VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Tridens muticus | Slim Tridens 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Slim tridens is palatable and moderately nutritious.  It is eaten by all
classes of livestock, mule deer and other herbivores, and collared
peccary but is too scattered and low in abundance to be an important
forage species [2,12,15,18,31].  Seeds are a source of food for rodents
and birds [20].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Huston and others [13] reported the nutritional value of slim tridens as
follows:

    Ash                 7-12%
    Phosphorus          0.09-0.30%
    Protein             6-13%
    Digestible 
      organic matter    36-57% 

Fudge and Fraps reported similar levels for slim tridens (slender
triodia) [5].


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
In general, dryland range sites are easily degraded by overgrazing,
which decreases incidence of fire and allows woody species to invade
[1].  Steuter [28] reported that perennial grass production on sites
invaded by redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchotii) is less than half that
of sites that are controlled for shrub invasion.  McPherson and Wright
[23] reported an inverse relationship between pinyon (Pinus spp.) or
juniper (Juniperus spp.) and herb production (as pinyon or juniper cover
increases, herb production decreases), and that in closed-canopy stands,
junipers can exclude all herbaceous vegetation.  In a related study of
vegetative zonation around redberry juniper, slim tridens occurred at
least 3.4 feet (1 m) from the edge of the canopy [22].

Slim tridens is not usually a major component of grasslands but may
contribute up to 10 to 15 percent of the total production on some sites
[20].  Gehlbach [6,7] and Blydenstein [2] reported that slim tridens
increased in importance on study sites where grazing was excluded, which
is in contrast to reports that slim tridens increases in response to
grazing [3,20,23].  According to Leithead [20], abundance of slim
tridens indicates fair to poor range condition.

As a "warm-season", C4 grass, slim tridens has its highest rate of
carbohydrate storage during autumn; therefore defoliation in the fall
can contribute to winter-kill and cause loss of vigor during spring
regrowth.  It is recommended that pastures or ranges with an abundance
of such grasses be grazed during the winter and spring [16,22].

Slim tridens is not considered a management species due to its scattered
distribution and low importance value [6,7,12,18,20].

Related categories for Species: Tridens muticus | Slim Tridens