VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Agrostis exarata | Spike Bentgrass 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Spike bentgrass is an important source of montane forage for livestock
in the summer [24,27,29,32].  Herbage stays green and palatable
throughout the summer [24,27,29].


PALATABILITY : 
Spike bentgrass is rated good for cattle, horses, and elk, and fair to
good for sheep and deer [29].  


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Spike bentgrass has been used as a soil stabilizer in degraded areas
[27].
  


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Spike bentgrass is considered the most valuable native redtop (Agrostis
spp.) on California rangelands because of its abundance and wide
distribution [24].  Spike bentgrass decreases with overgrazing in climax
meadows of the Sierra Nevada [21].

In the spring of 1972, there was a spill of diesel fuel in a subalpine
meadow on Mount Baker, Washington.  The estimated prespill cover of
spike bentgrass was minute.  All plants were killed by the diesel fuel.
Spike bentgrass was not found in a survey of the area conducted in 1980
[3].
 

Related categories for Species: Agrostis exarata | Spike Bentgrass