Vegetative Regeneration After Fire

Regeneration of Various Plant Parts

Sprouting is a means by which many plants recover after fire. Shoots can originate from dormant buds located on plant parts above the ground surface or from various levels within the litter, duff, and mineral soil layers. The type of plant parts that support dormant buds and where they are located in or above the soil are species-specific characteristics (Flinn and Wein 1977). The plant structures that give rise to regenerating shoots are summarized for different life forms of North American native plants in (Table:Type and Location of Buds that Regenerate New Shoots after Fire by Broad Plant Groups). The following sections describe the patterns of vegetative regeneration in woody plants, forbs, and grasses following fire.

• Sprouting of Woody Plants
• Sprouting of Forbs
• Sprouting of Grasses