The Only Organization Working Exclusively to Conserve and Restore

California's Native Grasslands

Grasslands and Fire

"Take half, leave half" standard for defoliation by grazing and for fire breaks to lower impact to below-ground roots, nutrient-cycling, and regrowth of plants, especially our remaining and very important native plants, is supported by this paper.

Crider, FJ. 1955. Root-Growth Stoppage Resulting from Defoliation of Grass. Technical Bulletin No. 1102. USDA. Washington D.C. February 1955.

From Summary: Removals during the growing season of half or more of the foliage of grasses—cool-and warm-season species including bunch, rhizomatous, and stoloniferous types—caused root growth to stop for a time after each removal, with one exception. The exception was orchard-grass (Dactylis glomerata) after the first clipping.


Sonoma County Wildfire Fuel Mapper

Maps, resources, and information to help Sonoma County residents and land managers reduce fire fuel hazard. The Wildfire Fuel Mapper provides publicly accessible, parcel-scale mapping and tools for landowners to reduce wildfire risks on their own property. Made in collaboration between University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE)Pepperwood and Tukman Geospatial

   In this issue: 
  • CNGA's 12th Annual Field Day at Hedgerow Farms
  • Location and Seeding Affect the Outcomes of Controlled Burning of California Annual Rangeland
  • Species Spotlight: Fire Poppy
  • Invasive Weed Management Post-Wildfire: Closer Look at Camp Fire Invasive Weeds in Right-of-ways
  • Grasslands Researcher: Sasha Berleman
  • Burning by the Day: Why Cost/acre is not a Good Metric for Prescribed Fire
  • Field Report: Building a Burn Trailer to Support Your Community's Prescribed Fire Efforts
  • Going Native: Designing for Fire--Homeowner Guidelines and Considerations for Native Planting


Prescribed Fire

Burning by the Day: Why cost/acre is not a good metric for prescribed fireby Lenya Quinn-Davison and Jeffery Stackhouse, Grasslands, Vol 29, No. 3:16-19. Summer 2019.

Field Report: Building a burn trailer to support your community's prescribed fire efforts, by Lenya Quinn-Davison and Jeffery Stackhouse, Grasslands, Vol 29, No. 3:20-22.. Summer 2019.

Use of Fire as a Tool for Controlling Invasive Plants2006.California Invasive Plant Council. By Joseph M. DiTomaso, Matthew L. Brooks, Edith B. Allen, and Ralph Minnich. Edited by Joseph M. DiTomaso and Douglas W. Johnson

This report captures the current state of knowledge on the use of fire to manage invasive plants in wildlands, so that better information can facilitate improved decision making when considering the use of prescribed burning for the management of invasive plants.

Assessment of prescribed fire as a conservation practice. Pages 75104 in D. D. Briske, editor. Conservation benefits of rangeland practices: assessment, recommendations, and knowledge gaps. US Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service.


Prescribed Fire Webinar Series – 5 videos. UCCE Mariposa YouTube. Last updated on June 4, 2020

Webinar resources. http://cemariposa.ucanr.edu/Fire_Information/Events/Workshop_Resources/

Training for landowners interested in using prescribed fire. July 13, 2020. Morning Ag Clips.

Trainings are available for free on the UCCE Mariposa YouTube Channel.


What to Do After Wildfire

Probably the most frequently asked question is what species to plant for erosion control after fire. But first you should determine whether seeding is necessary. 

The California Native Plant Society does not recommend seeding after wildfire.We recommend reading these resources from CNPS 

Don't assume that all native plants have been destroyed on your land. 


If native plants are absent or struggling,  this may be a great opportunity to create a native meadow on your land. 

Hedgerow Farms in Winters has developed native seed mixes, Recommended  California Native Seed Mixes Available for Post Fire Seeding in Sonoma Countyfor post-fire erosion control.

Harmony Farm Supply in Sebastopol has two seed mixes: https://www.harmonyfarm.com/native-california-wildflower-seed-mix/  

Learn More about Fire in California

Dass, Pawlok, Benjanim Z Houlton, Yingping Want and David Warlind. 2018. Grasslands more reliable carbon sink than trees. Environmental Research Letters, Volume 13, Number 7. PDF

Stuart Wagenius, Jared Beck, and Gretel Kiefer. 2020. Fire synchronizes flowering and boosts reproduction in a widespread but declining prairie species. PNAS. January 27, 2020. From the Echinacea Project. Science Daily Interview with Author 

Fire Science and Ecology, University of California Cooperative Extension


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