Over Seeding Brome in the Big Woods Unit of Nachusa Grasslands
December 2001
The Big Woods Unit is 51 acres; initially for us (2001) with 22 acres of brome, Sorgastrum nutans, Andropogan gerardii, Andropogan scandens in never (we think) plowed pasture. There was no significant forb/grass population in brome other than Panicum sp, sclepias verticillata, Sisyrinchium albidum and Antennaria plantaginifolia. These populations were small and widely dispersed. Eleven of the 22 acres were boom sprayed with broad leaf herbicide for 10 years to control Lotus corniculatus (birdsfoot trefoil).
Photo taken from east base of South Knob to the northeast. It’s December; if it’s green it must be brome. East-west 2-track at base of Aldo Leopold Knobs is the northern boundary of Wade Bottoms. Row of trees is along the Big Woods ditch/swale.
Photo taken from east base of South Knob to the northeast. It’s December; if it’s green it must be brome. East-west 2-track at base of Aldo Leopold Knobs is the northern boundary of Wade Bottoms. Row of trees is along the Big Woods ditch/swale.
March 2003
December 2011: Big Woods Unit has 341+ species on 51 acres. There are probably 50 more species (e.g. lots of sedges) not identified and listed. A conservative estimate is that 31 of the 341 are wet species which are not located in brome areas. Examples are Alisma subcordatum, Penthorum sedoides, Asclepias incarnata, Solidago patula, Aster umbellatus, Boltonia asteroides, etc. We have overseeded 1,160 pounds of native seed into brome from 2002 to 2010. This is pounds of Nachusa BULK seed, i.e. containing processed stems, pods etc. Since 2001, at least 300 different species have been collected to add to Big Woods. Additional seed (above the 1160 pounds) was collected for dry savanna, wet savanna, and wet prairie. For details of seed collection and planting plans refer to the Seeds Section. We believe that some of our seed has little chance of germinating. There are three factors which we feel affect success in over seeding in general.
Other factors occurring on Big Woods
- There is a decreased germination rate when seeding into grass i.e. brome, Sorgastrum nutans, Andropogan gerardii, Andropogan scandens. Certainly the lead time for plants maturing to bloom is longer than in bare soil.
- Some seed is burned in a spring–prescribed fire after seeding in the fall. The Big Woods Unit received 2001, 2007, 2009 fall burns otherwise all were late spring burns. We strongly agree with the common belief that if you are over seeding, you should burn and seed in the fall. We seed in the fall whether or not the unit is burned; believe the resulting viability rate is roughly the same if seed is lost to dense grass thatch/roots or due to sitting 5-10 months (depending on seed pick date) in non climate controlled storage. By seeding in the fall we also gain whatever advantage exists from the freeze/thaw cycle. If over seeding specific trouble spots and degraded remnants, we recommend planting seed as soon as it is picked. It will give a much more natural "seed rain" effect. This is labor intensive so we are thinking of trying to plant the available mix at the end of each month, June, July, etc. Any seed distributed at least a month before burn season must have historically survived so why wouldn't it now.
- Seeding in the spring means that seed is not on the ground in the winter which is what would naturally happen. We seeded in spring in 2003 and 2004 and always in the fall after that. Here is our algorithm for over seeding cool season grasses / tall native prairie grass, or any other degraded area. Not getting frustrated and impatient is important as we have seen plants appear long after we had almost given up. The REPEAT is also a crucial point in that you should keep putting seed out until you get the results you want. Burn in the fall and overseed before the ground freezes. Use Poast herbicide on the cool season brome grass in the spring before native grasses start growing. Go away and do something else and wait. Repeat.
