Are we seeding enough after wildfire?

Photo Credit

USDA photo by Stephanie Yelenik

Sampling vegetation in a post-fire seeding experiment in the wildland urban interface outside of Reno, NV, in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. 

Post-fire seeding in drylands often has low success rates that are likely to be improved by seeding at higher rates and/or across multiple years in order to hit years with suitable precipitation. 

Land management agencies in the Great Basin use post-fire reseeding as a form of restoration and rehabilitation, yet these operations have overall low and variable success in leading to native plant recruitment. This is at least in part due to variable rainfall years and the high likelihood of seeding happening during years with suboptimal precipitation. 

In a recent experiment, we tested seeding at higher rates (10 times normal rates) and across multiple years to see if these strategies would increase the likelihood of successful native plant recruitment in the wildland urban interface. Our results show potential for the combined use of repeated annual seeding and higher seeding rates to increase the establishment of perennial forbs by simultaneously increasing the likelihood that seeding occurs during a favorable year and overcoming potential establishment barriers from lower seeding rates when climate conditions are favorable.