Minimal effectiveness of native and non-native seeding following three high-severity wildfires
Ken A. Stella A C , Carolyn H. Sieg B and Pete Z. Fulé AA School of Forestry and Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, PO Box 15018, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA.
B USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 2500 South Pine Knoll Drive, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA.
C Corresponding author. Email: kstella@fs.fed.us
International Journal of Wildland Fire 19(6) 746-758 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF09094
Submitted: 1 September 2009 Accepted: 24 January 2010 Published: 17 September 2010
Abstract
The rationale for seeding following high-severity wildfires is to enhance plant cover and reduce bare ground, thus decreasing the potential for soil erosion and non-native plant invasion. However, experimental tests of the effectiveness of seeding in meeting these objectives in forests are lacking. We conducted three experimental studies of the effectiveness of seeding with non-native and native species following three Arizona wildfires. Seeding treatments were largely ineffective in increasing vegetative cover or decreasing exposed bare ground. At one treatment at one fire, wheat seeding at the Warm Fire, senesced seeded annuals increased litter cover and resulted in lower bare ground values than unseeded controls. Only on one fire, the Warm Fire, did seeded non-native annuals establish well, resulting in 20–29% vegetative cover. On the other two fires, seeded cereal grains accounted for <3% cover. At all fires, native seeded species contributed between <1 and ∼12% vegetative cover. Vegetative cover on all treatments, including unseeded treatments, was at or near 40% the first year following fire, at all three study sites. Non-native species richness and abundance did not differ among treatments at any fire. This study adds to growing evidence that post-fire seeding is ineffective in enhancing post-fire plant cover and reducing invasive non-native plants.
Additional keywords: annual ryegrass, Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation, exotic plants, fire rehabilitation, ponderosa pine, wheat.
Acknowledgements
This project was funded by the National Fire Plan – Restoration/Rehabilitation of Burned Areas EBLI (NFN3) for the development and use of native plant materials, 2006, USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station Challenge Cost Share Agreement 06-CS-11221616–27. Field crews from the Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station and the Northern Arizona University Ecological Restoration Institute provided invaluable help in data collection, data entry, and plant identification.
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