[PCA] NEWS: BLM plants 'Seeds of Success'
Jennifer Kalt
jkalt at asis.com
Tue Sep 4 11:26:55 CDT 2007
After the 2003 wildfire in the San Diego area, the local chapter of the
California Native Plant Society developed recommendations for
revegetating, firewise landscaping, scientific research, etc. You can
view the various CNPS policies and other docs at
http://www.cnpssd.org/fire/index.html.
The focus was on preventing erosion after the fire. Below is an excerpt
from a letter by Greg Rubin of California’s Own Native Landscape Design:
"In the past the conventional wisdom has been to seed fast growing
non-native grasses (like Rye) after fires. The thought was that planting
might help control erosion. Unfortunately, seeding has absolutely no
effect for at least the first two rainstorms; most of the debris and
sediment left after a fire comes down during those first storms. Seeding
can even make the situation worse by introducing non-native grasses and
weeds that later create fire ladders that move the fire along at 30-60
mph. Creating simple debris and diversion dams is a much more effective
way to protect your house."
And from Tree of Life nursery:
Q: Will seeding immediately after a fire help?
A: No. Even if there were no ecological consequences, seeding is a bad
idea. The seed is left on the surface of ash where it will not
germinate. The soil is too cold, the days are too short for germination.
Wildlife, especially birds, (though perhaps scarce) are all too ready to
eat the seed, since the local resource has been burned. Any seed that
survives the winter usually ends up at the toe of the slope when spring
germination begins.
Q: What about grasses?
A: Most grass species for “erosion control” are cool season annuals.
They are inexpensive, and therefore popular after a fire. If they
germinate at all, they will choke out native species, interrupting the
first (most important) stage in recovery. The grasses will die in the
spring/summer heat and be unsightly, weedy, and flammable. They are of
little value to wildlife. They may even re-seed, making the problem
worse year by year. In addition, the seed lot may be contaminated with
noxious weeds, which you will never get rid of.
Q: Wouldn’t it be OK to seed with native species?
A: In theory, yes, and in some cases, yes. If the area to be seeded was
a weed lot before the fire, this might be a good chance to try to get
natives back on the site. If it was native vegetation that burned,
native seed, bulbs, and roots are in the soil and will come back on
their own. It that case, seeding is not necessary. In fact, the wrong
composition of species, or the wrong genetic make-up could cause a lot
of damage to the natural area in its early stages of recovery.
Q: Are there cases when native seeds or plants should be planted after a
fire?
A: Yes, usually in instances where native plants were absent before the
fire and the new goal is to create a naturalistic plant community on
bare earth. This would be a step in the right direction.
Q: What are the advantages of not seeding?
A: You get to watch and marvel as nature’s processes unfold. Nature’s
results are always a success. You will have a healthy landscape. You
save a lot of money and effort.
Q: What can I do to speed the process?
A: Nothing. In fact, this is a wonderful opportunity to observe and
document the process. Each stage is beautiful in its own way.
*******************************
Jennifer Kalt
Forestry Issues Coordinator
California Native Plant Society
P.O. Box 1067
Arcata, CA 95518
http://www.cnps.org/programs/forestry/index.htm
The California Native Plant Society's mission is to preserve and protect
native plants in their natural habitats.
Addsum-Tony Frates wrote:
>
> Bonnie - I think you may very well be correct.
>
>
> Tony
>
>
>
>
> Date sent: Tue, 4 Sep 2007 09:23:32 -0500
> From: "Harper-Lore, Bonnie" <Bonnie.Harper-Lore at fhwa.dot.gov>
> To: "Addsum-Tony Frates" <afrates at addsuminc.com>,
> <native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org>
> Subject: RE: [PCA] NEWS: BLM plants 'Seeds of Success'
>
>> Roger is likely correct.
>> I think we need to stop wasting precious native seed on burned areas,
>> and put down a weed free mulch or annual grass at most as a cover crop.
>> The seed bank will recover with some protection. This would save
>> taxpayer dollars, save valuable native seed, and most likely get just a
>> good of a revegetation result after a fire.
>>
>> Bonnie
>> Restoration Ecologist
>> Wetlands and Ecosystems Team
>> FHWA USDOT, HEPN-30
>> 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE
>> Washington D.C. 20590
>> (651) 291-6104
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: native-plants-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org
>> [mailto:native-plants-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] On Behalf Of
>> Addsum-Tony Frates
>> Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2007 4:21 PM
>> To: native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org
>> Subject: Re: [PCA] NEWS: BLM plants 'Seeds of Success'
>>
>>
>>
>> Olivia - thank you for the post. If this quote is true from the other
>> article you also just posted:
>>
>> "Roger Banner, a range specialist at Utah State University in Logan,
>> says native plants can't reclaim burned range on their own. "There's not
>> enough native plant seed to re-seed 2% of the areas that burned,"
>> he says."
>>
>> http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2007-08-29-cheatgrass_N.
>> htm
>>
>> then the importance and need for programs like "Seeds of Success"
>> seems to be stunningly understated and unappreciated (and I suspect
>> poorly funded). Will it even scratch the surface of the problem?
>> The program seems to fall far short of what is needed.
>>
>> Tony Frates
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Date sent: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 13:29:37 -0500 (CDT)
>> From: Olivia Kwong <plant at plantconservation.org>
>> To: native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org,
>> sos at lists.plantconservation.org
>> Subject: [PCA] NEWS: BLM plants 'Seeds of Success'
>>
>>> http://www.elynews.com/articles/2007/08/29/news/news11.txt
>>>
>>> BLM plants 'Seeds of Success'
>>> The Ely Times
>>>
>>> In its ongoing effort to improve the health and productivity of the
>>> public lands, including those recently affected by wildfire, the
>>> Bureau of Land Management has initiated a native seed collection
>>> effort that is part of an interagency "Seeds of Success" program.
>>>
>>> See the link above for the full article text.
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
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>
>
>
>
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