This is Leftwood, from Minnesota. Now I see a little about where you're coming from.

I am not sure about the seeds frying in a fire as I don't really know what kind of temperature such a fire attains. Although most certainly, your first burn would be hotter than subsequent ones. Someone else will need to handle your nuking question. Still, laying on the surface certainly makes seeds vulnerable.

Speaking from a non-prairie professional point of view, seeds that are ready to sprout only do so with free water in the soil. In most established environments, including prairies or just an established field, this is the primary force that prevents growth of seeds. It is easy to see how brome grass (and prairie grasses that produce sods) make free water a very difficult resource. However any established prairie, whether dense in sod grasses or not, possesses this same quality: every inch of soil space is taken up by roots, or there are a hundred seeds already ready to sprout and take it up. That is why praire naturalists take advantage of gopher mounds and the like. These are "mini-microclimates" of soil "unspoiled" with roots, and therefore contain free water and make good nurseries for new seed among an already established area.

If you plant in spring, as early as soil thaws and is workable, the cold/warm flucuations of early spring would certainly be a benefit. But . . .

Given the time, this is what I would do for the following season: Make or take advantage of these nursery beds in the fall. Sow the seed. Spring burning shouldn't nuke the seed because there is nothing in the nursery beds to burn. Heat from a passing fire should be minimal. And they'll get the kickstart sprouting benefit from cold stratification. I would imagine that some prairie seed has evolved to be kickstarted by the heat of a fire too. Perhaps someone can enlighten us.

Thanks Leftwood, that was good information. I dont have any gopher mounds but do have a lot of ant hills that would make good nursery areas.

I did some checking on the issue of prairie seed being stimulated by fire. Indeed, some species are!! Apparently there is a lot a research going on in this area now. Here is a link.

http://www.nps.gov/plants/chicago04/posterabstracts.htm#smoke

Here is a link that might be useful: prairie research abstracts

I have always kind of felt that seeding onto snow is a great way to feed birds, rodents and insects. And there is the winter kill problem, and the problem of seeds washihg away during thaws and rains. Nature solves these problems by producing billions and billions of seeds. How many do you have to work with? Probably a whole lot less! I have always thought that storing seeds in a cold garage or basement gives you a lot of control--generally the seeds only need a temperature of around 40 degrees for from a few weeks to 4 months to stratify depending on species (although there are some that seem to need alternating temperatures to initiate gemination) and can be held in cold storage until after your burn. Also, there is some evidence I have heard that yearly burning is too excessive (nature doesn't do it this way. You may wish to burn, seed and wait two years to burn again--this gives the seedlings a few seasons to become really established. Of more concern is the fact that you have a lot of Canada goldenrod--an invasive native species, and on such a small planting (one acre)it may be a constant source of grief for you inasmuch as it may difficult to eradicate, and likes to dominate. I am not sure how resistant it is to burning. You should contact the University of Wisconsin at Madison for information on this and other issues (I believe they have one of the earliest prairie restoration projects in the nation, and should be able to answer some of your questions. Hope this helps. Bruce

Ant hills - not sure that would be a good idea. Of course you need to rid them of ants first. How are you going to do this and still have a seedling amenable soil? Seedlings are always more susceptible to pesticides. In my experience, if you don't do a really good job the first time killing, chances are they'll just rebuild the same nest.

No, my suggestion would be to make artificial nursery beds. A plus would be that they would be level with the surrounding surface, and therefore not dryout as quickly. Make sure you churn the soil deeply, say, even a foot if you are not bringing up icky subsoils, to rid the area of established roots. If you have sand that won't be a concern. And if you do have mound making ants, I think you'll have to keep watch. Ants tend to like the warm places that inherently lack strong vegetative cover, like a nursery bed.

That was a nice link, Oak Ridge. And I found the "Carbon addition" abstract most interesting as I have postulated on the benefits to wild natives vs. invasives myself.

Ants and their mammal counterparts, gophers, move vast quantities of sub-soil to the surface, redistributing micronutrients evenly through the soil profile. In woodland areas the ants pollinate and distribute seed for lots of wildflowers, like Dicentra or Jeffersonia. Don't nuke the only rototillers you ecosystem really needs...

And goldenrod of all types are prime nectar and pollen sources for migrating insects. And not the hayfever problem that is mythically stated all the time, it is only insect collected, not airborne...weed it out or challenge it with dominant grasses like Panicum or Sorghastrum or other perennials like Eupatorium or Aster that will stand up to it.

Scott

prairie burning only needs to be done every 3-4 years. you want to burn early in the spring to get rid of the the cool season grasses so that the wildflowers emerge on sun warmed black burnt soil. most wildflowers can withsatand fire.You could use liquid smoke to prepare seeds for the burnt area and disperse them into the area after the burn. Split up the area to burn in 4 quarters burn the 1st quarter one year then the 2nd the next and so on. Fours years from the original burn - burn the first quarter again and so on. Do not get rid of ant hills they are a sign of a healthy yard and are the main food stay of flickers and other little creatures