Increasing Fire Resistance

close up of an arizona fescue blade of grass

Biological Strategy

Arizona fescue

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Protect From Fire

Depending on location, fire can be either predictable or unpredictable. In some areas, fires occur in cycles ranging from annual to hundreds of years. Where fire is cyclic, living systems must be able to not only survive fire, but to quickly recover following it. For example, pine trees that live in areas with periodic fires have thick bark that provides insulation, thereby protecting the tree’s living tissue.

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Cooperate/Compete Between Different Species

From parasitism to mutualisms, there are endless interactions between organisms in nature. Interactions between species that lead to a negative outcome for one species are known as competition. Cooperation occurs when organisms work together for the benefit of each organism or species. While competition often occurs over resources or mates, the more biologists have begun to look for examples of cooperation in nature, the more they have found. For example, around 90% of plants have a beneficial partnership with fungi. Fungi provide the plant with nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, in exchange for sugars from the plant.

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Flowering Plants

Clade Angiosperms (“receptacle seed”): Dandelions, oaks, grasses, cacti, apples

With 416 families containing some 300,000 known species, angiosperms are the most diverse group of plants, and they can be found around the globe in a wide variety of habitats. They are characterized by seeds that grow enclosed in ovaries, which are enclosed in flowers. The floral organs then develop into fruits of myriad kinds and dimensions, from simple seed casings on maples to elaborate fleshy growths like papayas. The oldest flower known from fossils, Montsechia vidalii, appeared during the Jurassic Period 130 million years ago. They are the primary food source for herbivorous animals, which in turn makes them the indirect food source for carnivores as well.

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Arizona fescue grasses may have increased resistance to fire thanks to the endophytic fungi Neotyphodium starrii.

“Other explanations for the maintenance of N. starrii in Arizona fescue populations may be increased resistance to seasonal and yearly droughts (e.g., Bacon, 1993; Elmi and West, 1995) that are typically of semi-arid, ponderosa pine-bunchgrass communities in the southwestern U.S. These communities are also historically influenced by frequent (every 2-3 yr) but low intensity fires, and Neotyphodium may also increase resistance to and recovery from fire.” (Schulthess and Faeth 1998)

Last Updated August 18, 2016

References

Journal article

Distribution, Abundances, and Associations of the Endophytic Fungal Community of Arizona Fescue (Festuca arizonica)

Schulthess, F. M.; Faeth, S. H.

Book

Neotyphodium in Cool-Season Grasses

Wiley-Blackwell | 18/02/2005 | Craig A. Roberts

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