Assisted succession : restoration of native plant communities & seed mix assessment in burn scars in NW Colorado forests
(Book - Regular Print)

Thesis,MSES,Green Mountain College,2018

Includes bibliographical references.

As humans and ecologists, we must consider our role in ecological restorations and the impact of our management decisions. As natural environments and plant communities are increasingly changing by the hands of human influence, a new approach to restoration must be implemented. This study uses the bioregional education from Green Mountain College to establish locally minded restoration of burn scars in northwest Colorado forests. In this study seed mixtures and treatment methods were evaluated and tested to establish and recommend the best management practices for restoration of these slash pile burn scars following logging of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) forests on Independence Mountain. Treatment methods included a combination of seeding, scarification, and mulching. Treatments were implemented in the spring of 2015 with a second seeding treatment applied the following autumn. I reviewed the effectiveness of two common Forest Service seed mixes sewn into slash piles burned as part of the post-logging management. I compared the percent vegetative cover within the burned areas with surrounding natural regeneration of the area to create a recommendation for future seed mixes. Results showed that both a combination of mulching and seeding and a combination of seeding and hand scarification were the most effective treatments in restoring the burn scars to similar levels of vegetative cover as the surrounding unburned areas. however, soil treatments along with seeding were not drastically different than seeding alone, meaning the extra costs of mulching and tilling may not be worthwhile for land managers in some cases. Species richness and species composition was quite different between the Adjacent Unburned (A) plots and the seeded (S, TS, and MS) plots. This study provides results that could help land management agencies most effectively restore burn scars, while also saving money by avoiding use of less successful seed mixes.