Other factors occurring on Big Woods
- Since 2001 we have been back pack spraying for Lotus corniculatus (birdsfoot trefoil) on all or part of the 22 acres. We walked the entire area at least three and up to four or five times in some years. In 2005 we started tracking gallons of Crossbow sprayed: 985 gallons 2005-2010. Our philosophy is that over spray killing of a few desirable prairie forbs is preferable to having very little other than birdsfoot trefoil. Number of gallons sprayed per year jumped dramatically in 2008 due to record amount of rainfall and germination of birdsfoot trefoil. Number of gallons per year increased again in 2009, another banner year for rainfall. Number of gallons dropped dramatically in 2010 and fell again in 2011. By 2002 we had realized that our goal was to prevent any birdsfoot trefoil from setting seed. Some years we have sprayed from April until the end of August, until birdsfoot trefoil was no longer blooming. Since BFT seed in the seed bank lasts more than ten years, “Rounding it up” once would not have been effective. We do not feel it would be very satisfying to Roundup for ten years without planting any seed. We see new BFT seedlings all summer (thankfully GREATLY reduced by 2012!). See Birdsfoot Trefoil Section for more details. We were "gifted" with the 10 acres now named Wade Bottoms by our friends Mary and Al Meier at the end of 2006. Parts of it were pure brome and parts had little other than Sorgastrum nutans, Andropogan gerardii, and Andropogan scandens. Except of course there were gazillions of Lotus corniculatus plants. We began back pack spraying the area in 2007. It had been boom sprayed for 10 years ending in 2006. Photo taken from east side of South Knob to the southeast. Jeep is parked about one third of the way between the Old Ditch Crossing and Red Head Savanna. So this shows the south half of the Big Woods field and slightly less than half of the Wade Bottoms Sectors 5 and 6. The tan area is brome which was not burned while the green area is brome which was burned.
September 2009, wet Lake Aldo area of Wade Bottoms where there used to be only brome.
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September 2009, wet Lake Aldo area.
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Other factors occurring on Big Woods Continued...
- We have seen birdsfoot trefoil producing seeds in areas which were boom sprayed and believe that while boom spraying reduced birdsfoot trefoil seed production it did not stop it. The Wade Bottoms area was boom sprayed about twice each growing season which still lets birdsfoot trefoil recover enough to set seed between sprayings. We are relatively confidant that we have had almost no new seed production for 10 years; on Wade Bottoms since 2007. By adding seed from the beginning in 2001 (Wade Bottoms since 2007), we have lost some native plants but continually reduced the Lotus corniculatus (birdsfoot trefoil). Most importantly we have prairie forbs which are ten years old.
- In 2001 approximately 0.5 acre of the 22 acres was mesic to wet. These areas had standing water during spring rains but they were totally dry most the rest of the year. Beginning in 2003 we seeded the half acre of wet areas with wet mix. See Seeds Section for details. Annual rainfall spiked dramatically in 2008 and has continued with 2011 being the second wettest year in Illinois history. An estimated 3 + acres are now (2008-2011) mesic to constantly standing and/or flowing water. Some amount of dry prairie seed is now "under water" with no dry prairie plants present in those areas. Of course the three wet acres are easier to restore since any wet seed you can find to plant happily comes up and flourishes. Starting in 2008 we began using a different mix for the newly wet areas and did not add any more of our dry prairie seed to those areas. All of the Big Woods area is assumed to be never row-cropped but heavily pastured. It clearly was seeded to brome at some point. We began restoration in 2001, never expecting the brome pasture areas to be anything but dry prairie. At the end of 2007, we believed that we were nearly done with birdsfoot trefoil. 2008, as the rainiest year in Illinois history, caused millions of BFT seeds to germinate. We also believe that birdsfoot trefoil seed continued to wash down from the Aldo Leopold Knobs into our area. There was more heavy germination in 2009. This was depressing, however in retrospect it was great because it meant that enormous amounts of seed were pulled out of the seed bank. As noted previously herbicide usage began dropping significantly after 2009. We are replanting wet areas with wet mix with good results. Photos in September 2009 of wet Lake Aldo area of Wade Bottoms where there used to be only brome.
January 2004
- Running north to south down the "center" of the unit is a wet swale which was at some point ditched by a farmer. The spoil ridge was clearly visible on either side of the ditch. In 2006, a bulldozer event pushed dirt in from 20 feet on either side of the ditch and re-contoured the area. This is an effective method for removing brome. You can see how thick it was in the above photo. Of the 1,160 pounds of seed which has gone into the brome, 292 pounds went out prior to 2006. From that 292 pounds any of the plants growing along the ditch were bulldozed. Nachusa volunteers generally plant several acres per year at a rate of 45-60 pounds of bulk seed per bare soil acre. On the Big Woods Unit with 1,160 pounds of bulk seed mix in the 22 acres of grass, in 2011 we are only just now approaching having a 50 pound per acre seeding rate. Given that we believe seeding into thick grass as opposed to bare ground reduces germination rate we will need to continue seeding to bring us up to the equivalent germination rate on bare ground. Big Woods Unit does have 341+ species; approximately 200 of those species occur in brome or in areas where brome once dominated. We view that as a big success since many of the forbs are only second or third year plants. We strongly agree with others' statements that once a species is established, seed rain will occur! See Seeds Section for details. Photo taken from 2-track east of the Ditch/Swale to the west looking at the South Knob-North Knob area. There was isolated Andropogan scandens and Sorgastrum nutans (yellowish tan) on the northern one third of the field. Everything else except the sides and tops of the knobs is brome.
