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You are here >1Up Info > Wildlife, Animals, and Plants > Plant Species > Shrub > Species: Artemisia filifolia | Sand Sagebrush
 

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BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

SPECIES: Artemisia filifolia | Sand Sagebrush
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : Sand sagebrush is a round, freely branching, cold temperate shrub which grows up to 5 feet (1.5 m) tall [27,39]. Leaves are filiform, and both fertile pistillate and sterile disk flowers are present [26]. It is well adapted to low-fertility sandy soils and concentrates nutrients in levels greater than those of the soil in which it grows. Sand sagebrush may have reduced mineral requirements for growth or an increased ion exchange capacity in the root system which allows this plant to survive on infertile, sandy sites [32]. RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : Phanerophyte REGENERATION PROCESSES : Sand sagebrush produces seed in abundance which enables the species to quickly reoccupy a site [21]. Seed is small and light, and cleaned seed averages approximately 3,134,000 per pound (6,910 per gram) [27]. Seed ripens from October to December, but relatively little is reported about germination or seed dispersal [26]. Research indicates that seeds buried shallowly germinate better than seeds planted at greater depths [5]. Germination of sand sagebrush is generally rapid, and no stratification or scarification is required. In laboratory experiments, seeds of sand sagebrush first germinated 17 days after planting [5]. The lightness of sand sagebrush seeds suggests that wind dispersal from off-site sources is probable. It is unclear whether individual plants can resprout after disturbance [46,49], but, in any event, resprouting is probably unlikely or rare. SITE CHARACTERISTICS : Sand sagebrush grows on dunes, sand hills, and deep sands throughout the southern Great Plains, southern Rocky Mountains, northern Chihuahuan Desert, and portions of the Mohave Desert and Great Basin [22,34,42,43]. It is the most widespread shrub on dunes and sand hills from Nebraska to Arizona and is the dominant woody plant of the southern Great Plains [26,28,48]. Sand sagebrush is locally dominant in desert scrub, plains grasslands, prairie, and semidesert grassland communities [28,39]. Distribution of sand sagebrush is largely related to edaphic factors. Sand sagebrush typically grows on dry, coarse, sandy, low-fertility soils and is reported to be an excellent indicator of sandy soil [22,26]. Sand sagebrush soils in southern Utah were found to have less clay and organics, fewer nutrients, and a lower overall soil fertility than neighboring blackbrush (Colegyne ramosissima) soils [32]. Sand sagebrush is particularly well adapted to grow on low-fertility or alkaline soils [31,32]. Widely scattered individuals and occasional denser concentrations are present in the Great Basin and Mohave desert scrub communities on dunes or deep loose sand where sandstone has been weathered and redeposited [39,43]. Sand sagebrush communities of southern Utah commonly occur on deep sands derived from the Navajo Formation [32]. Sand sagebrush is a cold temperate shrub [39]. Average annual temperatures on sand sagebrush sites of southern Utah range from 58 to l66 degrees F (14-19 degrees C), with an annual growing season of 190 to 205 days [32]. Annual precipitation averages 8 to 10 inches (200 to 275 mm) [32]. Elevational ranges of sand sagebrush are as follows [13]: from 3,600 to 5,500 ft (1,097 to 1,676 m) in CO 4,500 to 6,000 ft (1,372 to 1,829 m) in UT 4,100 to 4,600 ft (1,250 to 1,402 m) in WY SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : Facultative Seral Species A preference for sandy soils allows sand sagebrush to thrive and grow as an important climax species on a variety of sandy sites throughout its relatively wide range. Sand sagebrush is an important constituent of a number of edaphic climax communities on sand sagebrush-bluestem prairie in the Southwest and with sand bluestem in parts of Colorado and Kansas [23,29]. It also grows as a climax species in sand dune communities of southern New Mexico [8] and presumably elsewhere. Succession in these dune communities begins with a "mat stage" in which drought-tolerant plants begin colonizing unstable sand and progresses to a "ruderal weed stage" with greater moisture [8]. As erosion decreases, drought-enduring shrubs such as broom snakeweed and sand sagebrush increase in prominence, along with switchgrass (Panicum spp.), three-awns, and other grasses [8]. Grasses such as dropseed may then increase following several years of adequate precipitation, until ultimately black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda) dominates the climax community [8]. Precise patterns of succession are less well documented in many other types of sand sagebrush communities. Generally, sand sagebrush, although a climax species, increases in response to grazing or drought. Sand sagebrush has the ability to increase rapidly following disturbance and also grows well in a number of early seral communities. Sand sagebrush has not been well studied, and the ecology of this species is still poorly known [11]. SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : Yearly growth of sand sagebrush begins in the early spring. In the southern Great Plains, one-half of the season's twig growth is completed by May 25 and growth is nearly finished by June 15 [19]. By mid- to late June twigs have attained approximately 6 to 10 inches (15-25 cm) of new growth [37]. Flowers typically form a plumelike structure from July to October [44]. In many locations, full biomass potential is reached by the last week of July [11]. Flowering dates are as follows [13]: State Earliest date of flowering Latest date of flowering CO July September UT August October WY August September Seed ripens from October to December [26].

Related categories for Species: Artemisia filifolia | Sand Sagebrush

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Information Courtesy: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Fire Effects Information System

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