VALUE AND USE
SPECIES : Amelanchier alnifolia | Saskatoon Serviceberry 


WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Saskatoon serviceberry is a valuable wildlife plant.  Wild ungulates
browse twigs and foliage; fur and game mammals such as black bear,
beaver, and hares consume twigs, foliage, fruits, and bark.  Upland game
birds consume the fruits and buds, and many species of rodents and
songbirds eat the fruits [20,41,72,101].

Where available in quantity, Saskatoon serviceberry is often a primary
or important component of the winter diet of big game species.  In
Montana, utilization of Saskatoon serviceberry browse was heaviest
during periods of deep snow.  Second heaviest use was in spring.  All
big game species, including mountain goat and bighorn sheep, utilized
Saskatoon serviceberry.  Elk would often browse all available twigs
before moving to another area [48].  

In Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, bison browsed
Saskatoon serviceberry and used the wooded draws in which it grows for
cover [78].


PALATABILITY : 
Saskatoon serviceberry browse is palatable to all wild and domestic
ungulate species [30,84].  It is not among the most preferred browse
species, but ungulates consume a considerable amount of it when
plentiful.  In a feeding trial with captive mule deer in Logan, Utah,
Saskatoon serviceberry was ranked 11th in preference out of 14 winter
browse species, with 1 being the most preferred species [87].

Palatability has been rated as follows [30,84]:

cattle           fair to good
domestic goats       good
domestic sheep   fair to good
mule deer        fair to good
horses           poor to fair

Although Saskatoon serviceberry is often a primary component of winter
diets [65,84], ungulates normally consume a variety of other shrubs as
well.  A diet consisting solely of Saskatoon serviceberry can be fatal
due to presence of cyanogenic glycosides [70,82].  The glycosides are
highly concentrated in young twigs and least concentrated in older
leaves.  Captive mule deer fed only fresh, winter-collected Saskatoon
serviceberry twigs died within a week [82].  Quinton [82] speculated
that a winter diet of over 35 percent Saskatoon serviceberry would be
fatal to mule deer.


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Browse:  Nutritional content of fresh Saskatoon serviceberry twigs and
leaves (collected at time of flowering) averaged [77]:

                            twigs       leaves
                            _____       ______
       ash (%)               2.8          8.5
       crude fiber (%)      34.8         14.8
       ether extract (%)     3.4          6.2
       N-free extract (%)   53.5         59.6
       protein (digestible, N X 6.25)
         cattle              2.6          7.2
         domestic goats      1.7          6.7
         horses              2.2          6.8
         rabbits             2.9          7.1
         domestic sheep      2.1          7.1
       calcium               ---          2.32
       magnesium             ---          0.47

Comparing winter nutrient and fiber content of Saskatoon serviceberry
over widely scattered geographical areas of western Colorado, Kufeld and
others [60] concluded that variation in protein, carbohydrate, and fiber
was small enough to assume constant values for those parameters when
calculating nutritional status of big game rangelands.

In the Black Hills of South Dakota, Saskatoon serviceberry was found to
provide adequate nutrition for white-tailed deer in all seasons.
Digestibility for white-tailed deer was 48 percent in spring and 54
percent in winter (in-vitro, oven-dry basis).  Seasonal variation in
nutritional content of Saskatoon serviceberry is shown below [28].

___________________________________________________________________________
   Nutritional    |    Spring     |    Summer     |    Fall       | Winter|
    Component     |_______________|_______________|_______________|_______|
                  | leaves|stems  | leaves|stems  | leaves|stems  | stems |
__________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
crude protein (%) |  18.5 |  13.6 |  12.3 |  6.7  |   6.2 |   6.4 |  7.0  |
carbohydrates (%) |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |
 ADF              |  18.7 |  32.0 |  22.3 | 42.7  |  29.8 |  44.4 | 43.6  | 
 ADL              |   7.4 |   6.9 |   9.8 | 15.7  |  15.2 |  19.7 | 20.1  | 
 Cellulose        |  13.2 |  24.8 |  12.2 | 22.0  |  13.3 |  25.6 | 21.0  |
ash (%)           |   6.6 |   5.8 |   6.0 |  4.2  |   5.3 |   3.5 |  3.6  | 
Ca (%)            |   1.1 |   1.3 |   1.2 |  1.6  |   1.5 |   1.6 |  1.5  |
P (%)             |   0.6 |   0.3 |   0.4 |  0.1  |   0.4 |   0.1 |  0.2  |
energy (cal/g)    | 4,862 | 4,746 | 4,916 | 4,770 | 4,999 | 4,922 | 4,793 |
__________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
ADF - acid-detergent fiber
ADL - acid-detergent lignin

