Abies bracteata , bristlecone fir

This review summarizes the fire effects information and relevant ecology of bristlecone fir that was available in the scientific literature as of 2020. Bristlecone fir is a rare fir that is taxonomically separated from other fir species due to its unique genetics and morphology. It is endemic to California, growing only in the northern Santa Lucia Mountains. Most bristlecone fir groves are small and scattered. Bristlecone fir requires a mild climate with minimal winter frost and relatively low summer evaporation rates. It prefers cool, moist sites and grows in a wide variety of soils. However, many groves are restricted to steep, rocky sites that rarely burn due to sparse fuels. Bristlecone fir also occurs in mixed-evergreen and mixed-conifer woodlands and forests, where it is most common in the canyon live oak phase of mixed-evergreen forests. It occurs in all stages of forest succession. Bristlecone fir groves can become dense and shaded in late succession. Bristlecone fir has a narrow, spikey form and is usually no more than 100 feet tall at maturity. The thin spines on its cones, for which the species is named, are unique within the genus. Bristlecone fir establishes from seed. Seed production can be high; however, drought limits seedling establishment. Best establishment occurs in moist mineral soil. Genetic diversity is low for this species. Bristlecone fir is easily killed by fire because it has thin bark, and the often low branches make it susceptible to ignition and torching. It establishes from wind- and animal-dispersed seeds after fire. It is primarily a fire avoider, usually growing on rocky sites with thin, poorly developed soils and sparse fuels. Information about fire effects and postfire recruitment of bristlecone fir was largely anecdotal as of 2020. Fire regimes in bristlecone fir groves were not well known or documented as of 2020. Historical fire intervals were probably moderately long, with fires occurring from several decades to over 100 years apart. Fire scars analyses are difficult to impossible for bristlecone fir because the groves usually escape fire, and there is little information on historical fire frequencies in the groves. Historically, most lightning fires in the Santa Lucia Mountains were apparently small. Literature cited in this Species Review include these reviews: [16,46]. A dissertation by Talley (1974) provides original documentation of bristlecone fir ecology, and it is cited throughout this Species Review [59].