• IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE
• PALATABILITY
• NUTRITIONAL VALUE
• COVER VALUE
• VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES
• OTHER USES AND VALUES
• MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:

Green rabbitbrush provides an important source of browse for livestock and wildlife, particularly in the late fall and early winter after more palatable species have been depleted. Livestock and wild ungulates show varying preference for green rabbitbrush depending on season, locality, and subspecies. Mature or partially mature plants are generally preferred to green, immature ones [55]. McArthur and Meyer [57] report that the subspecies Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus ssp. lanceolatus is often heavily used by both livestock and wildlife.

In southeastern Idaho, green rabbitbrush plants may be almost completely consumed by black-tailed jackrabbits during the winter and early spring [5]. Black-tailed jackrabbit use generally occurs when plants are dormant [21]. In south-central Idaho, mountain cottontail also feed on green rabbitbrush [39].

White-tailed deer in Montana feed on green rabbitbrush during the winter and early spring [2]. In the Missouri Breaks, mule deer consume this shrub during fall, winter, and spring. Some winter elk use has also been reported in the Missouri Breaks [51]. Green rabbitbrush furnishes some food for pronghorns in Utah [41,81]. Pronghorn browse it during spring and summer in southern Oregon [96].

Domestic sheep feed on Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus ssp. puberulus on spring pastures in southeastern Idaho [48].

PALATABILITY:

Palatability of green rabbitbrush varies by subspecies [56]. Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus ssp. lanceolatus is palatable to both livestock and wildlife. Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus ssp. puberulusis rated as "low" in palatability [75]. Palatability by subspecies has been rated as follows [24]:

Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus ssp. lanceolatus

                        MT        UT       WY
Cattle                  ----  	  poor     poor
Sheep                   ----      fair     fair
Horses                  ----      poor     poor
Pronghorn               poor      fair     good
Elk                     poor      fair     good
Mule deer               good      fair     good
Small mammals           ----      fair     good
Small nongame birds     ----      poor     fair
Upland game birds       ----      fair     fair
Waterfowl               ----      poor     poor

Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus ssp. puberulus    
         	
                        UT        WY
Cattle                  poor      poor 
Sheep                   fair      poor         
Horses                  poor      poor
Pronghorn               fair      ----
Mule deer               poor      ----    
Small mammals           good      ----
Small nongame birds     fair      ----        
Upland game birds       poor      ----
Waterfowl               poor      ---- 

Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus ssp. pumilus  
                
                        MT        WY
Cattle                  poor      poor
Sheep                   fair      fair
Horses                  poor      fair

 
Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus ssp. viscidiflorus

                       CO       MT        UT        WY
Cattle              	poor     poor      fair      poor
Sheep               	poor     poor      good      fair
Horses                 poor     poor      poor      fair
Pronghorn              ----     ----      fair      good
Elk                    good     ----      fair      ----
Mule deer              fair     ----      good      good
Small mammals          ----     ----      fair      good
Small nongame birds    ----     ----      fair      fair
Upland game birds      ----     ----      fair      fair
Waterfowl              ----     ----      poor      poor

NUTRITIONAL VALUE:

Protein and energy levels in green rabbitbrush are rated poor to fair [24]. Nutritional value (%) of fresh green rabbitbrush is as follows [68]:

dry       ash      crude     ether      N-free      protein
matter    fiber    extract   extract    (N x 6.25)         
100.0     8.0      23.8      5.4        49.4        13.4

COVER VALUE:

Green rabbitbrush provides important cover for pronghorn fawns [81]. It also provides nesting cover for sage grouse in southeastern Oregon and for waterfowl on sand dunes of eastern Washington [32,34]. Green rabbitbrush provides nesting cover for some species of songbirds including the Brewer's sparrow and sage sparrow [70]. Generalized cover value by subspecies is as follows [24]:

Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus ssp. lanceolatus   

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

Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus ssp. puberulus
     
                     UT      WY
Elk                  poor    ----
Mule deer            poor    ----
White-tailed deer    ----    fair
Pronghorn            poor    ----
Upland game birds    poor    ----
Waterfowl            poor    ----
Small nongame birds  fair    ----
Small mammals        fair    ----

Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus ssp. viscidiflorus 

                     UT     
Elk                  poor   
Mule deer            poor   
Pronghorn            poor   
Upland game birds    fair    
Waterfowl            poor    
Small nongame birds  fair     
Small mammals        fair    

VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:

Green rabbitbrush is well suited for revegetating disturbed sites such as road cuts, strip mines, and depleted rangelands due to its prolific seed production and relatively high germination rates [14, 50]. It can be used for erosion control and to stabilize mass soil slippage and increase surface stability [38]. In the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, green rabbitbrush has been successfully used to stabilize soils on subalpine sites [71]. Once plants are established, growth is rapid. Subsequent spread is by seed. Two years of rest from grazing is recommended after seeding [75].

Establishment by direct seeding in late fall and winter is good to fair [72]. Seed can be difficult to collect, however [65]. Vegetative propagation from stem cuttings produces "poor" results [38]. Three- to 5-month-old rabbitbrush can be successfully transplanted onto disturbed sites [23]. Seed is commercially available [22].

OTHER USES AND VALUES:

Green rabbitbrush can be a source of rubber and possibly valuable resins [35].

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:

Green rabbitbrush is killed by various herbicides, but control is difficult. For best control, the soil should be moist within 4 inches (10 cm) of the surface [63]. Detailed information on response to herbicides is available [26,49,81,90,92].

After a disturbance, there is a delay before green rabbitbrush reaches peak achene production in response to reduced competition. This is the appropriate time to conduct site rehabilitation if reduction of green rabbitbrush is a management objective. Seed and seedling production do not cease after the initial reproductive surge, but massive establishment will not occur if other species (especially perennial grasses) have already taken advantage of the site potential [98].

Green rabbitbrush is tolerant of grazing and may be "rejuvenated" by foliage removal [81]. In parts of the Great Basin, plants regrew rapidly after they were nearly completely consumed by spring-browsing black-tailed jackrabbits. There was no difference in biomass between browsed and unbrowsed plants by July [5]. Shrub control measures such as chaining may stimulate sprouting in green rabbitbrush [90]. Green rabbitbrush commonly increases on degraded rangelands as more palatable species are removed [16].

Related categories for SPECIES: Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus | Green Rabbitbrush