Asherin [10,11] compared nutritional content of Saskatoon serviceberry
on two burned and two unburned control sites near Avery, Idaho.  He
found Saskatoon serviceberry twigs on burned sites contained more crude
protein and less crude fiber than twigs on unburned sites.  Twigs were
collected during winter dormancy.  Two watersheds were used as study
sites:  one with 1- and 2-year-old prescribed burns, and one with a
3-year-old prescribed burn.  Mean percent nutritional content of twigs
was as follows [10,11]:

                 Site 1      Site 1        Site 1       Site 2      Site 2 
                control  1-yr-old burn  2-yr-old burn  control   3-yr-old burn
                _______  _____________  _____________  _______   _____________
moisture         55.09      51.90*         54.42        56.30        53.50*
crude protein     9.14       9.28          10.04*        9.44         9.48
crude fiber      27.95      26.74*         27.16        26.39        25.20*
ash               2.84       2.77           2.95         2.86         2.79
N-free extract   57.63      57.88          57.90        58.69        59.28
calcium           1.07       0.91*          1.17*        1.10         1.08
phosphorus        0.16       0.15           0.16         0.17         0.15*
C:P ratio        6.7:1      6.0:1*         7.2:1        6.5:1        7.1:1*   
______________________________________________________________________________
*significantly different from the control (p = 0.01)

Fruits:  Nutritional content of Saskatoon serviceberry fruits collected
in northern Ontario follows [100].

                      Percent
                      _______
moisture               75.20
dry matter             24.80
fat                     0.28
protein                 1.51
soluble carbohydrate   11.36        


COVER VALUE : 
The degree to which Saskatoon serviceberry provides cover for wildlife
has been rated as follows [30]:

                         CO      MT      ND      UT      WY
Pronghorn               ----    ----    ----    poor    poor
Elk                     fair    poor    ----    fair    poor 
Mule deer               good    fair    good    good    fair 
White-tailed deer       poor    good    ----    ----    fair 
Small mammals           good    fair    ----    good    good 
Small nongame birds     good    fair    good    good    good 
Upland game birds       good    fair    good    good    fair 
Waterfowl               ----    ----    ----    poor    poor 


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Saskatoon serviceberry is used for reclamation [48] and for wildlife,
watershed, and shelterbelt plantings [33].  It can be started from seed
or vegetative cuttings.  Seed collection, processing, and germination
techniques are reviewed by Brinkman [20].  Hermesh and Cole [48] review
procedures for starting Saskatoon serviceberry from cuttings.

Saskatoon serviceberry has been successfully planted on burned sites
[29,91].  In the Black Hills of South Dakota, Saskatoon serviceberry and
other browse species were transplanted on 30-year-old burn and
open-grown, mature ponderosa pine sites .  Establishment and 10-year
survival of bareroot Saskatoon serviceberry nursery stock was rated
"fair" on both sites; growth was rated "poor" on both sites [29].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Saskatoon serviceberry is planted as an ornamental and to produce
commercial fruit crops.  The fruits are added to pastries and used for
making jelly or syrup [31].  Several cultivars of Saskatoon serviceberry
have been developed [35].

Native Americans used Saskatoon serviceberry wood to make arrow shafts,
spears, and digging sticks.  They made a tea, used for treating colds,
by boiling the branches [44].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Control:  It may be desirable to control Saskatoon serviceberry on
conifer plantations [74].  Glyphosate or triclopyr ester give good
control of serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.).  Even with several
treatments, 2,4-D gives only poor to fair control [104].

Related categories for SPECIES : Amelanchier alnifolia | Saskatoon Serviceberry