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Over the Garden Fence – The Partnership Between Humans and Nature During Fire Recovery: Part 3

Give Trees a Chance-Ecosystem Resilience 

September 13, 2022 – By Michele Nowak-Sharkey, UC Master Gardener of Mariposa County – The impulse after a fire is to remove all evidence that the event occurred. This is Over the Garden Fenceunderstandable from an emotional perspective, however if we shift to the nature lens, we see a different approach.

Although the landscape looks blackened with no visible signs of life, life nonetheless is rearranging, communicating, and developing a plan as it shakes off the fire trauma.

Trees have a huge impact on ecosystem recovery. Trees contribute by providing oxygen, improving air quality, climate amelioration, conserving water, preserving soil, and supporting wildlife. To say nothing of the joy we humans experience when we interact with our leafed friends through recreation, food gathering or simply viewing.

Structurally unsound trees that threaten buildings and roads need to be felled. However, it is advised to wait 1- 3 years after a fire to determine if a tree will recover, especially larger, more valuable trees. In wildfire recovery, we need to Give Trees A Chance.

Identify: Know your trees. Mariposa County has a diverse mix of pine species, oak varieties, plus firs, manzanita, buckeyes, sycamores and more.

Knowing tree types supplies information about their coping mechanisms with fire, possibility of when they will bring on new leaves/needles, if they will re-sprout from the crown/base of the tree or have seeds that will sprout following a fire.

Other factors that impact tree survival include growth stage at the time of fire, how close together trees were, the chemical and physical characteristics – oil/wax content, vegetation underneath, the season and drought conditions.

Sources for tree identification: http://bit.ly/ucanroaks & https://www.calflora.org. There are also phone apps that can assist too.

Appraise: Leaf/needle scorch, root/trunk/branch damage, cambium (the inner layer between the bark and the wood) injury and bud death are signs of fire damage. These factors alone don’t indicate a tree is dead. A tree with blackened bark might look unsavable. The Ponderosa pine, as it matures, develops a thicker bark that is more fire-resistant. If the bark hasn’t been completely burned off the trunk, exposing the cambium, the tree may survive.

With blackened trees cut a quarter-sized piece, one-half inch through the bark. If you see a green or white moist cambial layer right below the bark, the tree will probably recuperate. Check burned branches- peel back a bit of bark. If there is a thin white/green layer those twigs/branches may be alive.

Look for burned roots around the base and several feet away. Roots are 6-8 inches below the surface. Gently unearth roots in a few locations. If they are supple, not

brittle/dried out, survival is good. If 50% of the roots are burned, the tree is unstable.

Burned leaves/needles might be attached to a live tree. New leaves may sprout from the crown/base of the tree. As witnessed in this picture of an oak from the Telegraph fire, the leaves over most of the tree were scorched but within a year, new green leaves sprouted.

Kris Randal Telegraph FireTelegraph Fire 2008 – photo credit, Kris Randal (pictured right)

It is important to look for buds. If they are green and moist, not dry, and brittle or twigs bend easily, survival is good.

https://anrcatalog.uncanr.edu Publication 8386

https://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu Publication 8445

https://cemariposa.ucanr.edu/Fire_Information/Post-fire_Restoration/Landscape_Restoration_685

Support: Water trees once the scorched crust layer on soil is cared for. Slowly soak the entire area under the dripline and beyond a few feet to a depth of 12 inches. Do not water the trunk just the surrounding area. Check trees weekly. Water when the soil dries to 6 inches deep.

Protect trunks and large limbs from sunburn until leaf/needles regrow. Loosely wrap in permeable light-colored cloth or cardboard. During fall, prune dead, broken limbs.

https://naes.agnt.unr.edu/PMS/Pubs/1510_2004_96.pdf

Watch: Kris Randal, UC Master Gardener, CA Naturalist/Oak Specialist says dead trees have value too! More than 80 species of birds rely on dead trees for nesting and food. Acorn woodpeckers establish large granaries in dead oaks and conifers. Insects, fungi and more than 300 different types of wildlife rely on dead trees also. Consider leaving a few standing dead trees if they don’t present a hazard.

Spend the first year after fire watching as life surfaces once more. Be a patient partner, give trees AND nature a chance.

Next: To Seed or Not to Seed

Related:

Over the Garden Fence – The Partnership Between Humans and Nature During Fire Recovery: Part 2

Over the Garden Fence – The Partnership Between Humans and Nature During Fire Recovery

For assistance, contact our Helpline at (209) 966-7078 or at mgmariposa@ucdavis.edu. We are currently unable to take samples or meet with you in person but welcome pictures.

