Pines versus oaks: effects of fire on the composition of Madrean forests in Arizona

I examined contrasts in response to moderate-intensity fire between two pine species (Pinus leiophylla Schiede and Deppe and P. engelmannii Carr.) and four oak species (Quercus hypoleucoides Camus., Q. arizonica Sarg., Q. emoryi Torr., and Q. rugosa Nee.) in Madrean forests in southeastern Arizona. Stem survival of pines after fire was greater than for oaks, but oaks sprouted more successfully after top-kill than did the only sprouting pine species, P. leiophylla. As a result, post-fire decline and subsequent recovery in oak populations was more marked than for the pines, and the ratio of oaks to pines decreased as a result of fire but increased during recovery. In typical forest stands, most individuals established from 1860 to 1920 at the interface between a period of high fire frequency and the onset of fire exclusion. Ages of Q. hypoleucoides were more clustered than for the pines, suggesting post-fire sprouting rather than long-term top-survival of fire. The results point to contrasts in mechanisms of persistence in this fire-prone ecosystem: fire resistance in the pines versus post-fire sprouting in the oaks. As a result, fire regime controls the balance between the two groups, with moderate-intensity fire favoring the pines and periods of low fire frequency – due to natural causes or anthropogenic fire exclusion – favoring the oaks. The species and community response patterns found in this study may apply generally to other pine-oak communities.