FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Cladium jamaicense | Sawgrass 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Plant adaptations to fire:  For much of the year, sawgrass rhizomes are
buried in soil under water where they cannot be harmed by the heat of a
fire.  Even when marsh soils are exposed during low water level periods,
the meristems are insulated by surrounding, tightly overlapping leaves.
Furthermore, these attached leaves often act as wicks when soils are
moist, keeping the base of the culm moist [14,27].  When aboveground
foliage is consumed by fire, sawgrass quickly initiates new top-growth
(often within a day) from these surviving rhizomes.

Yates [28] observed sawgrass seeds germinating on recently burned sites.
However, seedling establishment is an insignificant mode of postfire
recovery for sawgrass. 

Fire ecology:  Sawgrass evolved under a regime of frequent fire, and
requires fire to maintain dominance.  Without fire, litter builds up and
surpasses live biomass in just 3 to 5 years [27].  After many years
without burning, plant vigor declines.  Estimates of natural fire
frequencies range from 3 to 25 years [27].  Kushlan [14] felt that
sawgrass marsh is best adapted to burning about once every 10 years;
however, sawgrass responds well to prescribed buring intervals of 3 to 5
years [27], and has also shown no detrimental effects from burning 2
successive years [8].

Fire plays an important role in the competitive relationship between
sawgrass and maidencane.  In many marshes sawgrass competitively
excludes maidencane.  However, maidencane quickly invades when sawgrass
stands are destroyed by severe, peat-consuming fires.  Sawgrass
reestablishment is slow because maidencane inhibits sawgrass seedling
establishment.  Sawgrass may eventually reclaim these areas, but only
slowly, through rhizome expansion [16].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil

Related categories for Species: Cladium jamaicense | Sawgrass