A surprising but plausible link at first look. Fire and frost both kill the above-ground herbaceous biomass and grass (and other herbs) needs to regrow from the roots annually or episodically.  In other words, in principal a grass that can survive in a pyro-climax, can do so in an alpine/arctic/extra-tropical-continental environment  and vice-versa. The great  grasslands of the world (Eurasian steppe, African savanna, American prairie) are indeed found to be both frost- and fire-controlled. And in addition by herbivory. The survival feature of grass for all three, frost, fire and fressen is to grow and withdraw its green biomass fast.  Without frost, but with fire, great Gramineae grasslands do not develop. Instead fire-resilient woody vegetation dominates (e.g. fynbos) the landscape and the botanical biodiversity.

A distinguishing difference between the ecosystem impact of fire, frost and herbivory is on the flow of nutrients. Fire (and herbivory) may hit the grass in the green phase and, if repeatedly, deplete the system of nitrogen. C3 grasslands will be depleted anyhow, whether hit green or not . In a nitrogen limited ecosystem (attached) this may result in woody vegetation. 

On the other hand, protection of vegetative buds of grasses appears feasible against and the short exposure to fire and herbivory, but less so against frost.

Thanks for raising an interesting question. It makes me curious on the context.

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Hello Hein, 

Thanks a lot for your response. This issue has intrigued me for a long time. In my PhD I modeled the environmental suitability of the campos rupestres in South America (to the past, present and future), and It´s interest to observe that many areas where these grasslands are distributed nowadays was extremely cold in the past... Many plants, e.g., eriocaulaceaes, have other morphological adaptations to fire which is also an adaptation to cold, as the lignotubers. I´m very happy to find someone to share these personal insights. 

Cheers!

N

Plants become adapted to fire by acquiring some traits like serotiny, epicormic buds, thick bark, sprouting which help them to survive a fire.  Whether these traits are evolved exclusively for fire or not is a matter of debate. However, possessing these traits make plants successful in surviving after fire. Also, plants may become highly flammable in the fire-prone region to burn other plants in the community and make the environment suitable for the regeneration from seeds or buds of that particular species.