VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Andropogon gerardii var. gerardii | Big Bluestem 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Big bluestem provides both food and cover for numerous livestock and
wildlife species.  It is both palatable and nutritious, and livestock
often prefer it over other grasses on summer ranges [61,118].  Upland
game birds and songbirds eat the seeds [92].


PALATABILITY : 
Big bluestem is highly palatable to all classes of livestock during
spring and summer, with new growth being particularly palatable
[61,118,132].  Palatability decreases as the grass cures, and big
bluestem is probably only of fair palatability during the winter.  The
relish and degree of use shown by livestock and wildlife species for big
bluestem in several western states is as follows [28,61,92,118,141]:


                     CO    KS    MT    NE    ND    SD    TX    WY   

Cattle              good  good  good  good  good  good  good  good
Sheep               good  good  good  good  good  good  good  good
Horses              good  good  good  good  good  good  good  good
Pronghorn           ----  fair  ----  ----  poor  ----  ----  fair
Elk                 ----  ----  ----  ----  ----  good  ----  poor
Mule deer           ----  ----  ----  ----  poor  ----  ----  poor
White-tailed deer   ----  ----  ----  ----  poor  ----  poor  fair
Small mammals       ----  fair  ----  ----  ----  ----  ----  fair
Small nongame birds ----  fair  ----  ----  ----  ----  ----  fair
Upland game birds   ----  fair  ----  ----  ----  ----  ----  fair
Waterfowl           ----  ----  ----  ----  ----  ----  ----  poor


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Nutritional value of big bluestem varies seasonally.  During spring and
summer, it provides high-quality forage, but as the growing season
advances, protein levels decrease significantly [87,88,89].  The
combination of its chemical composition and high palatability, however,
make big bluestem a superior quality summer forage.  It should be cut
for hay in early to midsummer, before the nutritive quality decreases.

Big bluestem plants collected in Nebraska and North Dakota showed the
following seasonal changes in nutrition [52,88]:

                             %Crude   %Crude    %Crude     Nitrogen Free
Location    Date     Ash     Protein   Fiber      Fat         Extract

Nebraska  6/26-7/5   10.7     14.46    30.65     2.99         41.19
N. Dakota   8/14     5.61     5.54     30.96     ----         40.03
Nebraska  mid-Sept   7.14     5.31     38.26     2.31         46.98

Seasonal trends in protein and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD)
of big bluestem plants from Nebraska are given below [89]:

Collection Date     Crude Protein      IVDMD

  mid-June             14.4%            62.2%
 late June              10.6%            ----
  mid-July               8.7%            ----
early October            7.0%            34.9%


COVER VALUE : 
The tall, coarse, upright vegetative structure of big bluestem, when
found in pure stands or when mixed with other tall and mid-height
grasses, provides excellent nesting and protective cover for smaller
wildlife species.  Big bluestem provides essential nesting cover for the
greater prairie chicken, lesser prairie chicken, ring-necked pheasant,
partridges, quail, dabbling ducks, the sedge wren and numerous other
song birds [17,43,59,112,127,138].  Big bluestem provides greatest
environmental protection during the summer but, because it is resistant
to flattening by snow, also provides protective cover during the winter.
Big bluestem provides important cover for at least 24 species of
songbirds that winter on the Konza Prairie in Kansas [38].

The degree to which big bluestem provides environmental protection
during one or more seasons for wildlife species in some western states
is as follows [17,38,59,66,92,114]:

                     IA    KS    MN    MO    ND    SD    WY  
Pronghorn           ----  ----  ----  ----  poor  ----  ----
Elk                 ----  ----  ----  ----  ----  ----  poor
Mule deer           ----  ----  ----  ----  good  ----  poor
White-tailed deer   ----  ----  ----  ----  good  ----  poor
Small mammals       ----  ----  good  ----  good  ----  fair
Small nongame birds ----  good  ----  ----  good  ----  fair
Upland game birds   ----  good  ----  good  good  ----  fair
Waterfowl           good  ----  good  ----  good  good  poor


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Big bluestem has been seeded with other native prairie species to
restore disturbed prairie sites.  Many states have successfully
reconstructed prairies for scientific, educational, and aesthetic
purposes [22,112].  Big bluestem has also been planted by managers
attempting to reestablish native prairie vegetation along highways [90].

Big bluestem is not widely used for revegetating mine spoils; it has
shown varying success on different spoil material [8,48,78].

For rehabilitation purposes, cultivars released for the area should be
used.  Cultivars planted in areas with similar climatic conditions and
not more than 300 miles (500 km) north or 180 miles (290 km) east, west,
or south of their origin generally perform well.  Seed can be purchased,
or gathered locally in the early fall by hand picking or combining.
Local sources include railroad rights-of-way, backcountry roads, and old
cemetaries [110].  Commercially available big bluestem cultivars include
[9,15,59,131]:

'Bonilla' - orginates from Bonilla, South Dakota.  It is recommended for
use in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota.  It exhibits early
maturity and early winter hardiness.

'Champ' - originates from Iowa and northern Nebraska.  It was developed
from interbreeding big bluestem and sand bluestem.  This is an early
maturing cultivar recommended for use from Nebraska south into Kansas,
and eastward on favorable sites.

'Kaw' - originates from the Flint Hills of Kansas.  This is a tall,
leafy, late maturing cultivar recommended for use from central Nebraska
south through Oklahoma.

'Pawnee' - originates from Pawnee County, Nebraka.  This is a late
maturing cultivar recommended for use from central Nebraska south
through Oklahoma.

'Rountree' - originates from west-central Iowa.  This cultivar is
resistant to leaf rust and has high forage production. It is recommended
for use throughout Missouri, Iowa, and southern Illinois.

'NDG-4' - is being developed from seed collected in North Dakota for
possible use throughout the Northern Great Plains.

For planting guidelines refer to Wasser [131], Reis and others [106],
McGinniesand Hassell [83], Oaks [91], Vogel [129], and Woehler [140].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Big bluestem along with other native grasses and forbs has been used to
develop small prairie plantings for use in residential landscaping.  In
these small plantings, plants are seeded in mixtures to approximate the
temporal and physical structure of regional native prairie communities
[27].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Big bluestem can withstand considerable grazing, but if continually
grazed closer than 6 to 8 inches (15-20 cm) during the growing season,
it will be replaced by less desirable grasses [118].  Bluestem ranges
have traditionally been grazed during the summer.  Research in Kansas,
however, shows that both continuous and deferred rotation grazing
systems can be used effectively [80].

Big bluestem hay should be cut in early summer to midsummer to ensure
high nutritive quality and to allow adequate time for plants to
replenish carbohydrate reserves before the first killing frosts.
Following cutting, livestock grazing should be excluded until after fall
frost; this allows stands to retain good vigor and productivity [80].

Related categories for Species: Andropogon gerardii var. gerardii | Big Bluestem