SPECIES: Fraxinus americana
SPECIES: Fraxinus americana Introductory
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : Griffith, Randy Scott. 1991. Fraxinus americana. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/ [].
ABBREVIATION : FRAAME SYNONYMS : Fraxinus biltmoreana Beadle SCS PLANT CODE : FRAM2 COMMON NAMES : white ash Biltmore ash Biltmore white ash cane ash small-seed white ash TAXONOMY : The currently accepted scientific name of white ash is Fraxinus americana L. [29]. White ash is in the Oleaceae (olive) family [27]. Currently recognized varieties of white ash are [24]: F. americana var. americana F. americana var. biltmoreana (Beadle) J. Wright LIFE FORM : Tree FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : No special status OTHER STATUS : NO-ENTRY
SPECIES: Fraxinus americana DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : White ash inhabits eastern North America. It occurs from Nova Scotia west to eastern Minnesota and south to Texas and northern Florida [23]. It is cultivated in Hawaii [34]. ECOSYSTEMS : FRES10 White - red - jack pine FRES11 Spruce - fir FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine FRES14 Oak - pine FRES15 Oak - hickory FRES16 Oak - gum - cypress FRES17 Elm - ash - cottonwood FRES18 Maple - beech - birch FRES19 Aspen - birch STATES : AL CT DE FL GA HI IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO NE NH NJ NC OH OK PA RI SC TN TX VT VA WV WI NB NS ON PQ BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 14 Great Plains KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : K081 Oak savanna K082 Mosaic of K074 and K100 K084 Cross Timbers K089 Black Belt K090 Live oak - sea oats K091 Cypress savanna K093 Great Lakes spruce - fir forest K095 Great Lakes pine forest K097 Southeastern spruce - fir forest K098 Northern floodplain forest K099 Maple - basswood forest K100 Oak - hickory forest K101 Elm - ash forest K102 Beech - maple forest K103 Mixed mesophytic forest K104 Appalachian oak forest K106 Northern hardwoods K107 Northern hardwoods - fir forest K108 Northern hardwoods - spruce forest K110 Northeastern oak - pine forest K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest K112 Southern mixed forest SAF COVER TYPES : 19 Gray birch - red maple 20 White pine - northern red oak - red maple 21 Eastern white pine 22 White pine - hemlock 23 Eastern hemlock 24 Hemlock - yellow birch 25 Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch 26 Sugar maple - basswood 27 Sugar maple 28 Black cherry - maple 33 Red spruce - balsam fir 39 Black ash - American elm - red maple 42 Bur oak 52 White oak - black oak - northern red oak 53 White oak 55 Northern red oak 57 Yellow poplar 58 Yellow poplar - eastern hemlock 59 Yellow poplar - white oak - northern red oak 60 Beech - sugar maple 63 Cottonwood 64 Sassafras - persimmon 80 Loblolly pine - shortleaf pine 82 Loblolly pine - hardwood 87 Sweet gum - yellow poplar 91 Swamp chestnut oak - cherrybark oak SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : NO-ENTRY HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : Coffman and others [6] list white ash as a dominant and an indicator in the habitat type classification of upper Michigan and northwestern Wisconsin.
