How do underground roots and rhizomes help grasses survive fires?

Underground roots and rhizomes are critical adaptations that allow grasses to survive and recover from wildfires. While fire often destroys the above-ground portions of grasses, these underground structures remain shielded from the intense heat of the flames.12

These structures serve as a vital reservoir for the plant:

• Protection: By housing buds and meristematic tissues beneath the soil surface, grasses are insulated from the direct heat of a blaze.12
• Regeneration: Following a fire, these protected underground organs allow for rapid regrowth. New green shoots can emerge quickly from rhizomes and other subterranean stems, enabling the plant to "come back" even after the visible parts have been consumed.12
• Resource Storage: Rhizomes function as storage organs for food and nutrients, providing the energy necessary for the plant to sprout new growth in the nutrient-rich, ash-fertilized soil left behind after a fire.13

This ability to resprout from shielded underground structures is a key reason why many grassland ecosystems are resilient to frequent burning.12