Wood sorrell
Oxalis acetosella
Family: Oxalidaceae
Fire effect on plant
Fire will likely top-kill wood sorrell but underground rhizomes may survive low-severity fires.
Key traits
Wood sorrell is a perennial plant with creeping rhizomes underground which it uses to vegetatively reproduce and spread (Packham, 1978). These rhizomes act as storage organs, and can support resprouting after disturbance such as grazing and cutting (Packham, 1978). The response to low-severity fire is assumed to be similar, and has been described in closely related species (e.g. O. montana; Pavek, 1992).
Reproduction in sorrell species usually involves episodes of seedling recruitment as a result of disturbance, such as fire, followed by long periods of vegetative clonal growth (Raphael & White 1984). However, the survival of wood sorrell seeds through fire is unclear from the literature. In Norwegian heathlands subject to prescribed burning, wood sorrell was only found in the standing biomass and not in the seedbank (Måren and Vandvik 2009). Seed dispersal in this species is poor (0.1-1m; Lososová et al, 2023).
Plant response to fire
The effect of fire on wood sorrell populations is not described in the literature. Presumably, this species can tolerate low-severity fire and resprout afterwards, however high-severity fires may destroy underground rhizomes and cause declines in this species.
Timing of life history
Perennial species. Seeds likely produced from second growing season. Flowers April to May.
Conservation status
None.
References
Lososová Z., Axmanová I., Chytrý M., Midolo G., Abdulhak S., Karger D.N., Renaud J., Van Es J., Vittoz P. & Thuiller W. 2023. Seed dispersal distance classes and dispersal modes for the European flora. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 32(9), 1485–1494 [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Måren, I.E. and Vandvik, V. (2009), Fire and regeneration: the role of seed banks in the dynamics of northern heathlands. Journal of Vegetation Science, 20: 871-888.
Packham, J. R. (1978). Oxalis Acetosella L. Journal of Ecology, 66(2), 669–693 [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Pavek, Diane S. 1992. Oxalis montana. 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/forb/oxamon/all.html [Expert opinion; grey literature]
Raphael, M. G.; White, M. (1984) Use of snags by cavity-nesting birds in the Sierra Nevada. Wildlife Monographs No. 86. Washington, DC: The Wildlife Society. 66 p. [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]