SPECIES: Fraxinus americana MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : The wood of white ash is economically important due to its strength, hardness, weight, and shock resistance [17]. It is second only to hickory (Carya spp.) for use in the production of tool handles. Nearly all wooden baseball bats are made from white ash [11]. The wood is also used in furniture, antique vehicle parts, railroad cars and ties, canoe paddles, snowshoes [23], boats, doors, and cabinets [30]. IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : White ash is an important source of browse and cover for livestock and wildlife. The samaras are good forage for the wood duck, northern bobwhite, purple finch, pine grosbeak, fox squirrel, and mice, and many other birds and small mammals [27]. White ash is browsed mostly in the summer by white-tailed deer and cattle [22]. The bark of young trees is occasionally used as food by beaver, porcupine, and rabbits [27]. White ash's ability to readily form trunk cavities if the top is broken and its large d.b.h. (24 to 48 inches [61-122 cm]) at maturity make it highly valuable for primary cavity nesters such as red-headed, red-bellied, and pileated woodpeckers. Once the primary nest excavators have opened up the bole of the tree, it is excellent habitat for secondary nesters such as wood ducks, owls, nuthatches, and gray squirrels [7]. PALATABILITY : The palatability of white ash browse for deer and cattle varies from poor in the fall and winter to fair in the summer [22]. The samaras are good forage in the fall [27]. The relish and the degree of use shown by livestock and wildlife species for white ash in several eastern states has been rated as follows [22,27]: ME PA WV MI KY Cattle fair fair fair fair fair White-tailed deer fair fair fair fair fair Small mammals good good good good good Small nongame birds good good good good good Upland game birds good good good good good Waterfowl good good good good good NUTRITIONAL VALUE : White ash browse has a low protein content and low phosphorus:calcium ratio, giving it a poor nutritional rating in the winter; however, in the spring and summer the protein content increases to 7.7 percent, increasing its rating to fair [19]. The nutrient values for white ash browse collected on January 16 were as follows (data presented is in percent composition) [19]. N-free Protein Fat Fiber Extract Ash Phosphorus Calcium 3.47 0.95 37.56 40.90 2.12 0.07 0.74 COVER VALUE : White ash provides hiding and thermal cover for a variety of mammals and birds. The degree to which white ash provides environmental protection during one or more seasons for wildlife species in several eastern states has been rated as follows [26,27,28]: ME PA WV MI KY White-tailed deer good good good good good Small mammals good good good good good Small nongame birds good good good good good upland game birds good good good good good Waterfowl good good good good good VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : White ash has been used in Ohio, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania in the reclamation of surface coal mines, with 45 percent survival after 30 years. White ash should be planted in mixtures with other hardwoods; interplanting with European alder (Alnus glutimosa) nearly doubled the height and d.b.h. of white ash on a site in eastern Kentucky. White ash seedlings are recommended for planting; direct seeding in Ohio produced poor results. On acid spoils the lower pH limit for white ash is 4.0 [31]. OTHER USES AND VALUES : The juice from the leaves of white ash can be applied topically to mosquito bites for relief of swelling and itching [17]. White ash has a specialized use as a prophylactic measure for snake bite. If one carries the crushed leaves in his/her pockets the odor has been "proved" offensive to rattlesnakes [27]. Open-grown white ash is useful as a shade and ornamental tree [17]. OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : White ash is susceptible to a variety of natural and man-made pathogens. Ash decline (also called ash dieback or ash yellows) has increased over the last 40 years and is especially prevalent in New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. Mortality rates are as high as 90 percent in some areas of New York. Nearly all of the ash decline from 1980 to 1986 occurred in areas with high levels of atmospheric deposition of sulfur (S0x) and nitrous (NOx) oxides. Although there is no concrete evidence that acid deposition is the causal agent, it can not be dismissed [23]. Ash decline probably results from multiple factors--the disease, ash yellows, caused by a mycoplasmalike organism; canker fungi (Fusicoccum spp.); viruses; acid deposition; and drought [16]. Maintaining good tree vigor is the primary control recommendation. Preventative measures that seem to abate ash decline include [16]: watering, fertilizing, applying fungicide, covering wounds with a fungicide-augmented dressing, and avoiding planting white ash in areas of high acid deposition. White ash has been found to be sensitive to ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and acid deposition. Chappelka and others [3] found that total biomass was reduced 14 percent after exposure to these atmospheric contaminants. Visible evidence is characterized by initial purple-white stippling on the adaxial leaf surface which turns into necrotic lesions. This occurred on 66 percent of the plants. White ash varies in cold hardiness with the latitude of origin. Trees grown in the North have a lower lethal temperatures than those from the South. When revegetating an area, seed and seedlings must be procured from a source that is climatically and geographically similar [1,13]. Clark and Schroeder [4] have developed equations to calculate the green volume, green weight, and dry weight of white ash.
