VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Hedysarum alpinum var. americanum | American Sweetvetch 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Roots of another sweetvetch, Hedysarum sulphurescens, are an important
early spring food for grizzly bears [23].  However, American sweetvetch
is probably not abundant enough in Glacier National Park to be an
important forage for grizzlies [1,15].


PALATABILITY : 
Other members of the genus Hedysarum are rated as palatable to sheep and
fairly so for cattle during midsummer and early fall [1].  Roots of
Hedysarym sulphurescens are highly palatable to grizzly bears.  American
sweetvetch, however, is high in tannins, which may lower its
palatability [1].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
A nutritive analysis of American sweetvetch showed that the mean percent
digestible protein was 2.4 [3].  On a nutritive value index, where
clipped dried alfalfa (Medicago sativa) had the top score of 100,
American sweetvetch rated a mean score of 12.3, which was 80 percent
lower than the overall mean of five other forbs analyzed in the study
[3].  Another study showed very different results.  Protein and fiber
quantities were similar to those of alfalfa, but American sweetvetch was
much higher in tannins than other forage legumes [1].


COVER VALUE : 
An American sweetvetch community in Alaska was the primary nesting site
for a population of dusky Canada geese.  It was also the nesting site
for several other waterfowl and birds.  A population of voles was
restricted to the area and nested in and fed on the sweetvetch.


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
American sweetvetch has been recommended for use in revegetation
projects in Alaska.  After one growing season at a subalpine site at
2,483 feet (757 m), sweetvetch seedlings showed 73 percent survival with
added topsoil and 87 percent survival without added topsoil.
Transplanting was much more successful using book-style containers than
tube-style containers [5].  In the tundra zone of the Northwest
Territories, Canada, American sweetvetch is a prominent species (about
10 percent cover) on many sites in borrow pits alongside an abandoned
highway [11].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
American sweetvetch forms nitrogen-fixing root nodules [6].  It is also
useful as bee fodder, as it is freely visited by honey bees [1].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
American sweetvetch has some potential for use as a forage species for
roadsides and small spring pastures or as a hay crop [1].  For
cultivation purposes, agronomic selection for a strain lower in tannins
is suggested.  Specimens from seeds collected at different locations
showed highly variable tannin quantities.  Strains with lower tannin
content would presumably be more palatable.  American sweetvetch is also
susceptible to a leaf spotting fungus and verticillium wilt, so
resistant strains should be sought [1].

American sweetvetch showed similar percent cover and frequency following
clearcutting as in a control.  Abundance was slightly lower after
shelterwood cutting [22].

American sweetvetch recovers slowly after cutting and produces little
regrowth compared to alfalfa [1].

Related categories for Species: Hedysarum alpinum var. americanum | American Sweetvetch