• 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:

Blue wildrye is important forage for wild and domestic animals throughout its range [23,47,53,48,63,82,90]. On quaking aspen sites in good condition in parts of Utah, this bunchgrass contributes substantially to forage resources [92]. Naturally regenerating blue wildrye in the Mount St. Helens "blast zone" was a common component of elk diets 5 years post-eruption [62].

PALATABILITY:

Blue wildrye is rated as only fair in forage quality because of its coarse foliage [40,47]. Although plants are grazed into the summer, most use occurs in the early spring. New growth is highly palatable to horses and cattle; plants are utilized less extensively by domestic sheep. The awned seedheads are generally not consumed [47,90].

The degree of use shown by livestock and wildlife species for blue wildrye in several western states is rated as follows [27]:

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

NUTRITIONAL VALUE:

Blue wildrye has been rated good in energy value and poor in protein value [27]. In Humboldt County, California, the protein concentration of blue wildrye differed significantly between 2 soil series (Tyson and Yorkville) during the summer dry season (June-Oct.), but not during the rest of the year. The differences were related to phenology [51].

Nutritional data from the National Academy of Sciences [65] are provided below in percent. Values for each animal are digestible protein, with the exception of the value for domestic rabbits, which is a digestible protein coefficient.

 

Ash	5.5
Ether extract	2.3
Protein (N x 6.25)	7.3
cattle	4.1
domestic goats	3.4
horses	3.7
domestic rabbits	4.3
domestic sheep	3.8
Calcium	0.33
Phosphorus	0.23

 

COVER VALUE:

The degree to which blue wildrye provides cover for wildlife species has been rated as follows [27]:

                        UT          WY
Pronghorn              Poor        Poor 
Elk                    Good        Good
Mule deer              Good        Poor
White-tailed deer      ----        Poor
Small mammals          Fair        ----
Small nongame birds    Fair        ----
Upland game birds      Fair        ----
Waterfowl              Poor        ----

VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:

Blue wildrye seed is available through commercial producers [2,21]. Blue wildrye is unusual in that its growth appears to be compatible with tree regeneration [40]. It has been recommended for revegetation on quaking aspen and mountain brush sites in Utah [71]. Its success was rated as excellent in a 1953 seeding trial in green fescue (Festuca viridula) grassland of north-central Washington state [84]. Abundant seed production, good germination, and relatively rapid seedling growth result in rapid blue wildrye establishment [31,40,71].

Although blue wildrye is most often associated with moist woodland sites throughout its range, this species is drought tolerant and persists on severe sites in California [79,90]. In some montane shrub and montane grassland sites receiving less than 18 inches (480 mm) mean annual precipitation, stands begin to decline dramatically 3 to 4 years after establishment and may disappear within 10 years after seeding [40].

Blue wildrye seed has been used successfully in California as a native restoration species on sites cleared of exotic brush [75] and pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana) [66]. Also in California, 1-year-old plants propagated from local native seed were successfully transplanted to test plots in disturbed, weedy sites. Blue wildrye establishment was more successful in unmulched plots than in mulched plots [69].

This species has been included in ongoing native plant restoration projects and research in Yellowstone, Glacier, and Mount Rainier national parks [57,58,77], and Mt. Hood National Forest in Oregon [83].

Hassell and others [40] recommend only using seed from local sources, preferably from within 300 miles (500 km) and 1,500 feet (500 m) elevation of the intended site. Libby and Rodrigues [55] discuss the potential for ‘genetic contamination' of native populations of blue wildrye by commercially produced seed. They question the use of a single collection over a very large area. They concluded, however, that contamination was unlikely in the case of a large, stand-replacing 1991 Oakland-Berkeley Hills wildfire that was reseeded on a large scale by species including blue wildrye. This was based in part on the use of commercially-produced seed propagated from locally collected native sources.

OTHER USES AND VALUES:

Blue wildrye is included in a living collection of perennial Triticeae grasses in Logan, Utah. The collection is maintained by the USDA and the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station for applied research as well as genetics, evolution, taxonomy, and other elements of basic research [24].

Blue wildrye seeds were probably used historically as food by the Salish of Vancouver Island [89].

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:

Although blue wildrye has a fairly well-developed root system, plants are intolerant of continued heavy grazing. According to Sampson [78], recovery is generally rapid on overgrazed ranges when utilization is suspended. In a 10-year northeastern Oregon study comparing several riparian plant communities under livestock use or exclusion, blue wildrye increased significantly (P<0.01), from 0 to 48%, inside exclosures in a ponderosa pine community. Concurrent increases outside the exclosures were not significant [36].

In a grazing-simulation study conducted in a greenhouse, blue wildrye plants were clipped 3 times to within 1 inch (2.5 cm) of the soil surface. Clipping at a 30-day interval "severely retarded" root and shoot production. The decrease in root production due to clipping was greater than the decrease in shoot production. The small root systems of plants clipped at 15- and 30-day intervals appeared inadequate to sustain plant vigor. At the conclusion of the study, blue wildrye had the 2nd lowest overall yield among 6 species tested [16].

Though lacking any official status, blue wildrye was an important component of pristine valley grasslands of California, which are markedly diminished or have been heavily invaded by non-native species [2,50].

Related categories for Elymus glaucus | Blue Wildrye