FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Eleocharis rostellata | Beaked Spikerush 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Beaked spikerush probably survives low-severity fire by sprouting from
rhizomes.  In salt marshes of the Gulf Coast, prescribed low-severity
winter fires maintain early successional genera such as Scirpus and
Eleocharis [40].  Spikerushes occur on sites that experience
high-severity fire during extreme drought when water table levels drop
[1,18].  High-severity fires in coastal marshes result in either root
burns or peat burns.  Root burns kill dense climax vegetation in marshes
and allow earlier successional plants such as spikerush to colonize the
site.  Peat fires burn holes in the marsh floor and create areas of open
water [41].

The chance of fire in any given year in most marshes is low due to
moisture conditions.  Marshes in the southeastern United States are
subject to severe drought coinciding with lightning ignition
approximately once every 30 to 100 years [18].  Salt marshes of the Gulf
Coast burn readily and are often ignited by lightning [41].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
   Tussock graminoid

Related categories for Species: Eleocharis rostellata | Beaked Spikerush