Fire is a natural disturbance in many ecosystems such as semi-arid chaparral shrublands, but rates of vegetation regeneration may be slow after intense fires. Thus, land managers may resort to practices such as mulching or seeding in areas that are prone to soil erosion and nutrient loss. These practices, in particular seeding with annual grasses, are controversial because they may inhibit rates of natural vegetation regeneration, introduce exotic species, and be ineffective at soil and/or nutrient retention. We assessed how hydroseeding affected rates of chaparral vegetation regrowth and ecosystem nitrogen (N) storage during the first 2 years of post-fire recovery. We selected 3 north-facing slopes that were within 500 m of each other: one slope was unburned while the other slopes burned during the-Cocos‖ fire in May 2014 and were either hydroseeded with a mix of native grasses and suffrutescent shrubs (seeded) or left to naturally regenerate
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