VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Juniperus horizontalis | Creeping Juniper 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
The wood of creeping juniper is soft, open grained, and reddish brown
with wide white sapwood [36].  The wood currently has no commercial
value.


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Creeping juniper foliage provides some forage for deer, elk, bighorn
sheep, and pronghorns [17,28].  Generally this species is used only in
trace amounts, but utilization may be heavy in some areas, particularly
during the winter [17,28].  The foliage of creeping juniper is
apparently of little value to domestic livestock.

In many areas, mule deer begin utilizing creeping juniper in late
December or January and continue feeding on the foliage until March or
April [28].  Variable use of creeping juniper has been reported in
eastern and central Montana during the winter, although no summer use
has been observed [28].  Creeping juniper was the single most important
spring food of mule deer in parts of north-central Montana [41].  In
some locations, creeping juniper browse represented up to 41 percent of
the mule deer's diet during March and April [41].  White-tailed deer
utilize creeping juniper lightly in winter in eastern and north-central
Montana [28].  Trace amounts of creeping juniper have been found in the
winter diets of elk and bighorn sheep in Montana [28].  In some areas,
including parts of the northern Great Plains, creeping juniper may be a
relatively important food item for pronghorns [28].  This browse may be
particularly important during the late fall, winter and early spring.
Creeping juniper browse comprised up to 10 percent of pronghorn diets
during the winter and was the dominant food plant from December through
March in parts of Saskatchewan [42].  Pronghorns in the Canadian Great
Plains frequently winter in steep, eroded areas dominated by silver
sagebrush (Artemisia cana) and creeping juniper [42].

Berries of most juniper species are excellent sources of food for many
small birds and mammals.  Berries often remain on the plants for 1 to 2
years thus constituting a readily available food source in some areas.
Creeping juniper berries are an important food of both immature and
adult sharp-tailed grouse [28].  In parts of Montana 49 to 70 percent of
grouse crops contained juniper berries which represented 25 to 40
percent of the total food volume [28].  In some areas, creeping juniper
berries are the second most important food item for sharp-tailed grouse
[28].


PALATABILITY : 
Creeping juniper is most palatable to large ungulates during the winter
[17,28,41,42].  The levels of unpalatable terpenes peak during the
summer [38].  Lowest terpene levels occur from September to April [38],
coinciding with the period of peak palatability.  The terpene content of
individual creeping junipers is believed to be extremely variable [38].
This variation may perhaps help to explain some of the reported
differences in palatability levels by geographic area.

The palatability of creeping juniper to livestock and wildlife species
in several western states has been rated as follows [9]:

                        MT     ND     WY
Cattle                 poor   ----   poor
Sheep                  poor   ----   poor
Horses                 poor   ----   poor
Pronghorn              ----   good   ----
Elk                    poor   ----   ----
Mule deer              good   good   ----
White-tailed deer      ----   fair   ----
Small mammals          fair   fair   ----
Small nongame birds    fair   good   ----
Upland game birds      poor   good   ----


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Creeping juniper is rated poor in overall protein and energy value [9].


COVER VALUE : 
Creeping juniper provides only minimal cover for larger birds and
mammals because of its small size.  It may provide limited cover for a
number of small birds and mammals.  The degree to which creeping juniper
provides environmental protection during one or more seasons for
wildlife species has been rated as follows [9]:

                      MT       ND
Pronghorn            poor     ----
Mule deer            poor     poor
White-tailed deer    ----     poor
Small mammals        fair     poor
Small nongame birds  fair     poor
Upland game birds    fair     poor


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Creeping juniper has moderate to high potential for long-term
rehabilitation and low potential for short-term rehabilitation [9].  Its
ability to grow well on many harsh sites and its tendency to form solid
mats make it useful in preventing soil erosion [9,36].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Creeping juniper has been widely used for horticultural purposes.  The
low creeping growth form of this plant makes it well adapted for use as
a ground cover or ornamental [7,39].  It is often grown in strips along
curbs or sidewalks [39] and can aid in reducing soil erosion on harsh
sites [36].  A number of horticultural forms have been developed
including the cultivar 'Plumosa compacta' [11], a deep bluish phase
Juniperus horizontalis var. douglasii, and a variegated phase Juniperus
horizontalis var. variegata Beissn. [23].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Creeping juniper increases in response to overgrazing in rough fescue
(Festuca scabrella) communities of western Montana [29].  Butler [6]
reported highest cover and frequency values for creeping juniper on
moderate or heavily grazed green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) draws of
the North Dakota Badlands as shown below:

                cover%   relative   frequency   relative   importance
                         cover %    %           freq. %    value
lightly grazed    --       --           --         --         --
mod. grazed      3.90      4.66        5.78        1.14       5.80
heavily grazed   4.23      3.44        5.29        1.17       4.61

While moderate levels of grazing have little effect on creeping juniper,
extremely high livestock utilization can injure or kill plants in some
locations [28].

Application of fertilizers in the field may increase fruit production of
creeping juniper, although it appears to have little effect on overall
productivity [28].

Related categories for Species: Juniperus horizontalis | Creeping Juniper