Wildfires

[DaFace]

Everyone OK out there? I've got family who are right on the edge of the evacuation area in Hutchinson. Here's hoping the wind dies down and they can get it under control soon.

[HonestChieffan]

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

I'm a dumbass. Can anyone explain the consequences for what would happen if the native grasses were dead?

Start with the environment....rather dry in a normal year. New grass will have to come from the soil seed bank.

So any new seed germination is wholly dependent on moisture at the right time...these are warm season grasses. So they cannot germinate in cool soils like fescue can or weed grasses like foxtail or cheat.

Then they need moisture to establish...and that can be a very iffy thing in the western Kansas, Tx Panhandle, Colorado high plains.

They will take 2-3 years for the native grasses to make a comeback. An example is planting Native warm season Grasses in Western MO...we know it will take 3 full seasons to really establish the mixed stands we seed.

Thats a short explanation...

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

I'm a dumbass. Can anyone explain the consequences for what would happen if the native grasses were dead?

Yeah the deal is that the native grass out here (I don't know what's around hutch) is pretty slow growing and packs a pretty decent ration into the plant whether it's the growing forage or the dried biomass.

The problem is if it comes in with a weed like cheatgrass or kochia early or pigweed late it will be pretty hard on the soil and will have a very short period that the biomass is digestible for livestock. Also if there is a big flush of weeds it will take the available soil moisture for growing grass. Also weeds like kochia are allelopathic for grass.

It will take a long time for the prairies to heal

[notorious]

Prairie fires have been happening here long before settlement. Nature will recover, and probably stronger than before.

[HonestChieffan]

http://www.kansasagland.com/news/sta...85dddec85.html