April 2002
- Since brome is a cool season grass it will green up in the spring a week or so before the native grasses. If you are careful, you can herbicide the brome with Poast after it greens up, but before the natives do, thus diminishing the competition for your new seeds. Here is an example photo of green brome in early spring which was taken from the hickory tree on the east side of South Knob looking east across Wade Bottoms.
We have found this early spray to be very effective at reducing the brome without damaging natives. Be sure that the panicums are not green or you will lose them. One word of caution, if you spray the brome, you must overseed the sprayed area or you might get nothing but weedy trash replacing the brome. When we first started using Poast, the label indicated that it degrades within half an hour in sunlight. Spraying it under cloud cover we have had excellent results. See bare spots at the east end of the unburned Sedge Meadow area. One strip was overseeded and the other was not, with seeded area producing much more diversity. The unseeded strip came up predominately grass leaf goldenrod which was also good.
We just happened to find this aerial photo online. The satellite photos were taken of Big Woods in the spring with bare ground rectangles where we had sprayed Poast the year before the satellite images were taken. North of the two rectangles you can also see “dots” where small patches were sprayed.
We just happened to find this aerial photo online. The satellite photos were taken of Big Woods in the spring with bare ground rectangles where we had sprayed Poast the year before the satellite images were taken. North of the two rectangles you can also see “dots” where small patches were sprayed.
March 27, 2012
We have Poasted several different areas over the restoration period with good results. This is an area in the south half of Sector 6 of Wade Bottoms. Seed was added to the left half of this “rectangle” but not to the right half. We had planned to spray Sector 6 a few years ago, however it held standing water for a month or more that spring. In the distance of the upper right corner of the photo you can see where Reed Canary Grass was also Poasted around Brushpile #30.
May 2012
Photo of same area showing dead brome with some previously existing forbs. Check back in future for photo showing results of again overseeding only half of this area.
May 2012
We deliberately placed our most recent burn pile location in the middle of a patch of Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass). Here’s the photo of the second burn 30.2 which shows the effects of Poast. After we burned this trash we loaded the area with our seed mix designed to replace reed canary grass.
February 2005
What to plant?
We have NOT picked or added ANY Sorgastrum nutans, Andropogan gerardii, Andropogan scandens. Small amounts of all three species were present in 2001 and are generally increasing.
The photo was taken in the field looking northeast (plum thicket on south side of Doug’s Knob). The cherry tree (just left of center) is at the western edge of the Ditch just south of the tip of the triangle. The Sorgastrum nutans (taller grass) ended at about that point.
We have NOT picked or added ANY Sorgastrum nutans, Andropogan gerardii, Andropogan scandens. Small amounts of all three species were present in 2001 and are generally increasing.
The photo was taken in the field looking northeast (plum thicket on south side of Doug’s Knob). The cherry tree (just left of center) is at the western edge of the Ditch just south of the tip of the triangle. The Sorgastrum nutans (taller grass) ended at about that point.
March 2012
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March 2012
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Sorgastrum nutans (very annoying) has moved into all areas that are not really wet or that are not extremely dry. It eventually populated most of the open prairie areas and is very unpleasant to walk through when in full bloom.
