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

WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE:

No entry

IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:

Common snowberry is considered important browse for many types of wildlife and livestock. It is especially important to domestic sheep and cattle [22,23,53,84,98,108,109,111]. In Oregon, common snowberry was found to be highly palatable to cattle. It plays a critical role in permitting cattle to meet their protein requirements during the latter half of the growing season [60]. It provides summer forage for cattle in Idaho [22,108] and is 1 of 2 major woody plants in cattle diet during fall in South Dakota [111]. However, it is rated as poor forage for cattle in Nebraska [105]. Domestic sheep also utilize common snowberry for browse and it is considered fair to good forage. It is has no forage value for horses [53,84].

Bighorn sheep use common snowberry regularly during the summer in Montana and Idaho [84] and in fall, winter, and early spring in British Columbia [109]. White-tailed deer utilize it regularly during summer and fall [57,84,108]. In British Columbia, white-tailed deer use it mainly in fall, winter, and early spring [109]. Reports of elk utilization vary. In western Montana, 1 source [37] reports Rocky Mountain elk use common snowberry frequently and heavily during early summer while another [53] states that elk rarely or never use it, even when available. Yet another source [84] reports its forage value to elk as fair. Moose are reported as utilizing common snowberry extensively during winter in the Gallatin River drainage in Montana [102]. However, Pierce [85] found moose utilization of it very light in north-central Idaho and another source [24] states common snowberry is unpalatable to moose. Grizzly bears use common snowberry as food [30].

Common snowberry is important as both cover and food for bird and small mammal populations [25,27]. These include sharp-tailed, ruffed, and blue grouse [27,61,94], wild turkey [59] and, several non-game species of bird including the kingbird, western flycatcher, and western bluebird [109]. Among small mammals that rely on common snowberry are fox squirrels [59], desert cottontails [25], and pocket gophers [13].

PALATABILITY:

Palatability of common snowberry to livestock and wildlife varies, and there are differing reports of palatability within an area (see discussion about forage value of common snowberry for elk in Importance to Livestock and Wildlife above). The degree of use shown by livestock and wildlife species for common snowberry is rated as follows [10,22,23,37,53,57,60,61,84,85,98,102,108,109,110]:

	MT	ID	ND	OR
Cattle	poor-fair	poor-fair	---	good
Domestic sheep	fair-good	fair-good	---	---
Horses	poor	poor	---	---
Moose	poor-good	poor	---	---
Pronghorn	fair	---	---	---
Bighorn sheep	good	good	---	---
Elk	fair-good	fair	---	---
Mule deer	fair	---	fair-good	---
White-tailed deer	fair-good	---	fair	fair
Small mammals	fair	fair-good	---	fair
Small game birds	fair	---	---	---
Upland game birds	fair	good	---	good

NUTRITIONAL VALUE:

Common snowberry, like other shrubs, contains a higher percentage of crude protein during fall and winter than grasses or forbs, but lesser amounts during spring and summer. Leaves of common snowberry contain a higher percentage of crude protein than stems. Tips of leaves contain higher protein levels than thicker mid and butt sections [35]. Information presented in the following table is from [35] and is based on seasonal nutritional levels for common snowberry in the Black Hills of South Dakota:

			Spring		Summer		Fall		Winter
			Leaves	Stems	Leaves	Stems	Leaves	Stems	Leaves
Crude protein1			13.1	6.80	10.7	4.20	5.60	5.10	5.20
Carbohydrate components1		ADF2	18.3	39.1	20.1	47.8	24.4	48.7	50.0
		ADL3	7.50	11.0	8.50	---	11.4	17.0	20.5
		Cell4	11.5	27.3	11.1	---	14.0	27.3	26.0
Ash1			6.20	5.90	6.20	3.90	6.50	4.40	5.00
Ca1			0.82	0.90	1.21	1.17	1.70	1.31	1.27
P1			0.35	0.22	0.31	0.13	0.35	0.14	0.15
Gross energy5			4,953	4,560	4,770	4,591	5,040	4,687	4,617

¹ Percentage of oven-dried weight; ² ADF = Acid-detergent fiber;
³ ADL = Acid-detergent lignin; ⁴Cell = Cellulose; ⁵ Calories/gram

