VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Eriophorum vaginatum | Sheathed Cottonsedge 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Sheathed cottonsedge is grazed by sheep, cattle, lemmings, ground
squirrels, caribou, and geese [6,20,64].  Caribou graze it year-round;
it may form a considerable portion of their diet in some areas [1].
Following a mid-summer fire, Klein [28,29] found that fall-migrating
caribou of the Western Arctic Herd near Kotzebue Sound of Alaska
preferentially grazed postfire growth of sheathed cottonsedge.  Its
early spring growth makes it important early-season forage for caribou
on calving grounds [65].  Willow ptarmigan eat sheathed cottonsedge
flower buds [43].

Open muskeg-sheathed cottonsedge tussock areas in the Lake States are
preferred habitat of sharp-tailed grouse.  Waterfowl use these areas as
breeding grounds [60].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
The nutritional value (dry-matter basis) of sheathed cottonsedge
collected in August from the Reindeer Preserve near Inuvik, Northwest
Territories, was 10.3 percent protein, 1.3 percent crude fat, and 33.8
percent fiber [48].


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Sheathed cottonsedge has potential for restoration of disturbed sites
because of its success as a colonizer [64].  It was one one the first
species to colonize areas of the northeastern United States and
southeastern Canada that were mined for peat [12].  It also colonized
denuded areas of an oil well site in Oumalik, Alaska [10].  Seed
collection, storage, and germination information is available [64].

Sheathed cottonsedge was top-killed by an experimental oil spill in the
MacKenzie Delta of Alaska but grew back from rootstocks the following
year [3].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Rangeland:  Sheathed cottonsedge recovers rapidly following occasional
defoliation by herbivores.  Tieszen and Archer [54] found that new
leaves of defoliated plants grew at faster rates than those of intact
plants.  When defoliated plants were subjected to a second defoliation
treatment, however, growth was markedly depressed from that of control
plants.  Overstocked reindeer have greatly reduced sheathed cottonsedge
in Canada's Reindeer Grazing Preserve [64].

Heavy sheep grazing on a sheathed cottonsedge-Scotch heather (Calluna
vulgaris) bog in northern England resulted in complete dominance of the
community by sheathed cottonsedge [23].  Continued heavy sheep grazing,
however, has resulted in sheathed cottonsedge decline or death [64].

Soil:  The phosphatase activity of sheathed cottonsedge roots adds
phosphorus to nutrient-poor arctic soils [39].

Related categories for Species: Eriophorum vaginatum | Sheathed Cottonsedge