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You are here >1Up Info > Wildlife, Animals, and Plants > Plant Species > Shrub > Species: Symphoricarpos occidentalis | Western Snowberry
 

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VALUE AND USE

SPECIES: Symphoricarpos occidentalis | Western Snowberry
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : NO-ENTRY IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : Western snowberry is a valuable forage species for mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, and pronghorn [2,34,61,80,117]. It is browsed by white-tailed deer in Montana and constituted 60 percent of white-tailed deer early winter diets in 1965. Western snowberry was found in 95 percent of all rumens and averaged 27 percent of rumen volume year-round [2]. In North and South Dakota western snowberry is an important browse species in mule deer and pronghorn fall and winter diets [72,104,141]. In Saskatchewan western snowberry is browsed by pronghorn and constituted 17 percent of pronghorn diets from October 30 to November 3, 1960 [34]. In Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota, western snowberry fruits are eaten by sharp-tailed grouse, passerine birds, and small mammals [35,39,96,114]. In the northern Great Plains, the fruit of western snowberry is an important fall and winter food for sharp-tailed grouse [39]. In Wyoming sharp-tailed grouse feed on western snowberry fruits [87]. In Alberta snowshoe hares browse western snowberry [93]. In Utah and Idaho western snowberry is important winter forage for cattle [94,112]. In North Dakota cattle make limited use of western snowberry [72]. In Nebraska western snowberry is poor forage for cattle and fair for sheep [117]. In Montana forage production under dense thickets of western snowberry is low; as stands open up, forage production increases due to invasion by Kentucky bluegrass [56]. PALATABILITY : Palatability ratings for western snowberry are as follows [19,35]: CO MT ND UT WY cattle fair fair fair poor fair sheep fair fair fair fair fair horses fair poor fair poor fair deer ---- good ---- ---- ---- elk ---- good ---- ---- ---- NUTRITIONAL VALUE : Western snowberry nutritional values are rated as follows [35]: UT CO WY MT ND elk good poor fair fair ---- mule deer good poor fair good fair white-tailed deer ---- ---- good good fair pronghorn ---- ---- fair fair fair upland game birds good ---- good fair fair waterfowl poor ---- poor ---- poor small nongame birds fair ---- good fair ---- small mammals good ---- good fair ---- Western snowberry energy rating and protein content are fair [19,35]. In Alberta percent digestible protein of dry matter at leaf stage, heading stage, and seed ripe stage was 4.0, 1.8, and 1.0, respectively [14]. In Saskatchewan crude protein content of western snowberry browse was 7.9 percent in February, 25.1 percent in May, 12.3 percent in June, 10.2 percent in July, and 15.2 percent in September [34]. COVER VALUE : Western snowberry cover values are rated as follows [19,35]: CO MT ND UT WY elk ---- poor fair ---- poor mule deer ---- fair good fair poor white-tailed deer poor good ---- ---- fair pronghorn ---- fair good ---- fair upland game birds ---- good good good good waterfowl ---- good fair poor poor small nongame birds ---- good good good good small mammals ---- good ---- good good Dense thickets of western snowberry provide important thermal and hiding cover for wildlife [56,114,130]. In South Dakota western snowberry provides cover for wild turkeys [102]. In the northern Great Plains, western snowberry provides nesting cover for sharp-tailed grouse, upland waterfowl, and many species of passerine birds [30,51,72,78]. In North Dakota 68 percent of mallard nests were on sites dominated by western snowberry [30]. VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : Western snowberry adapts well to disturbed or degraded sites [95,114]. It is used for erosion control, wildlife habitat enhancement, and land reclamation [56,94,130]. Nursery-grown stock and rooted cuttings readily establish on disturbed sites and once established, western snowberry is a good soil stabilizer [19,56,95,114]. Western snowberry is recommended for planting in riparian areas [83,95]. In Colorado western snowberry is a high priority species for oil shale restoration [130]. OTHER USES AND VALUES : Plains Indians used western snowberry for food, implement-making, and eye disease treatment [94]. Western snowberry is planted as an ornamental [127]. MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : Western snowberry increases with heavy grazing pressure [7,51,69]. In North Dakota western snowberry was more abundant on grazed green ash sites than on adjacent ungrazed sites [47]. At the Central Grasslands Research Station in North Dakota, 5 years of cattle grazing under various management strategies and stocking rates did not consistently alter the structure or composition of western snowberry communities [72]. Land management practices that promote or maintain sizeable tracts of western snowberry will favor higher densities and species richness of passerines [7]. In South Dakota the preservation of western snowberry thickets will improve wild turkey nesting habitat [135]. Western snowberry is susceptible to insect parasites and root rot fungi [94]. According to Watson [131], western snowberry is susceptible to herbicide damage. Western snowberry is effectively controlled with multiple applications of dicamba plus 2,4-DE [22].

Related categories for Species: Symphoricarpos occidentalis | Western Snowberry

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