and most top-killed trees in both types of fire resprouted. Tree response to fire appeared to be governed by fire severity and tree size. Top-survival and epicormic resprouting after top-kill were both higher after moderate-severity than high-severity fire and increased with tree size. Levels of root crown resprouting, however, exhibited the opposite pattern. The results of this study suggest that A. arizonica has a capacity, similar to that found for sympatric Quercus species, to persist in a fire-prone environment. Resumen Investigue la reaccion al fuego de Arbu...