Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Ribes lacustre
|
|
 |
| Prickly currrant. Image by Rob Routledge, Sault College, Bugwood.org. |
Introductory
SPECIES: Ribes lacustre
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION:
Carey, Jennifer H. 1995. Ribes lacustre. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/riblac/all.html [].
Revisions:
On 21 August 2018, the common name of this species was changed in FEIS
from: bristly black currant
to: prickly currant. Images were also added.
ABBREVIATION:
RIBLAC
SYNONYMS:
NO-ENTRY
NRCS PLANT CODE:
RILA
COMMON NAMES:
prickly currant
bristly black currant
swamp currant
TAXONOMY:
The scientific name of prickly currant is Ribes lacustre (Pers.) Poir.
(Grossulariaceae) [25,33,34,35,59]. There are no currently accepted
infrataxa.
LIFE FORM:
Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS:
No special status
OTHER STATUS:
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Ribes lacustre
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION:
Prickly currant occurs throughout Canada from Newfoundland to
Yukon Territory and in Alaska [35,54,59]. It extends south into the
continental United States in the Coast and Cascade ranges to northern
California, in the Rocky Mountains to central Colorado and northern
Utah, in the Great Lake States, and in the Appalachian Mountains to West
Virginia [8,25,33,65,72]. In the northern Great Plains region,
prickly currant occurs in the Black Hills [26].
 |
| Distribution of prickly currant. Map courtesy of USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database.
National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC [2018, August 21] [67]. |
ECOSYSTEMS:
FRES11 Spruce-fir
FRES18 Maple-beech-birch
FRES19 Aspen-birch
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES22 Western white pine
FRES23 Fir-spruce
FRES24 Hemlock-Sitka spruce
FRES25 Larch
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES28 Western hardwoods
STATES:
AK CA CO CT ID ME MA MI MN MT
NH OH OR PA SD UT VT VA WA WV
WY AB BC MB NB NF NT ON PE PQ
SK YT
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS:
1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
15 Black Hills Uplift
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS:
K001 Spruce-cedar-hemlock forest
K003 Silver fir-Douglas-fir forest
K004 Fir-hemlock forest
K007 Red fir forest
K008 Lodgepole pine-subalpine forest
K012 Douglas-fir forest
K013 Cedar-hemlock-pine forest
K014 Grand fir-Douglas-fir forest
K015 Western spruce-fir forest
K025 Alder-ash forest
K093 Great Lakes spruce-fir forest
K096 Northeastern spruce-fir forest
K106 Northern hardwoods
SAF COVER TYPES:
60 Beech-sugar maple
107 White spruce
201 White spruce
205 Mountain hemlock
206 Engelmann spruce-subalpine fir
207 Red fir
208 Whitebark pine
210 Interior Douglas-fir
211 White fir
212 Western larch
213 Grand fir
215 Western white pine
218 Lodgepole pine
221 Red alder
222 Black cottonwood-willow
223 Sitka spruce
227 Western redcedar-western hemlock
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES:
422 Riparian
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES:
Prickly currant occurs in woods, forests, and shrublands. It is a
common but not abundant understory species [16,27,32].
Prickly currant occurs in the understory of subalpine forests in
Wyoming with gooseberry currant (Ribes montigenum), sidebells
wintergreen (Orthilia secunda), heartleaf arnica (Arnica cordifolia),
and fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) [9].
In the cedar (Thuja spp.)-hemlock (Tsuga spp.) zone of northwestern
British Columbia, prickly currant occurs with devil's club
(Oplopanax horridus), leafy moss (Mnium spp.), oak fern (Gymnocarpium
dryopteris), Schreber's moss (Pleurozium schreberi), common ladyfern
(Athyrium filix-femina), and horsetail (Equisetum spp.) [28].
Prickly currant occurs in the oak fern, devil's club, horsetail, and
queencup beadlily (Clintonia uniflora) series of the wet, cool subboreal
spruce (Picea spp.) forest zone in British Columbia [32].
Prickly currant occurs with Rocky Mountain maple (Acer glabrum),
Utah honeysuckle (Lonicera utahensis), blue huckleberry (Vaccinium
membranaceum), and western meadowrue (Thalictrum occidentale) in the
understory of a virgin grand fir (Abies grandis) forest in northern
Idaho [36].
In spruce forests in Alberta, prickly currant occurs with other
mesophytic species including twinberry honeysuckle (Lonicera
involucrata), highbush cranberry (Viburnum edule), tall bluebells
(Mertensia paniculata), wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), bluejoint
reedgrass (Calamagrostis canadensis), oak fern, stiff clubmoss
(Lycopodium amnotinum), and claspleaf twistedstalk (Streptopus
amplexifolius) [41].
Prickly currant occurs in riparian woodlands and shrublands. It
occurs in a thinleaf alder (Alnus incana ssp. tenuifolia) riparian
dominance type in east-central Oregon [50]. In the Klamath Mountains of
northern California, prickly currant borders streams with thinleaf
alder, California mountain-ash (Sorbus californica), and Scouler willow
(Salix scouleriana), and it occurs in thickets with thinleaf alder,
Sitka alder (Alnus viridis ssp. sinuata), red-osier dogwood (Cornus
sericea), red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa ssp. pubens), and cascara
(Rhamnus purshiana) [56].
