Heartleaf Arnica

More info for the terms: cover, frequency

On ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir communities in the Blue Mountains
of northeastern Oregon, heartleaf arnica cover and frequency were higher
on sites that had been thinned 6 years previously than on prescribed
burned, thinned-and-burned, or control sites.  Heartleaf arnica was determined to be
an indicator species for thinned sites (P≤0.05).  For further information on the
effects of thinning and burning treatments on heartleaf arnica and 48 other
species, see the Research Project Summary of Youngblood and others' [50] study.

The Research Paper and Research Project Summary of Hamilton's [48,49] studies,
and Lyon's Research Paper also provide information on prescribed
fire and postfire response of many plant species, including heartleaf arnica.

heartleaf arnica
heart-leaved arnica

More info for the term: cover

Heartleaf arnica provides poor cover for wildlife [13].

More info for the term: herb

Heartleaf arnica is a native, perennial herb 6 to 24 inches (15-60 cm)
tall, with upright stems arising singly from long, slender, creeping
rhizomes [18].  Rhizomes grow laterally 0.4 to 0.8 inches (1-2 cm) below
the soil surface [7].  Root depths of 24 inches (60.9 cm) have been
recorded in Montana [35].

The life span of heartleaf arnica is estimated at 12 years [6].

Heartleaf arnica is found from Alaska east to Saskatchewan and south to
northern Mexico and Nebraska [34,44].  A disjunct population occurs on
the Keweenaw Peninsula of northern Michigan [18].

More info for the terms: fire regime, seed

Heartleaf arnica is moderately fire resistant [31,37], typically
sprouting from surviving rhizomes after fire [7,24,32].  It also
regenerates from wind-dispersed seed [7,45], and from seed resulting
from mass flowering at postfire year 1 or 2 [42].

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".

More info on this topic.

More info for the term: geophyte

  
   Geophyte

More info for the term: cover

Heartleaf arnica occurs in boreal and cool temperate climates.  It is
commonly found in open-canopy coniferous forests on high elevation
water-shedding sites.  It often inhabits exposed, moderately dry mineral
soils, but occurs on a variety of soil types [25].  In California it is
found from 3,500 to 10,000 feet (1,050-3,000 m), in dry to moist open or
wooded places [33].  In Utah it is found from 5,000 to 11,000 feet
(1,525-3,355 m) [44].  Occurrence increases with elevation.  In the
Madison Range of Montana it is the primary ground cover in subalpine fir
(Abies lasiocarpa) forests above 9,000 feet (2,723 m) [36].

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This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

   201  White spruce
   204  Black spruce
   205  Mountain hemlock
   206  Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
   207  Red fir
   208  Whitebark pine
   209  Bristlecone pine
   256  California mixed subalpine
   210  Interior Douglas-fir
   211  White fir
   212  Western larch
   213  Grand fir
   215  Western white pine
   216  Blue spruce
   217  Aspen
   218  Lodgepole pine
   219  Limber pine
   224  Western hemlock
   228  Western redcedar
   237  Interior ponderosa pine

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This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

More info for the term: shrub

   FRES11  Spruce - fir
   FRES17  Elm - ash - cottonwood
   FRES19  Aspen - birch
   FRES20  Douglas-fir
   FRES21  Ponderosa pine
   FRES22  Western white pine
   FRES23  Fir - spruce
   FRES25  Larch
   FRES26  Lodgepole pine
   FRES28  Western hardwoods
   FRES29  Sagebrush
   FRES34  Chaparral - mountain shrub
   FRES35  Pinyon - juniper
   FRES36  Mountain grasslands
   FRES38  Plains grasslands
   FRES44  Alpine

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This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

More info for the terms: forest, woodland

   K007  Red fir forest
   K008  Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
   K011  Western ponderosa forest
   K012  Douglas-fir forest
   K013  Cedar - hemlock - pine forest
   K015  Western spruce - fir forest
   K016  Eastern ponderosa forest
   K017  Black Hills pine forest
   K018  Pine - Douglas-fir forest
   K021  Southwestern spruce - fir forest
   K023  Juniper - pinyon woodland
   K029  California mixed evergreen forest
   K037  Mountain-mahogany - oak scrub
   K052  Alpine meadows and barren
   K055  Sagebrush steppe
   K098  Northern floodplain forest

Heartleaf arnica is top-killed by fire.  Rhizomes often survive.  It is
rated as susceptible [7,31] to intermediate [24] in resistance to fire
damage.  This probably varies according to how far below the soil
surface rhizomes are buried.

In northern Utah heartleaf arnica is an important constituent of summer
diets of mule deer and elk [9].  Deschamps and Urness [12] found it
comprised 24 percent of summer deer diets in mature lodgepole pine
(Pinus contorta) forests in Utah.

