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