Clearcuts in the Olympic Mountains in Washington, dominated by
oceanspray (Holodiscus discolor) and thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus),
include common snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) and prickly
currant [23].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Ribes lacustre
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:
Prickly currant berries are eaten by rodents, bears, and birds
[38]. In southwestern Alberta grizzly bears feed on prickly
currant berries in late summer and early autumn [31]. Elk, mule deer,
white-tailed deer, and mountain goats eat prickly currant foliage
[11,18,55,58,71]. In Montana prickly currant was 1 percent of elk
diet in early summer and 3 percent in late summer [18].
PALATABILITY:
Prickly currant browse is moderately palatable to livestock, elk,
and deer [17,38]. The berries are edible but somewhat disagreeable
tasting [35,38,59].
NUTRITIONAL VALUE:
Prickly currant berries collected in the summer in northern
Ontario consisted of 79.68 percent moisture, 20 percent dry matter, 0.28
percent fat, 1.46 percent protein, and 5.66 percent soluble carbohydrate
based on fresh fruit weight. Fresh prickly currant fruit contains
slightly more than 30 kilocalories per 100 grams [69].
Nutritional values of prickly currant berries collected in late
summer in southeastern Washington, based on dry weight, were 2.94 percent
protein, 4.09 percent lipid, 3.96 percent neutral detergent fiber, 4.56
percent ash, 0.282 percent calcium, 0.066 percent magnesium, 0.17
percent phosphorus, and 1.887 percent potassium [52].
Norton and others [46] analyzed the nutritional value of dried
prickly currant berries stored for 1 year. Traditional Native American
drying and storing methods were used. One gram dry weight contained on
average 3.19 milligrams calcium, 0.05 milligram iron, 0.94 milligram
magnesium, 0.02 milligram zinc, and 3.33 milligrams ascorbic acid [46].
COVER VALUE:
In Wyoming, prickly currant is considered poor cover for elk and
pronghorn and fair cover for mule deer and white-tailed deer. It is good
cover for upland game birds, small nongame birds, and small mammals [17].
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES:
Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest ate prickly currant
berries in historic times [46].
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
Prickly currant is an alternate host for white pine blister rust
(Cronartium ribicola) which infests five-needled pines. Because of its
association with the rust, prickly currant has been a target of
various eradication studies. Prickly currant is highly resistant
to chemical injury [48]. Efforts to eradicate Ribes spp. have been
unsuccessful and have not resulted in decreased rust infection. Only a
few Ribes bushes per acre are sufficient to perpetuate blister rust [29].
Although prickly currant establishes on scarified ground after
tree harvest, it does not impede conifer seedling establishment [61].
Grazing by wild ungulates prevents development of prickly currant
in clearcuts. Eleven years after clearcutting, burned and unburned
grazed sites averaged 0.3 percent cover prickly currant. Ungrazed
burned clearcuts averaged 4.6 percent cover and ungrazed unburned
clearcuts averaged 9.8 percent cover [19].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Ribes lacustre
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Prickly currant is a native, deciduous shrub that grows 3 to 4
feet (1-1.2 m) tall [44,59,72]. In sunlight prickly currant grows
erect, but in shade, branches are often reclining or trailing [44].
Prickly currant has prickly stems and nodal spines. The drooping
raceme has 5 to 15 flowers [33]. The berries average 0.34 inch (8.6 mm)
in diameter and contain an average of 16.5 small seeds [52].
The root systems of Ribes spp. consist of shallow roots radiating from a
central root crown [47]. Prickly currant roots are very shallow,
especially on moist sites, but lateral spread can be extensive [48].
Some sources report that prickly currant is rhizomatous [22,48]
while others report that it is nonrhizomatous [61]. Prickly
currant partially buried by volcanic ejecta from Mount St. Helens in
southern Washington had not developed rhizomes but had a well-developed
adventitious root system [3].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM:
Phanerophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES:
Prickly currant regenerates primarily from seed. Plants first
begin producing seeds when 3 to 5 years old. An average bush produces
50 to 75 berries. Good crops occur in 2- to 3-year intervals. Some seeds
are dispersed by animals, but many berries fall to the ground beneath
the parent plant [44].
Stratification is usually required to break the dormancy in prickly
currant seed. Seeds stored at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 deg C) for
120 to 200 days had 48 percent germination in sand moistened with
nutrient solution. Alternating diurnal temperatures (77 degrees
Fahrenheit [25 deg C] and 41 or 50 degrees Fahrenheit [5 or 10 deg C])
results in some germination without prior stratification. Scarification
enhances germination. A five-minute soak in 2 to 10 percent sulfuric
acid solution improved germination [51].
Mineral soil is the best seed bed. Prickly currant establishes on
well scarified sites [44,61].
Prickly currant seeds have long-term viability. They accumulate in
the organic mantle and mineral soil over time. The mineral soil
seedbank in mature forests in west-central Idaho contained 51 viable
prickly currant and sticky currant (Ribes viscosissimum) seeds per
square foot (567/sq m). Over 80 percent of the viable seeds were found
in the top 2 inches (5 cm) of mineral soil. The two Ribes spp. were
combined in the data because seedlings could not be distinguished in the
greenhouse [39].
