b"is critical for the long-term restoration of resilient forest ecosys- Experts predict these fires will only continue to worsen, tems, which provide clean water, carbon sequestration, wildlifemaking the need for reseeding and native seed companies that habitat, recreation and solitude, wood products, and a host ofmuch stronger.other benefits, says a USDA Forest Service spokesperson. Fire seasons are getting longer. They're getting more destructive. They're getting more intense. Extended fire seasons New Technology Helps to Reseed dry out vegetation out at times of the year that are not ideal, set-One form of technology that has been developed to help seedting the stage for large, massive wildfires. Add in increased fuels companies and government agencies reseed following thesefrom annual weeds, like cheatgrass, and thats a huge problem, wildfires are drones.says Winter. Quality native plant materials in the form of seeds Founded in 2016, DroneSeed is at the forefront of companiesare an absolute necessity to disrupt weed establishment and working to utilize drones for wildfire recovery efforts. The com- return these wildfire cycles toward a more normal frequency.panys mission is to make reforestation scalable, says Cassie Meigs, senior director of Client Solutions at DroneSeed. These aircrafts arent average drones. Theyre around eight feet in diameter with a payload of up to 57 pounds. When loaded up, the drones weigh about 115 pounds. The drones are typically flown in a swarm configuration with anywhere from two to five aircrafts at a time. Each aircrafts battery life falls between 8-18 minutes, depending on the terrain, wind speed and additional factors. With the drone, were able to stretch the seed supply in a big way. Historically, direct seeding was done by helicopter or planes that would drop pounds of seed per acre, says Meigs. With our technology, we're able to stretch that seed supply. We're intelligently dropping the seeds in the locations that they should be, encapsulating them and seed vessels, which enhance the probability of each seed germinating and growing on a landscape. It's all about seed preservation and making that seed supply stretch over larger areas.Reseeding when it is not safe for human activity is a unique capability of drones. But why is it important to reseed during these dangerous conditions?If you think about it from a biological standpoint, the time when trees would be naturally masting and dropping their cones is that period after a fire. So, we're just mimicking nature,While traditional reseeding isnt safe after wildfires, companies, like explains Meigs. The best time to seed after a fire is the fall afterDroneSeed, are using new technologies to get seed in the field. a disturbance. That's when seed and trees would be naturallyPHOTOS: DRONESEEDdropping their cones, so we're just mimicking that.One size doesnt fit all for these complex drones, with differ- How Can Seed Companies Prepare?ent landscapes bringing varying needs.Seed companies must have a knowledgeable team to remain All of our aircrafts are preprogrammed. The first step is tovigilant in these recovery efforts, according to Winter.survey the landscape. We use high resolution LiDAR and aerialNative seed companies need to have people on staff that imagery. We collect that data before any of our drone opera- understand the ecology and native vegetation of these ecosys-tions, so we really have a good idea of the landscape. We createtems. They need to have seed production in place that reflects exact 3D models of every twig, snag and standing tree that arethe native plant communities of the areas that they work in, says located in the siteWe use all that data to have an informedWinter.deployment of our seed, adds Meigs. Government agencies, like the USDA, offer services and pro-grams to aid the community following these wildfires. The USDA Climate Change Exacerbates Wildfires provides technical and financial assistance to support produc-Rising temperatures and drought have made it apparent thaters post natural disasters including wildfires, hurricanes, winter climate change is only increasing the frequency and intensitystorms and more. of these wildfires. Winter snows are melting earlier, with rainThe Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Plant falling later in the fall. In recent years, fires have burned outsideMaterials Centers are a resource available to seed companies. of the normal fire season in California, Arizona, New Mexico,These centers have selected and released many of the grass Tennessee and New Jersey, according to the USDA. and forb species and selections of plant materials used on both OCTOBER 2022SEEDWORLD.COM /35"