VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Carex heliophila | Sun Sedge 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Sun sedge is an important forage at the beginning of the grazing season
and after summer rains [13].  It provides abundant early forage,
especially in the drier areas of prairie grasslands [21].  In South
Dakota and Wyoming, the ponderosa pine/sun sedge habitat type is used as
a spring-fall range for livestock and spring-summer range for large
mammals [13].

At Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, a grazing study showed that
sun sedge increased in response to grazing by prairie dogs for the first
3 years after introduction of the prairie dogs.  This increase may have
been the result of sun sedge's tolerance to grazing combined with the
decreased abundance of mid-sized grass competitors [4].


PALATABILITY : 
Sun sedge is rated 50 to 80 percent palatable to livestock [13].  The
palatability of sun sedge to livestock and wildlife species in several
western states has been rated as follows [8]:
 
                    CO      MT      ND      WY

Cattle             Fair    Fair    Good    Fair
Sheep              Fair    Fair    Good    Fair
Horses             Good    Good    Good    Good
Pronghorn          ----    ----    Fair    ----
Mule deer          ----    ----    Fair    ----
White-tailed deer  ----    ----    Poor    ----


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Compared with other graminoids, sun sedge is rated fair in energy value
and protein value [8].


COVER VALUE : 
The degree to which sun sedge provides environmental protection in North
Dakota during one or more seasons is rated as fair for pronghorn but
poor for white-tailed deer [8].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Sun sedge was rated for several factors relating to its use in
rehabilitation work in several western states [8]:

                              CO       MT       ND       WY
Potential biomass            Low      Low      Low      Low
  production
Erosion control potential    Medium   Medium   Medium   Low
Establishment requirements   ----     ----     High     Low
Short-term revegetation      ----     Low      Low      Low
  potential
Long-term revegetation       ----     Low      Medium   Medium
  potential


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
The presence of wildlife affects the production of sun sedge [3].  There
is also evidence that heavy grazing in areas with sun sedge may reduce
the production of this species [14].

The impact of prairie dog activity was studied in a mixed-grass prairie
community in southwestern South Dakota.  Over time plant species
diversity decreased.  Sun sedge was one of the "decreasers" [3].

Related categories for Species: Carex heliophila | Sun Sedge