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Native plant communities in the Northern Great Plains evolved under periodic fire and substantial grazing pressure from native herbivores. Fire and grazing are two important drivers for maintaining structural and compositional heterogeneity of North American grassland ecosystems. Contemporary grassland management practices have focused on maximizing livestock production through fire suppression and uniform use of plant communities, resulting in decreased vegetation heterogeneity with corresponding reductions in species richness, wildlife habitat, and biodiversity. The objectives of this study are to evaluate and compare impacts of patch-burn grazing (PBG) and winter-patch grazing (WPG) management on soil seed bank compositional heterogeneity in terms of species richness, abundance, and diversity. A wildfire occurred at the SDSU Cottonwood Research Station at 16 October 2016. �Following the wildfire, five grazing exclosures were erected on each treatment (PBG, WPG, and CG (untreated area)) within each of three pastures on clayey ecological sites.� Two soil cores (10-cm dia x 10-cm depth) were extracted at random locations within each exclosure one-year post-fire and pooled into one composite sample, resulting in 45 total soil samples (3 pastures X 3 treatments X 5 exclosures). �Each composite soil sample was spread onto a plastic tray (25-cm by 25-cm by 6-cm) and placed in a greenhouse (23�3�C) with 16hr/8hr light/dark photoperiod. Trays were misted daily. The direct germination method was used to determine the germinable seed composition in the soil. �Emergence of seedlings was recorded and identified every other day for 28 days, then weekly for 2 months. Species richness, density, and diversity of seed bank under different treatments were determined. The information generated from this study will increase our understanding of soil seed banks in response to disturbance regimes and potential vegetation restoration. It will also inform science-based alternative management strategies for heterogeneity in northern Great Plains.