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Fire Ecology of Seeds from Rubus Spp.: A Competitor During Natural Pine Regeneration

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Air-dried blackbeny (Rubus spp.) fruits were placed at three depths in a reconstructed forest floor and subjected to a simulated prescribed summer bum. Within the forest floor, fruits were placed on the L layer, at the upper-F/lower-F interface, and at the lower-F/mineral-soil interface. Wind for a headfire was generated by electric boxfans. Extracted seed viability was assessed during each of six 30- or 60-day germination tests that alternated with 30 or 60 days of cold stratification over a period of 18 months. As depth within the forest floor increased, germinative capacity of blackberry seeds increased. For blackberries placed on the L layer and at the upper-F/lower-F interface during presctibed burning, cumulative seed germination averaged only 0.03 and 0.33 percent, respectively. At the lower-F/mineral-soil interface, mean seed germination did not differ (P= 0.74) from the 23 percent achieved by unburned control seeds.

Citation

Cain, Michael D.; Shelton, Michael G. 1999. Fire Ecology of Seeds from Rubus Spp.: A Competitor During Natural Pine Regeneration. USDA, Paper presented at the Tenth Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference, Shreveport, LA, February 16-18, 1999
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/1970