Prickly currant regenerates vegetatively [44,48]. Prickly
currant stems in contact with soil produce adventitious roots [3,27,48].
In southern Washington, prickly currant that was partially buried
for 1 year by 2 to 8 inches (5-20 cm) of volcanic ejecta had two to five
adventitious roots per centimeter of stem. Maximum adventitious root
length was 10 inches (25 cm) [3]. Offord and others [48] observed
rhizomes in prickly currant near Mount Hood in northwestern
Oregon. Some sources [22,43,47] suggest that prickly currant
sprouts from the root crown, but definitive documentation was not found
in the literature.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS:
Prickly currant occurs in moist woods and forests, ravines, shrub
thickets, meadow margins, swamps, rock crevices, seepage areas, along
avalanche chutes, on streambanks, and on steep slopes [4,27,33,34,59].
On Big Snowy Peak in central Montana, prickly currant grows in
crevices of limestone outcrops and cliffs [5].
Prickly currant occurs in cool, moist climates. It occurs from
7,700 to 10,500 feet (2,300-3,200 m) in Utah, 7,000 to 11,400 feet
(2,100-3,500 m) in Colorado, 5,500 to 10,700 feet (1,700-3,300 m) in
Wyoming, and 3,000 to 8,700 feet (900-2,700 m) in Montana [17]. At the
southern extremes of its range (California, Utah, Colorado, and West
Virginia), prickly currant occurs in cool high-elevation forests
[1,56,65]. It is found more often on northerly and easterly exposures
than southerly or westerly exposures [44].
Prickly currant occurs on moist, nutrient-rich sites. In 91- to
160-year-old lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) stands and 60- to
160-year-old white spruce (Picea glauca) stands in west-central Alberta,
prickly currant had significantly (P<0.025) higher canopy cover on
sites with high site index (indicative of higher productivity) than
low site index [66]. In the Prince Rupert Forest Region of British
Columbia, prickly currant occurs on mesic to subhydric sites with
high nutrient status (permesotrophic to subeutrophic) [73]. It occurs
in both acidic and basic soils [1,5].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS:
Prickly currant is moderately shade tolerant [32,44] but grows
most vigorously in canopy openings [27]. It establishes in partial
shade or full sun after disturbance and then persists in the understory
of closed canopy forests and woods [10,44,61]. Seedlings are suppressed
on sites with more than 75 percent of full shade [44]. Prickly
currant established on a 1-year-old mudflow surface formed by the
volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens. The mudflow was reworked
nonorganic substrate with no shallowly buried soil [30]
Dense thickets of prickly currant are uncommon. Prickly
currant canopy cover reported in the literature is generally less than
10 percent and commonly less than 1 percent [16,27,32].
Prickly currant response to timber harvest is an indicator of its
successional status. Although prickly currant generally increases
after clearcutting [2,20,23,32], its response is varied. In western
Montana prickly currant cover averaged 1.5 percent in 7- to
16-year-old clearcuts but was only a trace in uncut stands [2]. In
northern British Columbia, prickly currant increased in abundance
on alluvial and poorly drained sites following clearcutting [20].
Prickly currant is a principal understory species on clearcuts in
northwestern Washington [23]. In subalpine forests in central Colorado,
pre- and postlogging prickly currant canopy cover was not
significantly (P<0.05) different [13]. In northwestern Montana,
prickly currant response to clearcutting depended on habitat type. In the
subalpine fir/queencup beadlily habitat type, prickly currant
canopy cover was lower on burn sites, clearcut sites, and avalanche
chutes than on old growth sites; in the more mesic subalpine
fir/menziesia (Menziesia spp.) habitat type, prickly currant
canopy cover was higher after these disturbances than on old-growth
sites [74].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Prickly currant flowers from May to June, and berries ripen in
August. Seeds germinate in the spring [51]. Prickly currant does
not always produce fruit in spruce-fir (Abies spp.) forests of Canada
because of the short growing season [27].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Ribes lacustre
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS:
Prickly currant occurs in many forest types, such as grand fir and
Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii)-subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa),
that are characterized by long fire-free intervals punctuated by severe,
stand-replacing fires [22,77]. The ability of prickly currant to
regenerate after fire from long-lived seed stored in soil or from
off-site sources makes prickly currant fairly resilient to
stand-replacing fire [89]. Low-severity fire is probably more favorable
to Ribes spp. than severe fire [78].
After fire prickly currant canopy cover increases slowly, reaching
a maximum density in several to many decades [15,42,76]. Prickly
currant cover was reported for sites with a history of fire in the
southern boreal forest region of Quebec. Postfire ages of sites ranged
from 26 to 230 years. Prickly currant was present on all sites at
low cover. The highest prickly currant cover recorded (2.2
percent) occurred on the site with a postfire age of 74 [15]. The
percent prickly currant cover follows:
Years since fire
26 46 74 120 143 167 174 230
Canopy cover 0.1 0.2 2.2 1.0 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1
In north-central Idaho, the vegetation was measured for 36 clearcut and
broadcast burned sites and 7 old-growth sites. Postfire ages of burned
sites ranged from 1 to 23 years. Prickly currant average percent
canopy volume (percent of total volume occupied in a 1x1x3 m space)
and average height by postfire year follow [75]:
Years since fire
1 3 8 12 23 old growth
Avg. % canopy volume 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.8 trace
Average height (cm) 11 24 45 65 43 25
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY:
Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
Secondary colonizer - off-site seed
FIRE REGIMES: Find fire regime information for the plant communities in
which this species may occur by entering the species name in the
FEIS home page under "Find Fire Regimes".