The U.C. Master Gardener Helpline is staffed; Tuesdays from 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. and Thursdays from 2:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M.
Clients may bring samples to the Agricultural Extension Office located at the Mariposa Fairgrounds, but the Master Gardener office is not open to the public. We will not be doing home visits this year due to UCANR restrictions.

Serving Mariposa County, including Greeley Hill, Coulterville, and Don Pedro
Please contact the helpline, or leave a message by phone at: (209) 966-7078
By email (send photos and questions for researched answers) to: mgmariposa@ucdavis.edu

For further gardening information and event announcements, please visit: UCMG website: https://cemariposa.ucanr.edu/Master_Gardener
Follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/mariposamastergardeners

Master Gardener Office Location:
UC Cooperative Extension Office,
5009 Fairgrounds Road
Mariposa, CA 95338

Phone: (209) 966-2417
Email: mgmariposa@ucdavis.edu
Website: http://cemariposa.ucanr.edu/Master_Gardener

Visit the YouTube channel at UCCE Mariposa.

 

 

 

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Over the Garden Fence – The Partnership Between Humans and Nature During Fire Recovery: Part 4

 

To Seed or Not to Seed? – The best approach to revegetation 

September 23, 2022 – Tery Susman, UC Master Gardener of Mariposa County – To seed or not to seed…that truly is the question.

Over the Garden FenceAdapted from the California Native Plant Society Fire Recovery Guide:

https://cnps.org/gove/priority-initiatives/fire-recovery

ANR Publication 8366 – Recovering from Wildfire: a Guide for California’s Forest Landowners: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/Details.aspx?itemNo=8386

Our human tendency is to fix what we perceive as a potential problem or as something “broken” or “untidy”. Our first thought is to reseed flowering plants and grasses on our fire scorched property to speed up vegetation establishment and soil stability; fixing what is “broken”. However, recent research has shown that seeding is not more effective than letting the area recover naturally; and given the risk of introducing invasive species, it is generally no longer recommended.

Natural regeneration gives the land a chance to recover on its own from the existing soil seed bank, nearby seed sources, and the resprouting of surviving perennial plants.

The research indicates two important points regarding reseeding grasses following wildfire:

  • This management practice is usually not cost-effective
  • It appears to create more problems than it solves

Potential negative effects of this practice include:

  • Seeds of invasive annual grasses like wild oats, ryegrass, and bromes develop shallow root systems that have little to no effect on slope stability
  • Seeding provides marginal effects/results in the first year following fire or not at all and no significant effect when slower native perennials are the plant of choice in the first year
  • Seeding uses up more ground moisture and reduces regrowth of native plants that regenerate from resident seed bank in the soil
  • Native grass seeding may cause gene pollution of resident native grasses especially if the grasses sowed were of a different gene type and collected in other areas of the state
  • Seeding may have long-term negative effects on the ecosystem by changing plant community composition over time
  • Seeding can attract pocket gophers leading to more opportunities for soil piping, a situation in which runoff and/or water-saturated soil enters gopher holes and erodes the soil below the ground
  • Seedbed preparation can cause disturbance to slopes, soil, pre-existing vegetation, and the surrounding seedbank
  • Seeding can give property owners a false sense of security that this one practice will mitigate most post-fire land issues

Seeding is no longer the recommended practice following a wildfire. However, many experts also agree that for specific erosion control problems, it may be necessary to seed native perennial grass to mitigate these issues.

MMG Seed Photo 2

Potential positive effects of seeding grasses:

  • Native or sterile non-native grasses can reduce non-native invasive plant encroachment by competition
  • Seeding can increase infiltration and reduce surface runoff and resulting soil erosion
  • Seeding may be used purposely to reduce shrub regrowth on range and pasture lands

Before you decide to plant grass seed on wildfire damaged soil and slopes, reach out to Natural Resources Conservation Services (NCRS) for a site-specific evaluation of your post- fire property needs:

Natural Resources Conservation Services – (209) 966-3431 www.nrcs.usda.gov.wps.portal.nrcs/site/ca/home

There are distinct reasons that may be addressed by seeding, but in general natural regeneration is the best option. Remember, lands have recovered many times after wildfires. Once human-made debris is removed, in most cases the land will heal on its own. It just takes time!

To seed or not to seed? In most cases the answer is not to seed. Next: YOU can help prevent wildfire spread.

