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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants |
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VALUE AND USE
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:Sand dropseed provides fair to good forage for livestock [51,69,123] and poor forage for wildlife [51,123]. Sand dropseed's value as livestock forage is regional and dependent upon season. In spring and summer months, sand dropseed is a useful source of forage in Arizona [6]. In southwestern regions, sand dropseed provides good winter forage [130]. Stems at the base of sand dropseed remain green the majority of winter. If fall rains are adequate, sand dropseed may have a period of renewed growth, producing new shoots in old sheaths [31]. The persistent green base throughout winter makes sand dropseed an important desert winter range plant [130]. Sand dropseed stays green longer on sand than clay [130]. A seasonal evaluation of cattle in New Mexico reports that use within blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) upland range sites is greatest in September, January, and March [56]. In general, sand dropseed provides fair winter forage for domestic sheep [70,72]. However, it is not a preferred winter forage for domestic sheep in Utah. When other forage species are abundant sand dropseed is used lightly or not at all [54]. Sand dropseed is most preferred by cattle of dune rangelands [47]. Large mammals in general show little use of sand dropseed. Sand dropseed is not preferred by pronghorn [10], bison [100], elk, and deer [93]. The diet of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in Colorado includes sand dropseed [109]. Small mammals and birds utilize sand dropseed to a greater extent than large mammals. Scaled quail in the Oklahoma panhandle feed on sand dropseed [116]. Seeds are fed upon by rodents in the Shinnery oak-honey mesquite (Quercus havardii-Prosopis glandulosa) grasslands of New Mexico [13]. In Kansas, sand dropseed provides a major food source for black-tailed jackrabbits [38]. From June to August, sand dropseed is a preferred forage for black-tailed prairie dogs in Colorado [55]. Black-tailed prairie dogs in Oklahoma and South Dakota also utilize sand dropseed [58,96].PALATABILITY:Sand dropseed is palatable when green [11,18], but palatability declines with maturity [69,70,123]. Palatability varies from one region to another [70,130]. The palatability of sand dropseed to livestock and wildlife species has been rated as follows [37]:
NUTRITIONAL VALUE:Sand dropseed is rated fair in energy value and poor in protein [37]. As a winter forage species of the Great Basin, sand dropseed provides excellent nutrition but is deficient in phosphorus, carotene and protein [31]. Nutritional value for livestock in accordance with relative phenological stage is [94]:
COVER VALUE:The degree to which sand dropseed provides cover for livestock and wildlife has been rated as follows [37]:
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:Seed source is an important consideration for any reseeding project involving sand dropseed. A strong similarity in morphology and phenological development is seen between seedlings and the parent [103,114]. Heritable ecotypic variation in plant height, crown area and the number of inflorescences has been correlated with growing season length; increases are seen from north to south and from high to low elevations [103]. Sand dropseed is recommended as a component of grass seed mixtures for sandy and heavy to semi-sandy soils of New Mexico rangelands [18]. Good results are seen reseeding dry low lands receiving less than 9 inches (230mm) of precipitation within rangelands of Utah, Nevada, southern Idaho and western Wyoming [102]. Prolific seed production and large contributions to the soil seed bank are consistent throughout the many habitats of sand dropseed and may be linked to the initiation of sand dropseed within denuded landscapes [32]. A pioneer plant in disturbed areas [24], sand dropseed is an invader of sandy soils especially over grazed and blown-out areas [51]. Establishment within areas previously under water stress is also seen [25]. Within areas suffering from water stress, sand dropseed is an early native recolonizer and shows quick recovery [34]. Reseeded stands on desert grassland ranges had slow development, but seedlings were persistent and drought resistant [6]. Sand dropseed's rooting system helps stabilize sand hills and dunes [16,99]. Several studies have evaluated sand dropseed under different mulching practices within rangelands. When reseeding, sand dropseed responds well to straw mulch [17,111]. In a desert grassland, sand dropseed had increased germination and survival 1st and 2nd growing season when barley straw mulch was used [111]. The following study [49] provides a summary of the effect of litter upon seed bank germination within Arizona chaparral. Results are the number of seedlings emerging from four flats of 2 square feet of soil over a 72-day watering period [49]:
1Check = litter left in place on soil surface 2Burn = litter burned under 3 inches (8 cm) of excelsior 3Removed = litter carefully removed by hand 4Scarify = litter and soil top scarified with hand garden tool Use of sand dropseed for revegetating soils contaminated by heavy metals has varied results. No germination was observed for sand dropseed used in a seeding mixture applied to an abandoned New Mexico coal surface mine recently covered with 8 to 12 inches (20-30 cm) of topsoil [46]. Container grown plugs of sand dropseed were transplanted in May, 1980, to revegetate a coalfield in Utah. Percent survival the 1st year was 91%; the 2nd year, 73%. Mortality observed the 1st year occurred only for sand dropseed individuals planted adjacent to plots of well-established cool season grasses [42]. Soil amendments (hay and composted bark) applied in 1977 to the Utah coalfields had no effect on survival. In the San Juan Basin of New Mexico, sand dropseed was used in a seeding mixture for reclaiming surface coal mines. In areas receiving less than 7 inches (180 mm) annual precipitation sand dropseed was dominant [118]. Sand dropseed is not recommended for revegetating Selenium (Se) enriched soils in Texas. Forage tissues retain high Se levels and shoot weights are drastically lowered within soils of high Se concentration [65]. OTHER USES AND VALUES:Sand dropseed is an edible grass used by Native Americans [79]. MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:Abiotic and biotic environmental factors are important regulators of sand dropseed grazing response. Responses to grazing are variable, with increases, decreases and no changes reported [17,20,25,37,57,66,80,81,85,104,107,123,132]. A 59-year data set describing grazing responses in a shadscale community found sand dropseed coverage more responsive to climate and plant associates than grazing pressure. Increase in sand dropseed coverage corresponded spatially with lower coverage of winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata), shadscale (Atriplex confertifolia) and budsage (Artemisia spinescens) [5]. Sand dropseed response to domestic sheep winter grazing within the intermountain rangelands of Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada was directly related to the relative availability of other palatable grasses. An indirect relationship was seen between sand dropseed use and the presence of Indian ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides) [73]. A 12-year evaluation within the same region also found a direct positive response for sand dropseed to spring and summer precipitation [73]. Overall, sand dropseed shows good recovery to grazing in water stressed habitats [24,57]. Within arid shrublands, sand dropseed response to different grazing regimes is directly related to previous and current summer precipitation [97]. In the Nebraskan sandhills a direct positive correlation between fall moisture and regrowth was observed [47]. The New Mexico State University Extension recommends the following for seeding New Mexico rangelands with sand dropseed [4]:Seeding Rate (lbs/acre)
Sand dropseed does not compete well within pinyon-juniper (Pinus-Juniperus spp.) woodlands. Three years after the removal of pinyon-juniper, the overall production of sand dropseed increased by 31 times the original amount [28]. Sand dropseed does not respond well to severe soil disturbance. Spring discking within a mesquite rangeland of northwest Texas had significant deleterious effects (p < 0.05) upon sand dropseed coverage and frequency [133].
Related categories for Sporobolus cryptandrus | Sand Dropseed |
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