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Ribes lacustre
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT:
Fire that burns the organic soil probably kills prickly currant.
Noste and Bushey [47] report that fire that removes the organic soil
layer will likely kill the shallow root systems of most Ribes spp.
Prickly currant was nearly absent from study sites after a severe
prescribed fire in central Idaho (see Fire Case Studies) [42].
Low-severity fire probably top-kills prickly currant.
Prickly currant seeds contained in the organic mantle are
destroyed by severe fire [44]. However, seeds buried in mineral soil
probably survive most fire.
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE:
Numerous secondary sources suggest that prickly currant sprouts
from the root crown and rhizomes after top-kill by fire [7,12,22,43,
47,77]. However, primary documentation of prickly currant
sprouting from the root crown or rhizomes after fire was not found in
the literature.
Prickly currant was present in the postfire ravine vegetation 1
year after a mid-summer wildfire in western Montana. Although the fire
was generally severe, some ravine sites did not burn severely because of
the higher moisture content of plant material and soil. Prickly
currant plants recovered quickly in low-severity burn patches; the
mechanism of recovery (sprouting from rootstocks, rhizomes, or
adventitious stem buds) was not reported. Maximum prickly currant
postfire canopy cover was 2.5 percent 1 year after fire and 6.3 percent
2 years after fire [37].
Prickly currant colonizes burned sites via long-lived buried seed
and/or seed carried on to the site by animals [64]. Regeneration
success after fire depends on site conditions and fire severity. Severe
fire substantially reduces or delays prickly currant establishment
[42]. Prickly currant seedlings were present on 1 of 18 burn
sites 1 year after the Sundance wildfire in northern Idaho. The fire
consumed the overstory, litter and duff; fire intensity ranged from
3,400 to 22,500 British thermal units per second per foot [63].
According to Steele and Geier-Hayes [61], prickly currant and
sticky currant are common on scarified portions of past pile-and-burn
sites but rare on severely burned areas. In western Montana
black currant was 25.6 percent less frequent on burned slash pile sites
than on adjacent unburned scarified clearcut sites. Postfire age of
sampled burned sites averaged 8.8 years [70].
Optimal conditions for prickly currant establishment may not occur
until several years after fire. In broadcast-burned clearcuts in
north-central Idaho, prickly currant occurred in only 1 of 10
microplots in 1-year-old burns but was found on seven of nine microplots
in 3-year-old burns [75]. Severe hot or dry soil conditions associated
with some burns may discourage immediate colonization by prickly
currant. Lyon [42] suggests that optimal environmental conditions for
prickly currant establishment may not occur on some sites until
other vegetation is established.
Prickly currant recovery was slow after prescribed broadcast fires
in clearcut western larch (Larix occidentalis)-Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga
menziesii) forests in northwestern Montana. Prickly currant
disappeared from the most severely burned site (E-8), but appeared
within 8 years on three sites on which it had not been present in the
prefire vegetation. Prickly currant pre- and postfire canopy
cover follows [62]:
Year since fire
Site prefire 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 postfire
% cover duff (cm)
N-6 - - - 1 1 1 - - - 7.0
N-8 - - - - - 1 - 1 3 6.0
E-8 1 - - - - - - - - 6.6
S-2 1 - - - - - 1 - - *
W-3 - - - - - - - - 1 4.5
*Duff depth was not reported for the S-2 burn site.
Literature which contains fire response information for Ribes spp. in
general should be viewed with caution because of substantial differences
between co-occurring species. In the above-mentioned study [62], sticky
currant rapidly colonized some burned sites, reaching a maximum canopy
cover of 11 percent after 4 years on a site from which it was absent
before fire [62]. Lyon [42] also documented rapid sticky currant
recovery after fire (see Fire Case Studies). Mueggler [45] combined Ribes
spp. when he reported they were considerably more frequent on burn sites
than unburned sites in grand fir and western redcedar (Thuja plicata)
forest associations in northern Idaho. Prickly currant and sticky
currant co-occur in these forests [14], and it is possible that only
sticky currant was doing well on burned sites in the first several
postfire years.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE:
For further information on prickly currant response to fire, see
Fire Case Studies. The Research Project Summary and Research Papers
(Hamilton 2006a, Hamilton 2006b) of Hamilton's studies and Lyon's
Research Paper (Lyon 1966) also provide information on prescribed fire
and postfire response of plant community species, including
prickly currant.
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
Nutrient content of shrub species was estimated for seven silvicultural
treatments including burning in the Coram Experimental Forest in
northwestern Montana [60]. The elemental content of prickly
currant branches and leaves collected in July and August is presented [60].
SPECIES: Ribes lacustre
FIRE CASE STUDY CITATION:
Carey, Jennifer H., compiler. 1995. Sawtooth National Forest, Idaho, prescribed fire
study: Effects on prickly currant. In: Ribes lacustre. In: Fire Effects
Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/riblac/all.html#FireCaseStudies
[].
