Japanese brome (Bromus japonicus Thunb,), an introduced annual grass,
is now common in some northern mixed-prairie communities, This species
has the potential to alter both the seasonality of standing crop and
forage quality, We sought to gain a greater understanding of Japanese
brome seed germination by subjecting seed to a series of 55 constant o
r alternating temperature regimes following 3 to 9 months of dry labor
atory storage, Cold and moderate temperature regimes provided optimum
germination conditions (defined as not lower than the maximum observed
minus one-half its confidence interval at the 0.05 level of probabili
ty), Extremely cold or warm temperatures suppressed germination, Germi
nation of afterripened seed over a wide range of temperature combinati
ons, many of which occur during fall in the Northern Great Plains, sho
uld enhance establishment and perpetuation of Japanese brome on rangel
ands.