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Abstract
The longleaf pine ecosystem is marked by frequent fire, and climate change will change the conditions under which P. Palustris currently exists. This study aimed to understand the interaction of drought and known fire intensities within P. palustris for the first time. We used droughted and well-watered P. palustris seedlings and burned at three different fuel loads. While two treatments had similar levels of fire intensity per seedling, we were able to cause mortality. Needle fuel moisture of burned seedlings was not different between droughted and well-watered groups. Mortality and resprouting only occurred at over 1.5MJ M-2 of fire intensity and drought that exceeded -1.7MPa of predawn water potential when burned. Future measures of growth on burned and droughted seedlings may elucidate the impacts on long-term growth and survival. Compared to Western US species, P. palustris is much more resistant to the combined effects of known fire energies and drought.