REFERENCE:
Lyon, L. Jack. 1971. Vegetal development following prescribed burning of
Douglas-fir in south-central Idaho. Res. Pap. INT-105. Ogden, UT: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and
Range Experiment Station. 30 p. [42].
SEASON/SEVERITY CLASSIFICATION:
Summer/severe
STUDY LOCATION:
The study site is located in Neal Canyon, 6 miles (9.6 km) north of
Ketchum, Idaho, in the Sawtooth National Forest.
PREFIRE VEGETATIVE COMMUNITY:
The study site was selectively logged in 1950 and 1960. The remaining
trees were primarily pole and sapling Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga
menziesii), many of which were diseased. Minor tree species included
lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa),
Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii), and quaking aspen (Populus
tremuloides). Understory vegetation was dominated by Rocky Mountain
maple (Acer glabrum) and mountain snowberry (Symphoricarpos oreophilus).
Prickly currant was a minor species.
Vegetation layers over and under 18 inches (46 cm) in height were
sampled and described separately. Prickly currant under 18 inches
occurred on 20 percent of the study quadrats. Prickly currant
abundance of plants over 18 inches in height was:
density 0.9 plant/1,000 sq feet
canopy cover 0.67 percent
aerial crown volume 16.8 cubic feet/1,000 sq feet
TARGET SPECIES PHENOLOGICAL STATE:
Prickly currant was probably in flowering and fruiting stages on
August 1, the day of the fire.
SITE DESCRIPTION:
The mountainous study site is at 6,500 feet (1,980 m) elevation. Annual
precipitation is from 14 to 17 inches (360-430 mm), most occurring in the
winter as snow. The slope averages 64 percent and the aspect is 10 to
20 degrees. The soils are rocky, averaging 50 percent gravel.
FIRE DESCRIPTION:
The fire was started at 8 a.m. on August 1, 1963 and burned until 5 p.m.
Air temperature was 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 deg C) in the morning and
nearly 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 deg C) in the afternoon. Relative
humidity declined from 50 percent in the morning to 10 percent in the
afternoon. Fuel moisture sticks indicated 5 to 6 percent moisture.
Surface winds were less than 5 miles per hour, but fire-induced gusts up
to 30 miles per hour were recorded.
The fire was severe and crowned. All litter, herbaceous plants, dead
woody stems less than 3 inches (7.6 cm) in diameter, and live woody
stems less than 2 inches (5.1) in diameter were consumed. The
Douglas-fir overstory was killed. The mean heat flux, measured using
water-can integrating devices, was 200 calories per second for 45
seconds.
FIRE EFFECTS ON TARGET SPECIES:
Prickly currant was killed by the fire. Prickly currant was
observed on the study site beginning in postfire year 2. However, no
prickly currant less than 18 inches in height was detected during
the 7 postfire years in 2- by 2-foot quadrats. Density, height, and
crown volume for prickly currant over 18 inches in height was
originally recorded using quarter-point sampling [79], but this
technique was eventually deemed inadequate because of low plant
densities. Beginning in 1966 (postfire year 3), 0.04 acre (0.016 ha)
plots were sampled, both in the original quarter-point sampling area and
in three additional subplots located at lower, middle, and upper slope
sites; measurable quantities of prickly currant occurred only on
the lower and upper slope subplots. Prickly currant over 18
inches in height was first recorded in postfire year 3, presumably
growing from seed in the first or second postfire year. The following
data should be interpreted with caution because of very low sample
numbers for prickly currant.
Postfire year
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
plants/1,000 sq ft
original study area: - - T T - 0.3 0.1
subplots (lower slopes): * * 0.2 0.2 1.0 1.3 1.8
subplots (upper slopes): * * 0.1 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.5
canopy cover (%)
original study area: - - T 0.01 - 0.05 T
aerial crown volume
(cu ft/1,000 sq ft)
original study area: - - 0.1 0.1 - 1.1 T
subplots (lower slopes): * * 0.2 0.4 2.6 7.4 4.4
subplots (upper slopes): * * 0.7 2.0 1.4 1.8 2.5
*Data were not collected
Height and crown volume were measured and averaged for the first four
prickly currants on the burn to reach 18 inches in height.
Postfire year
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
average height (ft) - - 1.7 1.6 1.5 2.4 1.9
Average volume (cu ft) - - 2.6 3.1 4.4 11.5 6.2
A wildfire site which burned in 1950 was located near the Neal Canyon
study site. Twenty years after the wildfire, prickly currant
averaged 2.6 plants per 1,000 square feet, 0.6 percent cover , and 12.2
cubic feet aerial crown volume per 1,000 square feet. Based on the Neal
Canyon prescribed fire and the wildfire, Lyon [42] projects that
prickly currant will reach prefire crown volumes 30 to 40 years after
fire.
FIRE MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS:
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Ribes lacustre
REFERENCES:
1. Allen, Robert B.; Peet, Robert K.; Baker, William L. 1991. Gradient
analysis of latitudinal variation in Southern Rocky Mountain forests.
