VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Aster conspicuus | Showy Aster 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Showy aster is a common constituent of summmer diets of black bear in
lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests of Alberta [11].

Showy aster is preferred forage for grizzly bears in the Bob Marshall
Wilderness Area, northwestern Montana [17].


PALATABILITY : 
Showy aster provides valuable forage for deer, elk, cattle, and domestic
sheep in Idaho and British Columbia [18,21].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Showy aster is low in resistance to repeated human trampling, but it may
recover rapidly.  In montane grassland in Montana, showy aster cover
increased more than 30 percent between the end of August and the
following June [3].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Showy aster cover decreased from 4.4 to 0.7 percent under heavy grazing
in a Douglas-fir forest in northern Idaho [27].  It also declined in
abundance and vigor following heavy grazing in a Douglas-fir vegetation
type in British Columbia [25], and decreased to 0.0 percent frequency
following 12 years of heavy grazing in a mountain meadow community in
northern Idaho [15].

Showy aster increased following clearcutting in a Douglas-fir/ninebark
(Physocarpus malvaceus) habitat type in western Montana [1].

Related categories for Species: Aster conspicuus | Showy Aster