NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/467533
42 NEBRASKAland • MARCH 2015 in late summer using an ATV-pulled shredder, and then sprayed the more herbicide-vulnerable brome regrowth in late October; this followed with winter seeding with no other site preparation. Using this method, fewer wildflowers have established compared to our Christmas planting where the seed was pressed into bare soil. We have also scattered wildflower seed onto the bare soil of badger mounds and randomly about the prairie. Our prairie has now been burned four consecutive springs. The Kentucky bluegrass is significantly reduced, but the deeper-rooted and tougher smooth brome still carpets large swaths of the prairie. Brome is the nemesis of prairie managers throughout the upper Midwest. When treated harshly with fire, grazing and herbicide, brome may be weakened, but is often difficult to kill. It initiates growth in early spring, flowers and sets seed by June, is semi- dormant through the heat of summer, and greens up again in autumn. Emerging early, it drains the soil of moisture and nutrients needed by later emerging native plants. Unlike native species, the non-native brome has no natural pests and disease stressors in North America to limit its growth and reproduction. And, as if it needs more ammunition, some believe brome is allelopathic, releasing chemicals from its roots into the soil that inhibit the growth of other plants. We have settled in for a long and drawn out battle with brome. With the aid of spring and fall prescribed fire or grazing, native grasses can gain the upper hand, but a few years without this stress and brome returns in force. Areas of our prairie have few native grasses remaining to compete with the fire-weakened brome allowing it to persist there in abundance. Eventually, we may interseed these areas with natives to provide competition. Last October, the neighbors and I installed an electric fence around the prairie, and in November and December it was grazed with eight of their cows and 13 horses. Our hope is that fall and spring grazing will impact the brome more than prescribed fire. Fire-scorched brome can resprout and be growing again in a week or two, while heavy grazing puts a more prolonged stress on the plants. Occasionally we still discover a plant species new to our prairie, a sign of continued healing. The prairie's now-richer flora and more varied vegetative structure has attracted wildlife. We commonly glimpse rare regal fritillary butterflies flitting about on summer afternoons in search of nectar-filled wildflowers. A grassland-dependent species, the Grace Kostel, the author's wife, sows wildflower seed onto a badger mound on a warm winter day. The seeds of most prairie species require extended exposure to cold and moisture to break dormancy and germinate therefore restorationists often seed in fall or early winter.