Journal of Biogeography. 18(2): 123-138. [14875]
2. Antos, Joseph A.; Shearer, Raymond C. 1980. Vegetation development on
disturbed grand fir sites, Swan Valley, northwestern Montana. Res. Pap.
INT-251. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 26 p. [7269]
3. Antos, Joseph A.; Zobel, Donald B. 1985. Plant form, developmental
plasticity and survival following burial by volcanic tephra. Canadian
Journal of Botany. 63: 2083-2090. [12553]
4. Antos, Joseph A.; Zobel, Donald B. 1986. Habitat relationships of
Chamaecyparis nootkatensis in southern Washington, Oregon, and
California. Canadian Journal of Botany. 64: 1898-1909. [19168]
5. Bamberg, Samuel A.; Major, Jack. 1968. Ecology of the vegetation and
soils associated with calcareous parent materials in three alpine
regions of Montana. Ecological Monographs. 38(2): 127-167. [12554]
6. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p.
[434]
7. Bradley, Anne F.; Noste, Nonan V.; Fischer, William C. 1992. Fire
ecology of forests and woodlands of Utah. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-287.
Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain
Research Station. 128 p. [18212]
8. Braun, E. Lucy. 1961. The woody plants of Ohio. Columbus, OH: Ohio State
University Press. 362 p. [12914]
9. Clary, Warren P. 1983. Overstory-understory relationships: spruce-fir
forests. In: Bartlett, E. T.; Betters, David R., eds.
Overstory-understory relationships in Western forests. Western Regional
Research Publication No. 1. Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University
Experiment Station: 9-12. [3310]
10. Cormack, R. G. H. 1953. A survey of coniferous forest succession in the
eastern Rockies. Forestry Chronicle. 29: 218-232. [16458]
11. Cowan, Ian McTaggart. 1945. The ecological relationships of the food of
the Columbian black-tailed deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus
(Richardson), in the c. forest region southern Vancouver Island, British
Columbia. Ecological Monographs. 15(2): 110-139. [16006]
12. Crane, M. F.; Fischer, William C. 1986. Fire ecology of the forest
habitat types of central Idaho. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-218. Ogden, UT: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research
Station. 85 p. [5297]
13. Crouch, Glenn L. 1985. Effects of clearcutting a subalpine forest in
central Colorado on wildlife habitat. Res. Pap. RM-258. Fort Collins,
CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain
Forest and Range Experiment Station. 12 p. [8225]
14. Daubenmire, Rexford F.; Daubenmire, Jean B. 1968. Forest vegetation of
eastern Washington and northern Idaho. Technical Bulletin 60. Pullman,
WA: Washington State University, Agricultural Experiment Station. 104 p.
[749]
15. De Grandpre, Louis; Gagnon, Daniel; Bergeron, Yves. 1993. Changes in the
understory of Canadian southern boreal forest after fire. Journal of
Vegetation Science. 4: 803-810. [23019]
16. Despain, Don G. 1973. Vegetation of the Big Horn Mountains, Wyoming, in
relation to substrate and climate. Ecological Monographs. 43(3):
329-355. [789]
17. Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information
network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and
Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior,
Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p. [806]
18. Edge, W. Daniel; Marcum, C. Les; Olson-Edge, Sally L. 1988. Summer
forage and feeding site selection by elk. Journal of Wildlife
Management. 52(4): 573-577. [6778]
19. Edgerton, Paul J. 1987. Influence of ungulates on the development of the
shrub understory of an upper slope mixed conifer forest. In: Provenza,
Frederick D.; Flinders, Jerran T.; McArthur, E. Durant, compilers.
Proceedings--symposium on plant-herbivore interactions; 1985 August 7-9;
Snowbird, UT. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-222. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station: 162-167.
[7411]
20. Eis, S. 1981. Effect of vegetative competition on regeneration of white
spruce. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 11: 1-8. [10104]
21. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
22. Fischer, William C.; Clayton, Bruce D. 1983. Fire ecology of Montana
forest habitat types east of the Continental Divide. Gen. Tech. Rep.
INT-141. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 83 p. [923]
23. Fonda, R. W. 1979. Fire resilient forests of Douglas-fir in Olympic
National Park: a hypothesis. In: Linn, Robert M., ed. Proceedings, 1st
conference on scientific research in the National Parks, Vol. 2; 1976
November 9-12; New Orleans, LA. NPS Transactions and Proceedings No. 5.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service:
1239-1242. [6698]
24. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
25. Gleason, Henry A.; Cronquist, Arthur. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of
northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. 2nd ed. New York: New
York Botanical Garden. 910 p. [20329]
26. Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains.
Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. 1392 p. [1603]
27. Haeussler, S.; Coates, D.; Mather, J. 1990. Autecology of common plants
in British Columbia: A literature review. Economic and Regional
Development Agreement FRDA Rep. 158. Victoria, BC: Forestry Canada,
Pacific Forestry Centre; British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Research
Branch. 272 p. [18033]
28. Haeussler, S.; Pojar, J.; Geisler, B. M.; [and others]. 1985. A guide to
the interior cedar-hemlock zone, northwestern transitional subzone
(ICHg), in the Prince Rupert Forest Region, British Columbia. Land
Management Report Number 26; ISSN 0702-9861. Victoria, BC: British
Columbia, Ministry of Forests. 263 p. [6930]
29. Hagle, Susan K.; McDonald, Geral I.; Norby, Eugene A. 1989. White pine
blister rust in northern Idaho and western Montana: alternatives for
integrated management. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-261. Ogden, UT: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research
Station. 35 p. [9357]
30. Halpern, Charles B.; Harmon, Mark E. 1983. Early plant succession on the
Muddy River mudflow, Mount St. Helens, Washington. American Midland
Naturalist. 110(1): 97-106. [8870]
31. Hamer, David; Herrero, Stephen; Brady, Keith. 1991. Food and habitat
used by grizzly bears, Ursus arctos, along the Continental Divide in
Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta. Canadian Field-Naturalist.
105(3): 325-329. [18672]
32. Hamilton, Evelyn H.; Yearsley, H. Karen. 1988. Vegetation development
after clearcutting and site preparation in the SBS zone. Economic and
Regional Development Agreement: FRDA Report 018. Victoria, BC: Canadian
Forestry Service, Pacific Forestry Centre; British Columbia Ministry of
Forests and Lands. 66 p. [8760]
33. Hickman, James C., ed. 1993. The Jepson manual: Higher plants of
California. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 1400 p.
[21992]
34. Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur. 1973. Flora of the Pacific
Northwest. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 730 p. [1168]
35. Hulten, Eric. 1968. Flora of Alaska and neighboring territories.
Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. 1008 p. [13403]
36. Humphrey, Harry B.; Weaver, John Ernst. 1915. Natural reforestation in
the mountains of northern Idaho. Plant World. 18: 31-49. [12448]
37. Keller, Marilyn Crane. 1980. Post-fire recovery within ravine forest
communities of Pattee Canyon, Missoula, Montana. Missoula, MT:
University of Montana. 136 p. Thesis. [6725]
38. Kovalchik, Bernard L.; Hopkins, William E.; Brunsfeld, Steven J. 1988.
Major indicator shrubs and herbs in riparian zones on National Forests
of central Oregon. R6-ECOL-TP-005-88. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region. 159 p. [8995]
39. Kramer, Neal B.; Johnson, Frederic D. 1987. Mature forest seed banks of
three habitat types in central Idaho. Canadian Journal of Botany. 65:
1961-1966. [3961]
40. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
41. La Roi, George H.; Strong, Wayne L.; Pluth, Donald J. 1988. Understory
plant community classifications as predictors of forest site quality for
lodgepole pine and white spruce in west-central Alberta. Canadian
Journal of Forest Research. 18: 875-887. [5414]
42. Lyon, L. Jack. 1971. Vegetal development following prescribed burning of
Douglas-fir in south-central Idaho. Res. Pap. INT-105. Ogden, UT: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and
Range Experiment Station. 30 p. [1495]
43. Lyon, L. Jack; Stickney, Peter F. 1976. Early vegetal succession
following large northern Rocky Mountain wildfires. In: Proceedings, Tall
Timbers fire ecology conference and Intermountain Fire Research Council
fire and land management symposium; 1974 October 8-10; Missoula, MT. No.
14. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 355-373. [1496]
44. Moss, Virgil D.; Wellner, Charles A. 1953. Aiding blister rust control
by silvicultural measures in the western white pine type. Circular No.
919. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 32 p. [12262]
45. Mueggler, Walter F. 1965. Ecology of seral shrub communities in the
cedar-hemlock zone of northern Idaho. Ecological Monographs. 35:
165-185. [4016]
46. Norton, H. H.; Hunn, E. S.; Martinsen, C. S.; Keely, P. B. 1984.
Vegetable food products of the foraging economies of the Pacific
Northwest. Ecology of Food and Nutrition. 14(3): 219-228. [10327]
47. Noste, Nonan V.; Bushey, Charles L. 1987. Fire response of shrubs of dry
forest habitat types in Montana and Idaho. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-239.
Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain
Research Station. 22 p. [255]
48. Offord, H. R.; Van Atta, G. R.; Swanson, H. E. 1940. Chemical and
mechanical methods of Ribes eradication in the white pine areas of the
western states. Tech. Bull. No. 692. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture. 50 p. [1795]
49. Oswald, E. T.; Brown, B. N. 1993. Vegetation development on skid trails
and burned sites in southeastern British Columbia. Forestry Chronicle.
69(1): 75-80. [20566]
50. Padgett, Wayne George. 1981. Ecology of riparian plant communities in
southern Malheur National Forest. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State
University. 143 p. Thesis. [14933]