More info for the terms: cover, forest, habitat type

Heartleaf arnica is a dominant ground cover in many forest communities
of the West.  Publications listing heartleaf arnica as a dominant or
indicator species are:

Classification of the forest vegetation of Wyoming [1]
Fire ecology of the forest habitat types of central Idaho [10]
Forest vegetation of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in
   central Colorado:  a habitat type classification [20]
Forest vegetation of Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming: a habitat type
   classification [22]
Plant associations of the Fremont National Forest [23]
Forest vegetation of the Gunnison and parts of the Uncompahgre National
   Forests:  a preliminary habitat type classification [26]

Common plant associates of heartleaf arnica include huckleberry
(Vaccinium spp.), sweetscented bedstraw (Galium triflorum), queencup
beadlily (Clintonia uniflora), twinflower (Linnaea borealis), pussytoes
(Antennaria spp.), timber milkvetch (Astragalus miser), elk sedge (Carex
geyeri), and bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata).

More info for the term: forb

Forb

More info for the terms: cover, forest

Heartleaf arnica showed a substantial increase after heavy thinning of
lodgepole pine stands in Utah.  Production increased from 6.05 pounds
per acre (1.1 kg/ha) before treatment to 83.6 pounds per acre (15.2
kg/ha) 4 years after treatment [2].

Heartleaf arnica cover increased from 0.3 percent to 5.0 percent
following clearcutting in a subalpine forest in central Colorado [11].

Heartleaf arnica is rated fair in nutritional value for pronghorn,
upland game birds, small mammals, and small nongame mammals.  It is
rated fair to good in nutritional value for elk and deer [13].

     AL  AZ  CA  CO  ID  MI  MT  NE  NM  ND
     OR  SD  UT  WA  WY  AB  BC  SK  YT  MEXICO

In Colorado, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming, the palatability of heartleaf
arnica is rated poor to fair for cattle, fair to good for sheep, and
poor for horses [13].

More info on this topic.

Heartleaf arnica flowers from May through August in California [33] and
May through September in Colorado [13].  In Montana, flowering begins in
early June, fruits ripen in mid-July, and seeds are dispersed at the end
of July [40].

More info for the terms: cover, density, forbs, frequency, habitat type

Heartleaf arnica is apparently reduced by "high intensity" fires
[24,30], but responds to "less intense" fires through rapid initial
vegetative regrowth accompanied by heavy flowering and seedling
establishment [24,42].  This is typically followed by a decline in cover
and frequency within a few years [17].  Heartleaf arnica had the highest
frequency and cover of all forbs 2 years following a severe fire
(greater than 90 percent mortality of all trees) in a spruce-fir
(Picea-Abies) ecosystem in Wyoming [3].  Frequency and cover values
increased for 2 years following logging and broadcast burning in a
Douglas-fir habitat type in Idaho.  This trend was followed by a decline
to 0 percent cover by postfire year 10 [17].

According to Barth [4], light, moisture, and soil depth are important
factors determining the postfire density of heartleaf arnica.

More info for the terms: herb, rhizome, secondary colonizer

   Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
   Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)
   Secondary colonizer - on-site seed

More info for the term: seed

Sexual:  Heartleaf arnica reproduces by wind-dispersed seed [6,7].  In
central Idaho, Kramer and Johnson [27] found 25 percent of heartleaf
arnica seed was in the upper 2 inches (5 cm) of soil, while 75 percent
was 2 to 5 inches (5-10 cm) below the soil surface.

Asexual:  Heartleaf arnica sprouts from rhizomes [7,24,32].

More info on this topic.

This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

    1  Northern Pacific Border
    2  Cascade Mountains
    3  Southern Pacific Border
    4  Sierra Mountains
    5  Columbia Plateau
    6  Upper Basin and Range
    7  Lower Basin and Range
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
    9  Middle Rocky Mountains
   10  Wyoming Basin
   11  Southern Rocky Mountains
   12  Colorado Plateau
   13  Rocky Mountain Piedmont
   14  Great Plains
   15  Black Hills Uplift
   16  Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands

More info on this topic.

More info for the term: habitat type

Facultative Seral Species

Heartleaf arnica is tolerant of both sun and shade, and may be present
from initial to late seres [42,47].  Geier-Hayes found it increased the
first 2 years following logging in a Douglas-fir/white spiraea
(Pseudotsuga menziesii/Spiraea betulifolia) habitat type in central
Idaho [17].  This was probably due to mass flowering, which occurs 1 to
2 years after disturbance [41].  Heartleaf arnica importance apparently
decreases within a few years after disturbance-induced mass flowering
and increases again in later seres, possibly through vegetative
reproduction.  Steele and Geier-Hayes [46] found it reached highest
coverage in late seral stages of the grand fir/globe huckleberry (Abies
grandis/Vaccinium globulare) habitat type of central Idaho.  It is a
near-climax indicator of that habitat type.

The currently accepted scientific name of heartleaf arnica is Arnica
cordifolia Hook. [15,34]. It is a member of the Asteraceae family.
Recognized varieties are [21,29]:

Arnica cordifolia var. cordifolia
A. cordifolia var. pumila (Rydb.) Maquire

Heartleaf arnica has low resistance to repeated human trampling [8,37].