• IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE
• PALATABILITY
• NUTRITIONAL VALUE
• COVER VALUE
• VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES
• OTHER USES AND VALUES
• MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:

Thurber needlegrass is valuable forage for livestock and wildlife [35,76,83]. It is an important forage grass for cattle in Washington, Oregon, and Nevada [7,15,31,65,86,88], domestic sheep in Oregon [78], and wild horses in southeastern Oregon (comprising 16% of the annual diet) [55]. In a southeastern Oregon native shrub-steppe community, fawns of pronghorn preferred early-growth Thurber needlegrass [83]. Although the seeds are apparently not injurious, grazing animals avoid them when they begin to mature. Livestock, especially domestic sheep, sometimes graze the leaves closely, leaving the stems untouched [84]. Grazing stress reduced average leaf length by 21% and reduced flowering culms by 6.5% at the Arid Lands Ecology Reserve in south-central Washington [68].

Grasses, including Thurber needlegrass, of the southern Idaho region are an especially important segment of the vegetation as their seeds are valuable to birds and small mammals. Their leaves and stems are used by rabbits, deer, and other herbivores, and they provide protective cover to many small and medium-sized animals [79]. Willis and Miller [94] reported many small mammals including Great Basin pocket mice, montane meadow mice, yellow-pine chipmunks, and white-footed deer mice were prevalent in the Juniper Mountain study area in Oregon, where Thurber needlegrass was abundant. This perennial grass is also a major food source for black-tailed jackrabbits in southern Idaho [34,42,43].

Birds found in large numbers in the Lava Beds National Monument in California, where Thurber needlegrass has a constancy value of 96.7%, include the northern flicker, scrub jay, common bushtit, and blue-gray gnatcatcher [82]. Sage grouse hens were found to be abundant in a Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata var. wyomingensis)/Thurber needlegrass cover type in eastern Oregon [4].  

PALATABILITY:

Thurber needlegrass produces a fairly large amount of leafage that is usually of "good," although not choice, palatability for all classes of livestock. It is most palatable in the spring and early summer while the plants are young and succulent. As the species matures, the leaves become somewhat tough for domestic sheep, but are still grazed to some extent [84].

NUTRITIONAL VALUE:

Crude protein is relatively high (18%) in Thurber needlegrass in early summer, but becomes low (6-10%) during early or middle stages of seed formation [40]. However, the value of this grass as forage is relatively higher in the fall than in midsummer, because it remains green after most of the grasses have dried up [84].

The following nutritional components of Thurber needlegrass were measured in Silver Lake, Oregon [40]:

COVER VALUE:

Thurber needlegrass provides protective cover to many small and medium-sized animals [79]. In a southeast Oregon big sagebrush ecosystem, sage grouse use perennial bunchgrasses for cover, and the residual grass cover around the sage grouse nests has been found to be a major factor reducing nest depredation [99]. A Wyoming big sagebrush/Thurber needlegrass cover type hosted pre-laying sage grouse hens in eastern Oregon [4].

VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:

The success of rehabilitation rests heavily on the amount of competition from the alien annual grass, cheatgrass [105], since it is a highly successful competitor with Thurber needlegrass seedlings [32,102]. Methods of manual seed planting were assessed and it was found that more Thurber needlegrass seedlings emerged in the standard and deep furrow seeding treatments than in broadcast treatments. Thurber needlegrass was found to have higher frequency in plowed soil than in unplowed soil [95].

OTHER VALUES AND USES:

No entry

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:

Livestock grazing and fire have been recognized as potentially detrimental to the maintenance of perennial grasses such as Thurber needlegrass in sagebrush/grass communities [29,60,97]. This species increases under protection from livestock grazing [68]. After 30 years of rest from grazing, a 20-acre (8 ha) tract of eroded sagebrush/grass range in northern Nevada increased its Thurber needlegrass population 7-fold [68]; however, Thurber needlegrass decreased when protected from grazing in a Wyoming big sagebrush/Thurber needlegrass community [29]. In Nevada, basal area of Thurber needlegrass in a big sagebrush/Thurber needlegrass community type decreased under heavy grazing during the growing season [29].

A single defoliation, particularly during the boot state, can reduce subsequent herbage production and root mass and possibly lower the competitive ability of Thurber needlegrass [35]. A grazing system which allows seed production, trampling of plant seed, and a non-use period may increase the establishment of new plants in interspaces [26].

Related categories for SPECIES: Achnatherum thurberianum | Thurber Needlegrass