51. Pfister, Robert D. 1974. Ribes L.--currant, gooseberry. In: Schopmeyer,
C. S., tech. coord. Seeds of woody plants in the United States. Agric.
Handb. 450. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service: 720-727. [1877]
52. Piper, Jon K. 1986. Seasonality of fruit characters and seed removal by
birds. Oikos. 46: 303-310. [15348]
53. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
54. Roland, A. E.; Smith, E. C. 1969. The flora of Nova Scotia. Halifax, NS:
Nova Scotia Museum. 746 p. [13158]
55. Saunders, Jack K., Jr. 1955. Food habits and range use of the Rocky
Mountain goat in the Crazy Mountains, Montana. Journal of Wildlife
Management. 19(4): 429-437. [484]
56. Sawyer, John O.; Thornburgh, Dale A. 1977. Montane and subalpine
vegetation of the Klamath Mountains. In: Barbour, Michael G.; Major,
Jack, eds. Terrestrial vegetation of California. New York: John Wiley &
Sons: 699-732. [685]
57. Shiflet, Thomas N., ed. 1994. Rangeland cover types of the United
States. Denver, CO: Society for Range Management. 152 p. [23362]
58. Singer, Francis J. 1979. Habitat partitioning and wildfire relationships
of cervids in Glacier National Park, Montana. Journal of Wildlife
Management. 43(2): 437-444. [4074]
59. Soper, James H.; Heimburger, Margaret L. 1982. Shrubs of Ontario. Life
Sciences Misc. Publ. Toronto, ON: Royal Ontario Museum. 495 p. [12907]
60. Stark, N. 1983. The nutrient content of Rocky Mountain vegetation: a
handbook for estimating nutrients lost through harvest and burning.
Misc. Publ. 14. Missoula, MT: University of Montana, School of Forestry,
Montana Forest and Conservation Experiment Station. 81 p. [8617]
61. Steele, Robert; Geier-Hayes, Kathleen. 1989. The grand fir/mountain
maple habitat type in central Idaho: succession and management. Ogden,
UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest
and Range Experiment Station. 148 p. Review draft. [8435]
62. Stickney, Peter F. 1980. Data base for post-fire succession, first 6 to
9 years, in Montana larch-fir forests. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-62. Ogden,
UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest
and Range Experiment Station. 133 p. [6583]
63. Stickney, Peter F. 1985. Data base for early postfire succession on the
Sundance Burn, northern Idaho. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-189. Ogden, UT: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research
Station. 121 p. [7223]
64. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p. [20090]
65. Strausbaugh, P. D.; Core, Earl L. 1977. Flora of West Virginia. 2nd ed.
Morgantown, WV: Seneca Books, Inc. 1079 p. [23213]
66. Strong, W. L.; Pluth, D. J.; LaRoi, G. H.; Corns, I. G. W. 1991. Forest
understory plants as predictors of lodgepole pine and white spruce site
quality in west-central Alberta. Canadian Journal of Forest Research.
21: 1675-1683. [17695]
67. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2018.
PLANTS Database, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources
Conservation Service (Producer). Available: https://plants.usda.gov/.
[34262]
68. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Biological Survey. [n.d.]. NP
Flora [Data base]. Davis, CA: U.S. Department of the Interior, National
Biological Survey. [23119]
69. Usui, Masayuki; Kakuda, Yukio; Kevan, Peter G. 1994. Composition and
energy values of wild fruits from the boreal forest of northern Ontario.
Canadian Journal of Plant Science. 74(3): 581-587. [24583]
70. Vogl, Richard J.; Ryder, Calvin. 1969. Effects of slash burning on
conifer reproduction in Montana's Mission Range. Northwest Science.
43(3): 135-147. [8546]
71. Wallmo, Olof C.; Regelin, Wayne L.; Reichert, Donald W. 1972. Forage use
by mule deer relative to logging in Colorado. Journal of Wildlife
Management. 36: 1025-1033. [4486]
72. Welsh, Stanley L.; Atwood, N. Duane; Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry
C., eds. 1987. A Utah flora. Great Basin Naturalist Memoir No. 9. Provo,
UT: Brigham Young University. 894 p. [2944]
73. Yole, D.; Lewis, T.; Inselberg, A.; [and others]. 1989. A field guide
for identification and interpretation of the Engelmann spruce-subalpine
fir zone in the Prince Rupert Forest Region, BC. Victoria, BC: Ministry
of Forests, Research Branch. 81 p. [17095]
74. Zager, Peter Edward. 1980. The influence of logging and wildfire on
grizzly bear habitat in northwestern Montana. Missoula, MT: University
of Montana. 131 p. Dissertation. [5032]
75. Zamora, Benjamin Abel. 1975. Secondary succession on broadcast-burned
clearcuts of the Abies grandis - Pachistima myrsinites habitat type in
northcentral Idaho. Pullman, WA: Washington State University. 127 p.
Dissertation. [5154]
76. Zamora, Benjamin A. 1982. Understory development in forest succession:
an example from the Inland Northwest. In: Means, J., ed. Forest
succession and stand development research in the Inland Northwest; [Date
of conference unknown]; [Location of conference unknown]. Corvallis, OR:
Oregon State University, Forest Research Lab: 63-69. [8766]
77. Fischer, William C.; Bradley, Anne F. 1987. Fire ecology of western
Montana forest habitat types. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-223. Ogden, UT: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research
Station. 95 p. [633]
78. Rowe, J. S. 1983. Concepts of fire effects on plant individuals and
species. In: Wein, Ross W.; MacLean, David A., eds. SCOPE 18: The role
of fire in northern circumpolar ecosystems. Chichester; New York: John
Wiley & Sons: 135-154. [2038]
79. Wenger, Karl F., editor. 1984. Forestry handbook. 2d ed. New York: John
Wiley & Sons. 1335 p. [8996]
FEIS Home Page
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/riblac/all.html