As suggested by Chris Hauser, we are enthusiastic about using Pedicularis canadensis (wood betony) to reduce grass. Pedicularis canadensis is hemiparasitic on grasses and will help diminish them. The Potholes Unit population of Pedicularis is three or four years older than that on Big Woods. There are "crop circles" in Potholes in what was a thick uniform stand of tall grass. We don't think we are seeing a hollow center in a given Pedicularis area on either unit. You can certainly see the circular expansion and the diminishing grass though! Pedicularis may survive without grass. Be sure to overseed areas containing Pedicularis canadensis so that there will be prairie plants in place when the grass is decreased. Pedicularis is just becoming abundant on Big Woods and we are heavily seeding a high quality forb mix around all its locations. We spend hours walking a very careful comprehensive pattern staring at the ground searching for birdsfoot trefoil to spray. We saw NO Pedicularis for 3-4 years after we first planted it. Then we saw half a dozen plants widely dispersed. The next year there were LARGE robust colonies in LOTS of locations. We know that it decreases Sorgastrum and Andropogan from our observations of the Potholes Unit. We know that it is growing in some of our brome areas as well as with tall prairie grasses. Spring of 2012 we will try to determine how much it is impacting brome. We will continue to heavily over seed these areas with high quality mix. So you can say "proof by example" of the Pedicularis that there are lots of other interesting plants from over seeding that will require several years of life as a "bonsai" while they grow a root system which can compete with the tall grass.
And there is substantial evidence that Pedicularis sucks the life out of warm season grass roots. Hank thinks that much of the Pedicularis we saw in 2011 was seeded in 2010. HH: My reasoning on this is that we had 1.6 lbs of seed in 2010 but only .25 lbs total in the previous three years. BH: We have been overseeding with Pedicularis seed since 2007 so cannot say for sure which seed is now actively growing. Note: There was no Pedicularis in Big Woods or Potholes until seed was added. As a side comment, Ryan Campbell at Fermi mentioned to us that they are using Pedicularis lanceolata to impact cattails in their wet areas. In the Big Woods Sedge Meadow, the Predicularis lanceolata certainly appears to diminish grass and sedges. Photos show Sector 6 of Wade Bottoms grass being reduced by Pedicularis canadensis.
As suggested by Chris Hauser, we are enthusiastic about using Pedicularis canadensis (wood betony) to reduce grass. Pedicularis canadensis is hemiparasitic on grasses and will help diminish them. The Potholes Unit population of Pedicularis is three or four years older than that on Big Woods. There are "crop circles" in Potholes in what was a thick uniform stand of tall grass. We don't think we are seeing a hollow center in a given Pedicularis area on either unit. You can certainly see the circular expansion and the diminishing grass though! Pedicularis may survive without grass. Be sure to overseed areas containing Pedicularis canadensis so that there will be prairie plants in place when the grass is decreased. Pedicularis is just becoming abundant on Big Woods and we are heavily seeding a high quality forb mix around all its locations. We spend hours walking a very careful comprehensive pattern staring at the ground searching for birdsfoot trefoil to spray. We saw NO Pedicularis for 3-4 years after we first planted it. Then we saw half a dozen plants widely dispersed. The next year there were LARGE robust colonies in LOTS of locations. We know that it decreases Sorgastrum and Andropogan from our observations of the Potholes Unit. We know that it is growing in some of our brome areas as well as with tall prairie grasses. Spring of 2012 we will try to determine how much it is impacting brome. We will continue to heavily over seed these areas with high quality mix. So you can say "proof by example" of the Pedicularis that there are lots of other interesting plants from over seeding that will require several years of life as a "bonsai" while they grow a root system which can compete with the tall grass.
And there is substantial evidence that Pedicularis sucks the life out of warm season grass roots. Hank thinks that much of the Pedicularis we saw in 2011 was seeded in 2010. HH: My reasoning on this is that we had 1.6 lbs of seed in 2010 but only .25 lbs total in the previous three years. BH: We have been overseeding with Pedicularis seed since 2007 so cannot say for sure which seed is now actively growing. Note: There was no Pedicularis in Big Woods or Potholes until seed was added. As a side comment, Ryan Campbell at Fermi mentioned to us that they are using Pedicularis lanceolata to impact cattails in their wet areas. In the Big Woods Sedge Meadow, the Predicularis lanceolata certainly appears to diminish grass and sedges. Photos show Sector 6 of Wade Bottoms grass being reduced by Pedicularis canadensis.
The following legumes are aggressive bullies and come up quickly and are very visible in tall grass and brome: Astragalus canadensis (little is blooming in Big Woods as tops are mostly munched by Bambi), Baptesia leucantha, Lespedeza capitata, Petalostemum candidum, and Petalostemum purpureum. (Amphicarpa bracteata is similarly robust in savanna areas.) The following species are also fast starters which improve the scenery greatly when staring at birdsfoot trefoil and tall grass. Eryngium yuccifolium, Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, Parthenium integrifolium, and Triosteum perfoliatum are clearly present after only one year but need 2-4 years to bloom strongly.
