It has been almost three months since a lightning strike near the Garden ignited a wildfire that burned 12-acres of scrub and marsh, including the southern portion of the Preserve. In the short time since the blaze, the sand cordgrass (Spartina bakeri) marsh has nearly recovered. The only visible reminders of the fire are the charred melaleuca trunks along the edge of the marsh, and the firebreak created to stop the blaze. The burned areas of cordgrass stand verdant in contrast to the brown of last year’s growth in the unburned areas.
The blaze was not devastating to the marsh, but a natural part of the renewal process for the ecosystem. Immediately following the fire, carbon and nutrients held in the aboveground parts of the plants were released to the soil. These natural soil amendments stimulate the rhizomes, or underground stems, producing a lush green carpet of new growth. In addition to renewing growth, periodic fires reduce competition from other species, making the continuation of healthy cordgrass communities dependant upon fires for renewal.
Cordgrass rhizomes survive fire by growing beneath saturated soils, which act as an insulation from the fire’s heat. If the conditions here had been much drier, the high temperatures of the blaze could have killed off cordgrass areas of the marsh. Luckily a lack of water in the burned area of the marsh was not a problem for us. Since the fire, water levels throughout the Preserve have begun to return to normal, also helping to stimulate new growth in the marsh. We received over 9 inches of rain in June, putting us back on track towards a more typical South Florida summer. While wildfires can be dangerous in some conditions, we were fortunate this spring to have had a controllable fire that has brought renewal to the garden.
Chad Washburn
Naples Botanical Garden
4820 Bayshore Drive
Naples, FL 34112
Phone: 239.643.7275
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