VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Bromus pumpellianus | Pumpelly Brome 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
The native perennial species of brome (Bromus spp.) form a considerable
portion of the forage in open woods of the mountain regions of the
western United States.  Pumpelly brome is abundant, good forage for all
classes of livestock [15].

Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in Jasper National Park, Alberta, ate
Pumpelly brome during July and early August 1968-70.  However, its
utilization was less than its availability.  Though available, it was
not recorded as being utilized in Waterton Lakes or Banff national parks
[26].

Pumpelly brome has been crossed with smooth brome to produce the
cultivar "Polar" bromegrass.  It is a long-lived and productive forage
crop in south-central Alaska [18].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Pumpelly brome had a higher mean Nutritive Value Index for five tested
stages of growth than did any of the other 20 native and cultivated
grasses studied at Lethbridge, Alberta.  Pumpelly brome had 12.7 percent
protein in the leaf stage of growth.  Protein, phosphorus, and carotene
decreased with advancing maturity; calcium and crude fiber increased [5].

Pumpelly brome, native to the Matanuska Valley near Palmer, Alaska, was
1 of 17 indigenous and introduced grass species evaluated for forage
yield and quality in that area .  It was grown over a 3-year period, and
harvested twice each year.  Of the two Pumpelly brome accessions, one
ranked fourteenth out of 38 accessions in 3-year average yield; the
other was not as successful.  Pumpelly brome had good nutritional
quality, with sufficient percentages of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium,
calcium, and magnesium to produce moderate gain on a growing 440-pound
(200-kg) steer [23].


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Pumpelly brome was evaluated for revegetation potential in the
Richardson Mountains of the northeastern Yukon Territory.  Seeding was
done June 7, 1979.  Seedling emergence was 96.7 percent in that year.
In 1980 survival was 63.3 percent, in 1981 it was 40.0 percent, and by
1985 there were no surviving plants.  There was no seed production by
Pumpelly brome in any year.  The Pumpelly brome selection was a northern
type, but it was apparently not adapted for survival at this severe
northern Yukon site [30].

Pumpelly brome did not establish on scarified arctic tundra sites of a
construction-disturbed alluvial fan in the central Brooks Range.  Some
sites were planted with grasses (other than Pumpelly brome) and others
were not; 4 and 11 years after treatments Pumpelly brome occurred only
on undisturbed control plots [8].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
In Wyoming Pumpelly brome decreases with grazing pressure [28].

Pumpelly brome seed should be planted at shallow depth.  It grows best
on moderately moist soil [12].

At the Matanuska Research Farm in south-central Alaska, Pumpelly brome
planted May 24, 1984, and harvested in 1984, 1985, and 1986, produced a
3-year total of 7.69 tons of forage per acre.  Seeding rate was 22
pounds per acre; commercial fertilizer was applied.  Pumpelly brome
compared favorably with 29 other strains of grasses tested for forage
production.  It also showed excellent winter survival and spring vigor [19].

Related categories for Species: Bromus pumpellianus | Pumpelly Brome