• 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:

Timber oatgrass provides some forage for all classes of livestock and wildlife. It is especially valued as spring forage because it greens up before many other plants begin growth [58]. During the summer months in Montana, mountain goats feed on timber oatgrass [51]. In western Alberta, it is used to at least some degree by feral horses during all months of the year [49]. In the Black Hills of South Dakota, timber oatgrass forms an important part of cattle diets during June through September [63].

PALATABILITY:

Timber oatgrass is palatable for all classes of livestock and wildlife. Utilization of timber oatgrass occurs mostly in the spring when palatability is considered good [57,65]. After spring, it is only moderately palatable and not highly productive [65]. In the northern Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, Uresk and Paintner [63] reported that timber oatgrass was utilized by cattle throughout the grazing season (June through September). In the central Black Hills of South Dakota, the heaviest use of timber oatgrass by cattle occurred in June [62].

The palatability of timber oatgrass to livestock and wildlife species in several western states has been rated as follows [12,43]:

                       MT       SD       UT       WY
Cattle              Fair-Good  Good     Good     Fair
Domestic sheep      Fair-Good  ----     Fair     Fair
Horses                Good     ----     Good     Fair
Pronghorn             ----     ----     Poor     Poor  
Elk                   Good     ----     Good     Good 
Mule deer             Fair     ----     Good     Poor
White-tailed deer     Fair     ----     ----     Poor
Small mammals         ----     ----     Fair     Fair
Small nongame birds   ----     ----     Poor     Fair
Upland game birds     ----     ----     Fair     Poor 
Waterfowl             ----     ----     Poor     Poor

NUTRITIONAL VALUE:

Dittberner and Olson [12] rated timber oatgrass as fair in energy value and poor in protein value. In Utah, it is described as low in protein and phosphorus and high in crude fiber at all growth stages [65]. Nutritional composition (based on dry matter) of timber oatgrass is as follows [26]:

                 Leaf    Heading   Seed   Cured  Weathered
                 Stage             Ripe
Dry matter %     93.45   92.40     93.88  92.85   94.03
Protein (Nx6.25)  9.35    7.85      6.98   5.20    3.63 
Crude fat %       3.15    3.40      3.45   3.85    3.10 
Crude fiber %    28.50   28.25     28.32  31.05   33.97   
Ash  %            9.40    6.70      7.98   9.90    8.77
Calcium %         0.36    0.36      0.32   0.32    0.32   
Phosphorus %      0.13    0.14      0.11   0.08    0.08
Carotene mg/kg   26.45   55.70     35.18   8.60    0.87

                      Leaf stage Heading Seed ripe Cured Weathered
Digestible protein(%)  3.9        2.8     2.4       1.8   1.3
Cellulose(%)          33.8       30.1    32.6      36.7  39.0 

                      pole stand   sapling
                          (%)        (%)
crude protein          5.3-8.4     5.6-7.2
acid detergent fiber  41.8-43.5   40.8-42.7
acid detergent lignin  5.4-7.2     5.1-6.9
ash                    4.75-6.22   5.06-5.77
calcium                0.25-0.29   0.25-0.29 
phosphorus             0.19-0.23   0.18-0.20

COVER VALUE:

The degree to which timber oatgrass provides cover has been rated as follows [12]:

                          UT       WY
Small mammals            Good     Fair
Small nongame birds      Fair     Fair  
Upland game birds        Fair     Fair
Waterfowl                Poor     Poor

VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:

Timber oatgrass is rated as having low to moderate potential for erosion control and short-term revegetation, and moderate potential for long-term revegetation projects [12].

OTHER USES AND VALUES:

no entry

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:

Timber oatgrass has basal meristems and is much more tolerant of grazing than many of its associates [36]. In California, it is able to withstand heavy grazing [50]. In fescue (Festuca spp.) grasslands of Alberta, timber oatgrass is a codominant only in grazed or mowed areas [9]. It often becomes common after grazing in these grasslands [42]. In a north-central Idaho study, timber oatgrass increased with cattle grazing [32].

In the mountain and southern Great Plains physiographic regions of New Mexico, and in the mountains of Wyoming, timber oatgrass decreased in response to grazing pressure [66]. Costello and Schwan [8] report that timber oatgrass is a common component of ponderosa pine ranges in excellent condition, but is scarcer on ranges in good condition.

Timber oatgrass is one of the more productive grasses on subalpine domestic sheep ranges of Wyoming. Herbage yields of oatgrass may reach 164 lbs/acre (green weight) on these sites [25]. Mueggler [44] reports that in western Montana, timber oatgrass produces 4 to 9 times more biomass during "best" years than during "poorest" years. In ponderosa pine stands of South Dakota, greatest understory production of timber oatgrass was observed in pole-sized stands within clearcuts [64].

Related categories for SPECIES: Danthonia intermedia | Timber Oatgrass