The effect of smoke-water on seed germination of 18 native forb species from the interior grasslands of southern British Columbia

As government and industries continue to impact and disturb natural areas, there is an urgent and constant need for land reclamation to mitigate the negative impacts of such disturbances and restore self-sustaining, stable, and resilient ecosystems. In order to accomplish this, it is imperative to enhance the frequency, consistency, and success rates of applying native plant seed for ecological restoration. Smoke-water can affect seed germination of plants, regardless of whether they occur in fire-prone ecosystems. Germination trials of 18 native species of Indigenous value in the southern interior grasslands of British Columbia, Canada were conducted using a smoke aqueous solution. Locally sourced parent plant material was burned to produce smoke-water. Seeds were collected from multiple populations of the species across a wide geographic range within the B.C. southern interior to increase the genetic diversity of the seed stock. Seeds were soaked in smoke aqueous solution in various concentrates, including 0% (control), 1% (1:100), 10% (1:10), 20% (1:5), and 100%. The results indicate that germination rates in the presence of smoke-water are species specific. Five species showed an increase in germination with smoke-water: Erythronium grandiflorum, Calochortus macrocarpus, Arnica latifolia, Lomatium nudicaule and Shepherdia canadensis, 4 species showed no change: Rosa woodsii, Crataegus douglasii, Lewisia rediviva, and Prunus virginiana, and 9 species showed some level of decrease: Fritillaria affinis, Fritillaria pudica, Berberis aquifolium, Claytonia lanceolata, Gaillardia aristate, Balsamorhiza sagittata, Allium cernuum, Amelanchier alnifolia, and Lomatium macrocarpum. The treatments applied to encourage the germination of seeds from interior grassland forbs and shrubs have demonstrated that smoke-water can effectively break dormancy and enhance the germination rate from certain native plant species.