|
Rangeland
Weed Management - Revegetating
with competitive plants
To help prevent
weed establishment, revegetating with competitive plants is recommended
when the desired vegetation canopy is inadequate (under 20-30
percent, depending on site conditions; see
Table 2). That is, revegetation should ordinarily not
be considered in areas where the desired vegetation cover is more
than 30 percent. Revegetating such areas is typically unnecessary,
and in fact can suppress the native plant community.
When
revegetation is necessary
NOTE:
Every
effort should be made to determine whether revegetation is
necessary (Table 2) as soon as possible after the fire. If
it is, a fall-dormant seeding into the ash layer immediately
following the fire is a good idea. |
As noted, revegetation
as a weed management strategy is recommended in areas that experienced
a high-severity burn. It is also indicated when the site bears inadequate
desired vegetation cover regardless of burn severity (see
Table 2). These areas typically will have low natural
recovery potentials - they don’t recover well on their own.
Other considerations are slope and proximity to drainages (see note
at right). Burned areas requiring revegetation for weed management
purposes may present the following conditions:
- Moderate
to high quantities of survived weeds as viable seeds, crowns or
rhizomes
- Habitat
of high nutrient levels, exposed ground surfaces and low shade/high
light conditions, and
- Inadequate
desired vegetation cover owing to fire severity or pre-burn displacement
by noxious weeds or both.
|
Home