The effects of seeding sterile triticale on a native plant community after wildfire in a pinyon pine–mountain mahogany woodland

Abstract

Post-fire seeding with grasses is a common practice for emergency rehabilitation of burned woodlands. However, most post-seeding monitoring does not address consequences to native flora. In November 2004, the US Forest Service hand-seeded triticale (×Triticosecale Wittm. ex A. Camus), a sterile wheat–rye hybrid, on a small burned area in the Spring Mountains of southern Nevada, United States. A monitoring project using paired plots was designed to quantify the effects of seeding triticale on density and species richness of native annual and perennial plants, cover of perennial plants, and aboveground production of annual plants. We did not find any effects of triticale seeding on annual plant species or most responses of perennial plants. However, the density of woody perennial seedlings was significantly lower 2 years after triticale was added. Although we found a smaller impact from seeding with exotic grass than other studies, quantifiable costs to native vegetation were observed. We caution against the use of non-native grass for seeding in areas with naturally low perennial recruitment.