Panicum sp, Asclepias verticillata, Sisyrinchium albidum and Antennaria plantaginifolia are our poster children for why you would not want to Roundup an area containing any desirable forbs. All were present in very small quantities but have spread dramatically by themselves and far more successfully via "seed rain" than we could have managed by trying to pick an equivalent amount of seed. The Antennaria are fantastically abundant especially considering that they were usually hammered by a late spring burn and consequently appeared to not bloom well.
We wonder: Do these pioneer species affect the soil chemistry allowing other species to establish?
Clonal species are slow to be visible but eventually spread aggressively even in grass. Antennaria sp, Aster ericoides, Coreopsis palmata, Solidago missouriensis, Helianthus occidentalis, Pedicularis canadensis, Aristida purpurascens are fine examples. These are especially good for bare areas but also kick on existing tall grass and brome. Expect to wait 3-5 years to see dramatic increases unless you are using Pedicularis.
Panicum sp, Asclepias verticillata, Sisyrinchium albidum and Antennaria plantaginifolia are our poster children for why you would not want to Roundup an area containing any desirable forbs. All were present in very small quantities but have spread dramatically by themselves and far more successfully via "seed rain" than we could have managed by trying to pick an equivalent amount of seed. The Antennaria are fantastically abundant especially considering that they were usually hammered by a late spring burn and consequently appeared to not bloom well.
We wonder: Do these pioneer species affect the soil chemistry allowing other species to establish?
Clonal species are slow to be visible but eventually spread aggressively even in grass. Antennaria sp, Aster ericoides, Coreopsis palmata, Solidago missouriensis, Helianthus occidentalis, Pedicularis canadensis, Aristida purpurascens are fine examples. These are especially good for bare areas but also kick on existing tall grass and brome. Expect to wait 3-5 years to see dramatic increases unless you are using Pedicularis.
August 2002
Comments from various conversations with other prairie folks.
Existing invasions: Add seed generously. Several Nachusa volunteers always create a special seed mix to use after spraying Phalaris arundinacea (Reed Canary Grass). Also note Big Woods is adding “Pedicularis” mix to those areas.
Re-invasions: Do continuous followup in same year and subsequent years.
Initial tall grasses: We would never ever initially plant Sorgastrum nutans, Andropogan gerardii, Andropogan scandens or others of their ilk. They will come in on their own.
Overseeding forbs on a regular basis: Yes.
Overseeding works in abandoned weedy areas: This is much easier than seeding in warm season tall grasses. We agree with Steve Packard that keeping the brome and overseeding is preferable to dealing with other invasive species. We would not Roundup brome before planting; but would heavily seed and then Poast the brome. There are only two of us; we have another life. We don't spend any of our restoration time running transects or doing plant surveys. We don't ever walk around looking for first or second year seedlings. So we wait to add to our plant list when we happen to notice a new species blooming. Hence we whole heartedly agree with expecting a long timeline for results.
Broadcasting seed into burned prairie: Burn the area to be seeded in the fall not in the spring.
Efficiency of seed becoming plants is inconsistent: We are constantly puzzled by this phenomenon. Potentilla arguta comes up in Nachusa dry prairie bare soil plantings in weed-like quantities. Big Woods has at least 50 pounds of Potentilla bulk seed on the ground and very few plants. We thought this was even more weird when we found out that the three bare soil plantings on the Dot/Doug Unit (immediately north of Big Woods Unit) have almost no Potentilla arguta. In contrast, Wulfenia bullii came up gangbusters and we almost immediately had hundreds of plants.
Some people from Kane County have reported the failure of overseeding brome fields. This has not been our experience; we believe our success is from overseeding yearly. There are so many uncontrolled variables in planting. Planting on frozen soil with freeze-drying of seed. Late spring freeze/cold/damp at time of germination. Late late spring burn to "control" brome knocking out second or third year seedlings. Seed picked too early/late. Seed mix not robustly viable for some weird reason. We do recommend Poasting brome after overseeding.