SPECIES: Fraxinus americana BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : White ash is a native, deciduous, long-lived tree [30]. Leaves are compound, 8 to 15 inches (20-38 cm) in length, and usually have seven oval, entire leaflets [17]. White ash is dioecious. The male flowers bloom first, before the leaf buds break. The pollen is already airborne during the 7 to 10 days when the female flowers are receptive [10,32]. The flowers are borne in panicles near branch tips. White ash will start to flower when it is 3 to 4 inches (8-10 cm) in d.b.h., but abundant flowering does not occur until the tree is 8 to 10 inches (20-25 cm) [10]. White ash obtains heights of 60 to 70 feet (18-21 m). The bole is long, straight and free of branches for most of its length, and the crown is narrow and pyramidal when grown in a mixed stand. Open-grown specimens have a short bole with a rounded crown [17]. RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : Undisturbed State: Phanerophyte (megophanerophyte) Undisturbed State: Chamaephyte Burned or Clipped State: Chamaephyte Burned or Clipped State: Cryptophyte (geophyte) REGENERATION PROCESSES : Sexual: White ash samaras remain viable on the forest floor for 3 to 4 years [5]. The samaras require cold stratification; in the laboratory stratification at 41 to 14 degrees F (5 to -10 degrees C) for 2 to 3 months resulted in a mean germination of 54 percent. Germination is epigeal and can occur on mineral soil, humus, or leaf litter, but the substrate must be moist [27]. Vegetative: White ash resprouts from the root crown after logging or fire. Sprouting ability decreases with age [27]. Silviculture: Young stands (5 to 10 years) respond to the addition of nitrogen and thinning by increasing the number of stems per acre and increasing in height growth by 1 to 2 feet (0.3-0.6 m) [15], whereas older stands (35 to 85 years) do not exhibit increased growth from fertilization or release [8]. White ash responds well to shelterwood cutting. Advanced regeneration grows best with 60 percent of the overstory removed [14]. SITE CHARACTERISTICS : White ash grows best on deep, well-drained, moist soils with other hardwoods [17]. In the Northeast white ash occurs on middle mesophytic slopes, and it is reduced or lacking on dry, cold ridges and mountaintops. White ash occurs on slightly elevated ridges in the floodplains of major streams in the Coastal Plain and on slopes along major streams in the Central States [27]. Soil: White ash has a strong affinity for soils high in nitrogen and calcium [27]. Climate: Climate varies widely within white ash's range. The frost-free period ranges from 90 to 270 days. Annual precipitation ranges from 30 to 60 inches (76-152 cm) per year. Snow depths vary from 0 to more than 100 inches (254 cm) [27]. Elevation: White ash grows from near sea level on the Coastal Plain to 3,450 feet (1,050 m) in the Cumberland Mountains [27]. Associates: White ash's primary associates are eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), northern red oak (Quercus rubra), white oak (Q. alba), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), red maple (A. rubrum), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), black cherry (Prunus serotina), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), and yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) [27]. Understory associates are downy serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea), pawpaw (Asimina triloba), American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), and eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) [27]. SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : White ash is a pioneer species. It is characteristic of early and intermediate stages of succession. Although mature white ash is classified as shade intolerant, the seedlings are shade tolerant. A seedling can survive at less than 3 percent of full sunlight for a few years. This attribute allows the species to regenerate in gaps [27]. SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : White ash flower buds break dormancy from April to May, with the vegetative buds breaking immediately after the flowers [27,30]. The fruit ripens from August to October [24], and seeds are dispersed from August to November [2].
SPECIES: Fraxinus americana FIRE ECOLOGY
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : White ash resprouts from the root crown after fire [21]. POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : survivor species; on-site surviving root crown or caudex secondary colonizer; off-site seed carried to site after year 2
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :SPECIES: Fraxinus americana FIRE EFFECTS
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : Fire kills the aboveground stem and crown of white ash [21]. DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : Fire wounds can increase a tree's susceptibility to insects and decay by weakening the plant and providing entry points. Compared with other hardwoods, white ash is moderately susceptible to fire-damage-induced decay [33]. PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : McGee [21] found that after fires of varying intensity in a stand of 5-year-old saplings the number of white ash stems per acre increased as follows: Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Burn Burn No Burn Burn Moderate Light Control Severe Saplings 424 215 123 109 Postfire increase +91 +66 +13 +42
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : NO-ENTRY
SPECIES: Fraxinus americana REFERENCES
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