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You are here >1Up Info > Wildlife, Animals, and Plants > Plant Species > Shrub > Species: Krascheninnikovia lanata | Winterfat
 

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VALUE AND USE

SPECIES: Krascheninnikovia lanata | Winterfat
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : NO-ENTRY IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : Winterfat is an important forage plant for livestock and wildlife in salt-desert shrub rangeland and subalkaline flats, especially during winter when forage is scarce [9,62]. A winterfat cultivar, `Hatch,' is taller than native winterfat and protrudes above snow, facilitating winter grazing [66]. Winterfat is a staple food for black-tailed jackrabbit [4,46]. It is a major forage item for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep on winter ranges near Yellowstone National Park [48]. Winterfat contributes 60 to 70 percent of the winter diet of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in the North Dakota badlands [32]. It contributed 6 percent of the diet (relative density in feces) of Nuttall's cottontail in southern Idaho [45]. Winterfat is probably eaten by desert tortoise [54]. Townsend's ground squirrels browse winterfat [107]. Other animals that browse winterfat include mule deer, white-tailed deer, Rocky Mountain elk, desert bighorn sheep, pronghorn, and Dall sheep [64,78,85,95]. Winterfat seeds are eaten by rodents including the chisel-toothed kangaroo rat and Great Basin pocket mouse [109]. Several passerine bird species breed in winterfat-dominated communities; these include horned lark, Brewer's sparrow, and sage thrasher in east-central Nevada [58], and horned lark, black-throated sparrow, and loggerhead shrike in Utah [57]. PALATABILITY : Winterfat palatability to browsing animals is above average during all seasons but greatest during periods of active growth [85]. Palatability varies year to year [56]. Winterfat palatability is rated as good for sheep, good to fair for horses, and fair for cattle [25]. NUTRITIONAL VALUE : Average nutrient content of winterfat herbage in winter (compiled from literature sources by Welch [96]) is as follows: 43.5 percent in vitro digestibility, 10.0 percent crude protein, 0.11 percent phosphorus, and 16.8 mg/kg carotene. Crude protein contents in the spring and summer are 21.0 percent and 12.2 percent, respectively [96]. Cook and others [20] report nutrient content of the current year's growth during winter in Utah. Winterfat is a good source of digestible protein and vitamin A [20]. Mineral element composition of winterfat stems and leaves is reported by month and for different soil salinity zones in the Mojave Desert in southern Nevada [744,92,93]. COVER VALUE : Winterfat is used for cover by rodents [95]. It is potential nesting cover for upland game birds, especially when grasses grow up through its crown [76]. VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : Winterfat is a useful shrub for reclamation of surface coal and oil shale mines and revegetation of disturbed sites in arid climates. Winterfat adapts well to most site conditions, and its extensive root system stabilizes soil. However, winterfat is intolerant of flooding, excess water, and acidic soils. Planting and seeding methods are described [95]. Winterfat can be propagated by stem cuttings [30]. It has medium to good adaptation for seeding or transplanting in the subalpine zone in Utah [71]. Winterfat survived better on south-facing slopes than on north-facing slopes when planted from containers on arid roadcuts in Nevada [29]. Grass species planted with winterfat should be chosen for minimizing possible root competition. In northern Colorado, bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata) and western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii) growing within 8 inches (20 cm) of winterfat significantly (P<0.05) reduced the extent of winterfat roots. Winterfat had significantly (p<0.05) shallower rooting depth and area of root concentration when planted on disturbed soils than when planted on adjacent undisturbed soils, possibly because soil moisture was greater on disturbed soils [10]. Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda) did not interfere with winterfat seedling establishment in Idaho [60], but Rosentreter and Jorgensen [110] report that winterfat seedlings are not competitive with Sandberg bluegrass. Winterfat has genotypic variation in seed germination and seedling traits [59,61,80,105]. Seeds from populations on warm dry sites have shorter chill requirements than those collected from populations on colder, wetter sites [59]. Seeds used in revegetation projects should be collected from sources with similar site conditions [77]. It is a poor candidate for rapid colonization by natural seed dispersal because seeds are not dispersed far from the parent plant [44]. Winterfat grows well on salty or alkaline soils. In Texas, winterfat seedlings transplanted on saline-sodic soils had 61 percent survival after 3 years. Soils tested ranged from 13 to 46 percent exchangeable sodium [55]. OTHER USES AND VALUES : NO-ENTRY MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : Abusive grazing practices have reduced or eliminated winterfat on some areas even though it is fairly resistant to browsing [9]. Effects depend on severity and season of grazing. Density, frequency, canopy cover, and basal cover were significantly (p<0.05) greater on areas protected from grazing than on grazed areas in the northern mixed prairie of Saskatchewan [75]. There, winterfat defoliated in late July or August produced significantly (p<0.05) less biomass the following year than undisturbed plants or plants browsed earlier in the summer [75]. Winterfat is a decreaser on moderately to heavily grazed native grasslands in Alberta [26]. Winterfat basal cover on lightly grazed needle-and-thread grass (Stipa comata)-blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) prairie in Alberta did not differ significantly from sites ungrazed for 33 years [79]. West [98] reported no significant difference (p<0.05) in winterfat survival between grazed and ungrazed plots in desert shrub communities in southwestern Utah [98]. Grazing season has more influence on winterfat than grazing intensity. Late winter or early spring grazing is detrimental [9,16,102]. However, early winter grazing may actually be beneficial. Winterfat significantly increased (p<0.05) on light to moderate winter grazing in western Utah from 1933 to 1989 [108]. Light grazing and grazing during winter increased winterfat survival and recruitment during a drought in southwestern Utah. Changes in plant morphology caused by grazing may encourage more effective use of soil moisture [16]. On some heavily grazed rangelands, other species are replacing winterfat. Areas formerly dominated by winterfat in the Duckwater Watershed in Nevada have been converted to flixweed tansymustard (Descurainia sophia) or have been invaded by halogeton (Halogeton glomeratus) or Russian-thistle (Salsola kali) [6]. Broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae) has increased on degraded winterfat communities in the Upper Rio Puerco Watershed in New Mexico [34]. Blaisdell and Holmgren [9] recommend that browsing of winterfat be limited to 60 percent of its annual growth. Grazing management strategies are presented [9]. Wilkin [103] has published a regression equation applicable to winterfat which predicts utilization of a particular shrub species from relative abundance, expected utilization of total forage, and relative palatability in the plant community. Romo and others [75] suggest winterfat management strategies for the northern mixed prairie region in Saskatchewan. Degraded rangeland can be improved by seeding winterfat although seedling establishment is not consistent. Aerial broadcasting of winterfat fruits after light chaining of the surface is effective. Late fall or winter seeding is most successful in Utah [41]. Land managers and livestock growers have been concerned about the effects of black-tailed jackrabbits on winterfat. In southern Idaho, aboveground annual growth was completely eaten over in winter during peak population densities of black-tailed jackrabbit. However, winterfat growth resumed in the spring and by July there was no significant (p<0.05) difference in total biomass between open and protected plots [4]. A shrub mortality (die-off) epidemic struck the Great Basin in the mid-1980s. Winterfat was affected and declined despite protection from browsing. Above-average precipitation is suspected to have altered soil-water relationships and perhaps facilitated the entry of root pathogens [40,65].

Related categories for Species: Krascheninnikovia lanata | Winterfat

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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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