We have areas which wold be considered severely degraded remnants, but there were very small quanitites of some plants whose seed is hard to find. These plants are coming back on their own once the competition from brome is reduced. Recommend overseed repeatedly and be patient. Examples of plants on Big Woods which have flourished and spread dramatically that we would never have gotten in quantity from seed are Panicum sp, Asclepias verticillata, Sisyrinchium albidum, Antennaria plantaginifolia, Commandra umbellata, Viola sagittata, Penstemon hirsutus, Oxalis violacea, Lythrum alatum, Lobelia spicata, Carex blanda, Asclepias viridiflora (not all these occur in the brome area). Lots easier to add other stuff than start these from zero after wholesale herbiciding.
Overseed after FALL burns: This is the one most important thing you can do. We cannot stress this strongly enough.
The “before” photo above was taken August 13, 2002 looking west from a point about 20 yards southeast of point 18. The trees in the background were cleared by a forestry mower in 2004. Note the dense brome in the foreground which we overseeded several times in the following years.
Existing invasions: Add seed generously. Several Nachusa volunteers always create a special seed mix to use after spraying Phalaris arundinacea (Reed Canary Grass). Also note Big Woods is adding “Pedicularis” mix to those areas.
Re-invasions: Do continuous followup in same year and subsequent years.
Initial tall grasses: We would never ever initially plant Sorgastrum nutans, Andropogan gerardii, Andropogan scandens or others of their ilk. They will come in on their own.
Overseeding forbs on a regular basis: Yes.
Overseeding works in abandoned weedy areas: This is much easier than seeding in warm season tall grasses. We agree with Steve Packard that keeping the brome and overseeding is preferable to dealing with other invasive species. We would not Roundup brome before planting; but would heavily seed and then Poast the brome. There are only two of us; we have another life. We don't spend any of our restoration time running transects or doing plant surveys. We don't ever walk around looking for first or second year seedlings. So we wait to add to our plant list when we happen to notice a new species blooming. Hence we whole heartedly agree with expecting a long timeline for results.
Broadcasting seed into burned prairie: Burn the area to be seeded in the fall not in the spring.
Efficiency of seed becoming plants is inconsistent: We are constantly puzzled by this phenomenon. Potentilla arguta comes up in Nachusa dry prairie bare soil plantings in weed-like quantities. Big Woods has at least 50 pounds of Potentilla bulk seed on the ground and very few plants. We thought this was even more weird when we found out that the three bare soil plantings on the Dot/Doug Unit (immediately north of Big Woods Unit) have almost no Potentilla arguta. In contrast, Wulfenia bullii came up gangbusters and we almost immediately had hundreds of plants.
Some people from Kane County have reported the failure of overseeding brome fields. This has not been our experience; we believe our success is from overseeding yearly. There are so many uncontrolled variables in planting. Planting on frozen soil with freeze-drying of seed. Late spring freeze/cold/damp at time of germination. Late late spring burn to "control" brome knocking out second or third year seedlings. Seed picked too early/late. Seed mix not robustly viable for some weird reason. We do recommend Poasting brome after overseeding.
We have areas which wold be considered severely degraded remnants, but there were very small quanitites of some plants whose seed is hard to find. These plants are coming back on their own once the competition from brome is reduced. Recommend overseed repeatedly and be patient. Examples of plants on Big Woods which have flourished and spread dramatically that we would never have gotten in quantity from seed are Panicum sp, Asclepias verticillata, Sisyrinchium albidum, Antennaria plantaginifolia, Commandra umbellata, Viola sagittata, Penstemon hirsutus, Oxalis violacea, Lythrum alatum, Lobelia spicata, Carex blanda, Asclepias viridiflora (not all these occur in the brome area). Lots easier to add other stuff than start these from zero after wholesale herbiciding.
Overseed after FALL burns: This is the one most important thing you can do. We cannot stress this strongly enough.
The “before” photo above was taken August 13, 2002 looking west from a point about 20 yards southeast of point 18. The trees in the background were cleared by a forestry mower in 2004. Note the dense brome in the foreground which we overseeded several times in the following years.
August 12, 2011
The “after” photo above was taken on August 12, 2011 from the same spot looking west. The trees in the background of this photo are about 100 yards to the west of the trees in the “before” photo. The oak in the top right is where the trees were in the “before” photo. Note the native plants in the foreground which have replaced the brome in the photo above.