VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Elaeagnus angustifolia | Russian-Olive 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Russian-olive wood is not commercially important [19].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
More than 50 species of birds and mammals eat the fruit of
Russian-olive.  Of these, 12 are game birds [2].  The foliage is browsed
by deer and livestock [19].  Beavers use Russian-olive branches for
dam-building material [25].

In general, Russian-olive-dominated communities provide inferior
wildlife habitat to that of native riparian vegetation.  In Idaho,
willow habitats had a significantly higher density of breeding birds
than Russian-olive habitats [31].  Russian-olive can displace some
native woody species.  It is established throughout the Platte River
drainage of Nebraska and is projected to displace native plains
cottonwood (Populus deltoides var. occidentalis) as a climax species.
This displacement will dramatically influence the native birds.  The
plant community will no longer provide essential habitat components for
selected guilds such as cavity-nesting birds [25,31].  Ducks may avoid
wetlands rimmed by dense stands of Russian-olive [25].


PALATABILITY : 
Russian-olive's palatability to livestock and wildlife species in
several western states has been rated as follows [6]:

                         CO      MT      ND      UT      WY
Cattle                  Poor    Fair    Fair    Poor    Poor
Sheep                   Fair    Fair    Good    Fair    Fair
Horses                  Poor    Poor    Poor    Poor    Poor
Pronghorn               ----    Fair    ----    Fair    Poor
Elk                     ----    ----    ----    Good    Fair
Mule deer               ----    Poor    Poor    Good    Good
White-tailed deer       Good    Fair    ----    ----    Poor
Small mammals           Good    ----    ----    Good    Good
Small nongame birds     Good    Good    Fair    Good    Good
Upland game birds       ----    Good    Good    Good    Good
Waterfowl               ----    ----    ----    Fair    Good
             


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Russian-olive has been rated fair in protein and energy value [6].
Russian-olive fruit from the Northern Great Plains contained 5.0
kcal/gram of gross energy and 6.6 percent crude protein.  Its fruit
provided a good source of food for sharp-tailed grouse in winter [8].


COVER VALUE : 
Russian-olive's spreading thorny branches and thicket-forming growth
make excellent thermal and hiding cover for some wildlife species [2,6].
Mourning doves, mocking birds, greater roadrunners and several other
species of birds use Russian-olive for nesting [2].  The degree to which
Russian-olive provides environmental protection during one or more
seasons for wildlife species has been rated as follows [6]:

                         CO      MT      ND      UT      WY
Pronghorn               ----    ----    Fair    Fair    Poor
Elk                     ----    ----    ----    Good    Good
Mule deer               ----    Fair    Good    Good    Good
White-tailed deer       Good    Good    ----    ----    Good
Small mammals           Good    Fair    ----    Good    Good
Small nongame birds     Good    Good    Good    Good    Good
Upland game birds       Good    Good    Good    Good    Good
Waterfowl               ----    ----    ----    Good    Fair


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Due to its dense growth form, hardiness, and adaptibility to a wide
range of soil and moisture conditions, Russian-olive has been widely
planted in shelterbelts throughout the prairie states [4,11,23].  It has
also been used for wildlife habitat plantings, erosion control and
highway beautification [4,23].  Russian-olive is a nitrogen-fixing
species [22,33].  Because of its ability to increase available nitrogen
in the soil, Russian-olive is sometimes interplanted with other tree
crops to increase their growth and yield [33].  Russian-olive has a
tendency to spread to areas where it is not desired; therefore, careful
monitoring of sites planted with this species is important.  Because of
the potential problems Russian-olive can cause, managers may want to
consider planting native vegetation instead.


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Russian-olive is often planted as an ornamental because of its silvery
leaves and decorative fruit.  It also has some value as a honey plant
[30].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Russian-olive can interfere with agricultural practices and can displace
native riparian vegetation [24].  It rapidly colonizes lowland fields,
often chokes irrigation ditches, and damages tires and equipment [25].
The impact of Russian-olive may be severe in some locations.  In South
Dakota, many marshlands have been displaced by lowland Russian-olive
woodlands [25].  Russian-olive has been declared a noxious weed in Utah,
and the state of Washington is considering doing the same.  The city of
Fort Collins, Colorado is actively removing the trees [31].

Control:  Once established Russian-olive is difficult to control and
nearly impossible to eradicate.  Efforts to control unwanted
concentrations of Russian-olive have included mowing seedlings, cutting,
burning, spraying, girdling, and bulldozing [24].  Most efforts have
realized limited success.  Apparently the most effective combination of
control efforts has been cutting trees, followed by either spraying or
burning the stumps [25].  In Nebraska, Russian-olive trees were
controlled with aerial applications of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T.  Repeated
application for 1 or 2 years was needed for best control of large trees
[3].

Related categories for Species: Elaeagnus angustifolia | Russian-Olive