Limitations to post-fire seedling establishment
Jeremy James and Tony Svejcar
• Seeding following fire is critical tool for soil stabilization and preventing weed spread
• Tens of millions of dollars are spent on seeding each year
• Seed success rates are extremely low on arid rangeland
• Reasons for low success rates are poorly understood
Background
• Following four fires, plots were seeded with a rangeland drill or by hand, and
• Some plots also were weeded and watered
Project outline
Four fire complexes in southeastern Oregon
Egley
Bartlett Roundtop
Butte
Native grasses and forbs recovered following all four fires
Establishment was 3-fold higher in plots where seeds were planted by hand
Weeding or watering plots did not increase establishment
0
3
6
9
12
Seed
ling
dens
ity (
plan
ts /
10 ft
2 )
• Need techniques to determine if post-fire reseeding is really necessary
• We cannot assume more precipitation or fewer weeds will improve reseeding success
• Seeding technology remains a major limitation to our ability to restore rangeland
Conclusion
• This project is part of a larger effort by ARS Burns, OR to improve seedling establishment in rangeland restoration efforts
Project information
For more information contactJeremy James
541-573-8911 (jeremy.james @oregonstate.edu)Tony Svejcar
541-573-8901 (tony.svejcar@ oregonstate.edu)
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