VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Scolochloa festucacea | Whitetop 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Whitetop provides important habitat for nesting waterfowl [10,39].
Dabbling ducks including mallards, northern pintails, gadwalls,
widgeons, northern shovelers, blue-winged teals, and green-winged teals
nest in whitetop.  White-winged scoters, redheads, and lesser scaups
occasionally nest in whitetop [39].  American bitterns, northern
harriers, and short-eared owls nest in tall coarse wet-meadow or marsh
vegetation including whitetop [7].

Whitetop provides valuable forage for cattle [23].


PALATABILITY : 
Whitetop is highly palatable to livestock [37].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Kirby and others [21] measured percent digestibility, protein, and
phosphorus during four seasons:  late spring, early summer, mid-summer,
and late summer.  Whitetop had good protein and digestibility levels
early in the season, but levels declined rapidly after seedfill [21].

Smith [37] investigated the effect of growth stage, mowing, and burning
on whitetop nutrient levels.  Two growth stage patterns emerged:
whitetop nitrogen levels decreased through the flowering stage, then
increased, and potassium levels decreased throughout the growing season.
Burning and mowing during the previous year did not affect whitetop
nutrient levels.  Postflowering average dry-weight nutrient levels of
whitetop, undisturbed by burning or mowing during the previous growing
season, were as follows:  1.02 percent nitrogen, 0.12 percent calcium,
0.08 percent magnesium, 1.2 percent potassium, and 0.0054 percent sodium
[37].


COVER VALUE : 
Whitetop provides good nesting cover for some waterfowl, shorebirds, and
ground-nesting raptors [7,10,39].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Neill [33] studied the effect of fertilizer on whitetop marshes in
Manitoba.  Whitetop biomass increased after 1 year but decreased after 2
years of fertilizing with nitrogen.  The second year decrease was
attributed to the mat of litter created by the tall weakened culms which
resulted from the first fertilizer application.  Phosphorus had no
effect on whitetop biomass [33].

Moderate to heavy grazing decreases whitetop productivity.  The soft
rhizomes which are near the soil surface may be damaged by trampling
[18].  If heavily grazed, whitetop may be replaced by bulrush [23].

Eldridge [8] describes management strategies for maintaining
semipermanent wetlands in the Prairie Pothole region.

Related categories for Species: Scolochloa festucacea | Whitetop