Related:

Over the Garden Fence – The Partnership Between Humans and Nature During Fire Recovery: Part 3

Over the Garden Fence – The Partnership Between Humans and Nature During Fire Recovery: Part 2

Over the Garden Fence – The Partnership Between Humans and Nature During Fire Recovery

For assistance, contact our Helpline at (209) 966-7078 or at mgmariposa@ucdavis.edu. We are currently unable to take samples or meet with you in person but welcome pictures.

The U.C. Master Gardener Helpline is staffed; Tuesdays from 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. and Thursdays from 2:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M.
Clients may bring samples to the Agricultural Extension Office located at the Mariposa Fairgrounds, but the Master Gardener office is not open to the public. We will not be doing home visits this year due to UCANR restrictions.

Serving Mariposa County, including Greeley Hill, Coulterville, and Don Pedro
Please contact the helpline, or leave a message by phone at: (209) 966-7078
By email (send photos and questions for researched answers) to: mgmariposa@ucdavis.edu

For further gardening information and event announcements, please visit: UCMG website: https://cemariposa.ucanr.edu/Master_Gardener
Follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/mariposamastergardeners

Master Gardener Office Location:
UC Cooperative Extension Office,
5009 Fairgrounds Road
Mariposa, CA 95338

Phone: (209) 966-2417
Email: mgmariposa@ucdavis.edu
Website: http://cemariposa.ucanr.edu/Master_Gardener

Visit the YouTube channel at UCCE Mariposa.

 

 

 

 

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Wildfire Recovery Work Vital to Preserving Local Waterways

 

September 20, 2022 – In an effort to safeguard waterways affected by the 2022 wildfires, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), in coordination with the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the California Conservation Corps (CCC), announced it has completed emergency watershed protection work for the Oak and McKinney fires.

California’s climate-driven wildfires not only destroy lives and structures but also threaten human health and the environment by leaving behind dangerous chemicals and toxic pollutants from burned buildings in their wake. This, combined with wet weather, decreased vegetation and denuded hillsides, creates a dangerous potential for toxic runoff for months, even years after a wildfire is extinguished. Without trees, vegetation, and a stable soil structure to absorb rainwater, tons of ash, debris, heavy metals, and nutrients are more likely to flow directly into watersheds.

Cal OES works closely with state partners to prevent toxic runoff from entering waterways by installing physical filtration barriers. The placement of these emergency protective measures helps safeguard watersheds from the potential impacts of dangerous toxins found in wildfire ash and debris. By intercepting water flow from slopes, the barriers act as filters to remove dangerous contaminants before they can pollute the waterway.

After a wildfire, a team of flood fight specialists from DWR conduct assessments of damaged or destroyed structures within the burn scar, determining precisely where emergency protective measures should be placed, as well as what type (straw wattles, compost socks, silt fences, etc.). Once the burn scar has been completely assessed by DWR, the CCC deploys Corpsmembers to install the runoff barriers.  Similar to the emergency removal of household hazardous waste by the Department of Toxic Substances Control, this process happens automatically and property owners do not need to sign up or submit a Right of Entry Permit.

Types of Watershed Protection Measures

  • Straw wattles are burlap tubes of compressed straw. They provide perimeter protection along contours or at the base of slopes, inlets, and roadways to reduce soil erosion and runoff, and retain sediment. Straw wattles are also used to intercept water running down a slope. You can use wattles over bare soil or in conjunction with erosion control blankets, on steep slopes, around drains for inlet protection, or as a perimeter control for job sites. Straw wattles are weed-free and help stabilize slopes by slowing, spreading, and filtering overland water flow. They are flexible and conform to the soil surface.
  • Compost socks are a type of contained compost filter berm. The filter sock is typically a mesh tube filled with composted material that is placed perpendicular to the direction of sheet flow to control erosion and retain sediment in disturbed areas. A compost filter sock has an oval or round cross-section and provides a three-dimensional filter to retain sediment and other pollutants (e.g., suspended solids, nutrients, metals, and motor oil) and allow clean water to flow through.
  • Silt Fences are made of a filter fabric that has been entrenched, attached to supporting poles, and sometimes backed by a plastic or wire mesh for support. The silt fence detains sediment-laden water, promoting sedimentation behind the fence.

The Oak Fire watershed protection mission in Mariposa County started on August 24, with operations wrapping on August 30. Work on watershed protection in Siskiyou County for the McKinney Fire began on September 1 and ended on September 9.  Currently, Cal OES, DWR, and CCC are preparing to mobilize for a similar operation for the Mill Fire, also in Siskiyou County. Watershed work for the Mill Fire is slated to start on September 16 and run through September 21.

Additional information on how Cal OES helps protect natural environments after a wildfire can be found here.
Source: Cal OES

 

 

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