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questions regarding burning

Hello from SW Wisconsin:

We burned a 2-acre prairie remnant last spring and I have a few questions
regarding whether we should burn again next spring. The core of the remnant
responded very well; we noticed a few new species blooming and no major
weed problems.  Around this core, the burning removed quite a bit of thatch
and reduced the population of sweet clover reaching flowering stage .
(Eurasian thistles are another matter , but we are coping.) We have two
potential problems...

(1) There are scattered patches of first-year sweet clover, probably
stimulated by the burn. I'd like to burn again next spring -- when the
plants are most vulnerable -- to prevent them from flowering.  I think
thepopulation of sweet clover would then be reduced to a level we can
control by cutting or pulling future flowering plants.

(2) In some areas, however, the ground is bare between clumps of brome
grass. With few natives in these areas to replace the fire-sensitive
grasses, I'm afraid further burning will only expose ground to invasion by
weeds. Do you agree? I'm inclined to spread locally gathered seed this fall
and leave the entire 2-acres alone for a few years.

You might notice a conflict here. Do I burn again to knock down the
population of sweet clover, but possibly exposing more ground  to invasion
by other weeds? Or do I seed bare areas this fall and tolerate the clover
until more native plants are present ? I think there is too much overlap to
treat the areas differently.

Thank you for any suggestions.

John Raasch






J. A. Raasch
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Plant Biotechnology Laboratory
UWBC 425 Henry Mall
Madison, WI   53706

Phone: 608-265-4485
E-mail: jaraasch@facstaff.wisc.edu
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