VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Artemisia filifolia | Sand Sagebrush 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
The importance of sand sagebrush to livestock and wildlife depends on
the vegetative composition of a particular site.  It is rarely used in
grasslands where more preferred forage species are available but may be
used heavily in arid desert regions where other forage is scarce or
unavailable [26,27].  Sand sagebrush is heavily browsed on some low
elevation cold desert ranges [26].

Mule deer use of sand sagebrush in Texas and eastern new Mexico ranges
from light to heavy [7].  It is one of the most important pronghorn
foods in Woming [45].  In some areas pronghorn feed on sand sagebrush
during the spring, summer, and winter [36].  A number of upland game
birds including the lesser prairie chicken rely on sand sagebrush for
both food and cover [17].  Bobwhite quail use sand sagebrush as nesting
cover in the northern Panhandle of Texas [21].  Sand sagebrush provides
hiding or thermal cover for numerous smaller birds and mammals.


PALATABILITY : 
Sand sagebrush provides forage for livestock and wildlife on sites where
more palatable species are sparse or absent.  In some desert areas, sand
sagebrush may be one of the most palatable species available.  It is
considered a locally good forage plant for wildlife and domestic
livestock in parts of southern Utah [12].  Sand sagebrush is highly
palatable to pronghorn in parts of Wyoming and probably in other
locations as well [45,50].  This species is widely utilized during much
of the year by upland game birds such as the lesser prairie chicken.  It
is particularly palatable during the winter months [17].  The
palatability of sand sagebrush has been rated as follows [13]:

                            CO              WY              UT

Cattle                     Poor            Poor            Fair
Sheep                      Fair            Poor            Fair 
Horses                     Poor            Poor            Poor
Pronghorn                  ----            ----            Fair        
Elk                        ----            ----            Fair        
Mule deer                  ----            ----            Fair        
Small mammals              ----            ----            Fair        
Small nongame birds        ----            ----            Fair        
Upland game birds          ----            ----            Fair        
Waterfowl                  ----            ----            Poor        


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Sand sagebrush is rated fair in energy value and protein content [13].
The plant concentrates nutrients in levels greater than those present in
the soils in which it grows.  In southern Utah, plant:soil nutrient
levels ranged from 5:9 for sodium to 484:2 for potassium and 342:5 for
phosphorus [32].  Nutrient levels are comparable to those of other
desert shrubs [32].


COVER VALUE : 
Sand sagebrush has some cover value for small birds and mammals.
Patches of sand sagebrush can even provide summer thermal cover for
animals as large as mule deer [7].  Sand sagebrush sites are used by
mule deer if hiding cover is present within 100 to 200 yards (91-183 m)
[7].  Sand sagebrush also provides good cover for the lesser prairie
chicken and favorable nesting habitat for bobwhite quail [17,21].  Cover
values in Utah are as follows [13]:

Pronghorn             Poor
Elk                   Poor
Mule deer             Poor
Small mammals         Good
Small nongame birds   Good
Upland game birds     Good
Waterfowl             Poor


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Sand sagebrush can be planted to minimize erosion on light, sandy soils.
It is rated as having high to moderate potential for erosion control as
well as having value in long-term revegetation [13].  Seedlings may be
transplanted during the spring and fall, although survival rates are
poor when they are transplanted outside their natural range [27].
Seedlings have been successfully transplanted onto many types of
disturbed sites [31].

Sand sagebrush has favorable seed production and handling
characteristics [31].  Direct seeding attempts have, however, yielded
variable results.  Plummer [31] reports that this species typically
spreads well through natural seeding, but other researchers obtained
extremely low germination rates for sand sagebrush on certain arid
rangelands of New Mexico [5].  In desert shrub ranges of eastern New
Mexico, though, spring plantings of sand sagebrush were largely
successful, with best germination and establishment occurring following
plantings made from April 15 through May 15 or from April 1 through
April 15 on sites with considerable amounts of stubble [6].  Successful
seedings were also obtained in July and August in areas with significant
rainfall during this time period [6].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Sand sagebrush is extremely effective in preventing wind erosion on
light, sandy soils [26].  A canopy of sand sagebrush can afford some
protection to grasses such as needle-and-thread on heavily grazed sites
[11].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Drought or heavy grazing generally produces an increase in sand
sagebrush [20,35].  Crown cover of sand sagebrush decreased from 4
percent to 2 percent following 11 years of light grazing in the plains
of eastern Colorado but increased from 6 percent to 7 percent under
moderate or heavy grazing [35].  Seedling survival is greater on more
heavily grazed pastures because of decreased competition from grasses
and forbs [35].  As a result of years of heavy grazing, sand sagebrush
has increased dramatically during the past century on many grasslands of
the Southwest.

Sand sagebrush can be readily killed by herbicides such as 2,4-D,
2,4,5-T, or picloram [1,4,19].  Eighty percent of sand sagebrush plants
were killed by aerial application of 2,4-D at the rate of 1 pound per
acre in Texas and Oklahoma shrublands [1].  Best results have been
obtained following two consecutive spring applications of herbicides
[4].  Herbicide treatments in mid- to late June during the period of
most active growth and highest photosynthetic rate most seriously damage
sand sagebrush [5].  Mowing has also been effective in removing sand
sagebrush on southern Great Plains sites containing little surface rock
[30].

Early efforts at eradicating sand sagebrush were aimed at increasing
forage production for domestic livestock.  Bovey [4] reported that on
some sites, forage and beef production could be increased by 50 to 75
percent following herbicide treatment.  Although forage production may be
increased on some sites, on many others, the removal of sand sagebrush
results in wind erosion, the formation of dunes, and an overall decrease
in forage production [20,22].

Where control or eradiction of sand sagebrush is planned, small patches
(less than 5 acres) or swaths should be treated to avoid adversely
impacting wildlife species such as mule deer and smaller birds and
mammals [7,10].  The lesser praire chicken is relatively mobile and is
reportedly unaffected by overstory removal on blocks of 370 to 740 acres
(150-300 hectares) [17].

Related categories for Species: Artemisia filifolia | Sand Sagebrush