COVER VALUE:

Common snowberry provides cover for several species of birds and mammals. White-tailed deer in western Montana show a marked preference for the Douglas-fir/common snowberry habitat type in winter. It is speculated that this preference is for structure of the habitat type [12]. In the Black Hills of South Dakota, Merriam's turkeys prefer common snowberry for cover [93]. Ruffed, blue and sharp-tailed grouse use common snowberry extensively as thermal cover [27,93,94]. In Palouse prairie habitat, common snowberry provides cover for small mammals [29]. In northern Idaho and eastern Washington, common snowberry is considered important cover for small mammals in several habitat types [90]. Pocket gophers dig large numbers of shallow burrows underneath common snowberry in winter in northeast Oregon [13] and desert cottontails use it in Nebraska [25].

In western Montana, common snowberry is rated for cover value as follows [52,53]:

Elk                 poor (rarely or never utilized when available)
Mule deer           fair (moderately utilized)
White-tailed deer   fair     "          "
Upland game birds   good (readily utilized when available)
Waterfowl           good     "       "       "      "
Non-game birds	    good     "       "       "      "
Small mammals       good     "       "       "      " 

VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:

Common snowberry has large ecological amplitude. Because of this amplitude, it has been widely used in rehabilitation of disturbed sites. Common snowberry does best when large 1-0 or 2-0 stock is planted [86]. It is not recommended for use on sites that have been "extremely" disturbed [52,53,82].

Seeds of common snowberry, held within nutlets, should be collected during the fall or winter by stripping the fruit [38] and then separated from the fruit by using a rubbing board when the fruit has dried [54]. Once separated from the fruit, seeds will remain viable for 7-10 years if stored properly [96]. Highest germination rates (74 to 87%) have been obtained by a 20- to 91-day warm stratification period followed by a cold stratification period of 60 to 300 days [38,96].

Common snowberry has fair seedling establishment rates [86,99] and good survival rates once established [40,86,99]. It has been used extensively in rehabilitation of riparian sites and has excellent bank stability properties [20,21,52,53,86]. Properties that make it a good choice for bank stabilization also provide good soil stability for erosion control [74,86,99]. Common snowberry has been used for reclamation of tailings sand after extraction of oil [40] and on mining sites with acidic, steep tailings [89,113].

OTHER USES AND VALUES:

Common snowberry fruit was eaten fresh but was not favored by Native Americans in Washington and Oregon. The fruits were also dried for winter use. Common snowberry was used on hair as soap, and the fruits and leaves mashed and applied to cuts or skin sores as a poultice and to soothe sore, runny eyes. Tea from the bark was used as a remedy for tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases. A brew made from the entire plant was used as a physic tonic. Arrowshafts and pipestems were made from the stems [51].

One source [47] reports eating the fruit of common snowberry has caused vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, and in severe cases, unconsciousness in humans. There are no reports of poisoning in animals and no definite information on the toxic constituent.

Because of its decorative white fruits, common snowberry has been used extensively as an ornamental [38,47].

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:

Common snowberry is browsed by cattle but is resistant to heavy browsing [23]. However, in a common snowberry-rose (Rosa spp.) community type in Oregon, common snowberry was reportedly browsed to elimination from the site [63]. On grazed sites in Idaho, common snowberry occupies at least 50% less crown space than on ungrazed sites [22]. Grazing capacity guidelines for some western Montana common snowberry community/habitat types are provided by Williams and others [117]. Common snowberry is sensitive to trampling and soil compaction [118].

Common snowberry responds moderately well after logging depending on site characteristics [8,43,46]. Seven years after logging in ponderosa pine in eastern Washington and Oregon, common snowberry had increased its coverage by 30% over its prelogging coverage [44]. It can be expected to increase in cover and form low thickets following logging and may provide shade to conifer seedlings during their early growth [50]. The expected response of common snowberry to clearcutting and low and high severity site preparation by fire or mechanical means is [81]:

Mechanical         Fire        
low     high       low     high
+++	++	   ++	   +

Where + equals increase and ++ equals more increase.

Related categories for SPECIES: Symphoricarpos albus | Common Snowberry