Interpretations
Animal community
Livestock Interpretations:
This site is suited for livestock grazing. Grazing management should be keyed to desert needlegrass, indian ricegrass, and perennial grass production. Desert needlegrass produces considerable basal foliage and is good forage while young. Young desert needlegrass is palatable to all classes of livestock. Mature herbage is moderately grazed by horses and cattle but rarely grazed by sheep. Indian ricegrass is highly palatable to all classes of livestock in both green and cured condition. It supplies a source of green feed before most other native grasses have produced much new growth. and fair forage for domestic sheep. Although not preferred, all classes of livestock may use galleta when it is dry. Domestic sheep show greater use in winter than summer months and typically feed upon central portions of galleta tufts, leaving coarser growth around the edges. Galleta may prove somewhat coarse to domestic sheep. In winter, at lower elevations, black sagebrush is heavily utilized by domestic sheep. Stansbury cliffrose is an important browse species for livestock, especially in the winter. Green ephedra is heavily browsed by livestock on winter range but only moderately or lightly browsed during other seasons. Nevada ephedra is important winter range browse for domestic cattle, sheep and goats.
Stocking rates vary over time depending upon season of use, climate variations, site, and previous and current management goals. A safe starting stocking rate is an estimated stocking rate that is fine tuned by the client by adaptive management through the year and from year to year.
Wildlife Interpretations:
Black sagebrush is a significant browse species within the Intermountain region. It is especially important on low elevation winter ranges in the southern Great Basin, where extended snow free periods allow animal’s access to plants throughout most of the winter. In these areas it is heavily utilized by pronghorn and mule deer. Stansbury cliffrose is an important browse species for mule deer, pronghorn, game birds, and songbirds. Wild ungulates use it heavily in winter. Green ephedra is an important browse species for big game animals. Green ephedra is heavily used by wildlife on winter ranges. Mule deer, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn browse Nevada ephedra, especially in spring and late summer when new growth is available. Desert needlegrass and Indian ricegrass are important forage species for several wildlife species.
Hydrological functions
Runoff is medium. Permeability is rapid.
Recreational uses
Aesthetic value is derived from the diverse floral and faunal composition and the colorful flowering of wild flowers and shrubs during the spring and early summer. This site offers rewarding opportunities to photographers and for nature study. This site is used for hiking and has potential for upland and big game hunting.
Other products
Triterpenoids extracted from Stansbury cliffrose have been shown to have inhibitory effects on HIV and Epstein-Barr virus. Native Americans used the inner bark for making clothing and ropes, and the branches for making arrows. Native Americans used Nevada ephedra as a tea to treat stomach and kidney ailments. Indian ricegrass was traditionally eaten by some Native Americans. The Paiutes used seed as a reserve food source.
Other information
Black sagebrush is an excellent species to establish on sites where management objectives include restoration or improvement of domestic sheep, pronghorn, or mule deer winter range.
Desert needlegrass seeds are easily germinated and have potential for commercial use. Green ephedra is listed as a successful shrub for restoring western rangeland communities and can be used to rehabilitate disturbed lands. It also has value for reducing soil erosion on both clay and sandy soils. Stansbury cliffrose is recommended for wildlife, roadside, construction, and mine spoils plantings; and for restoring pinyon-juniper woodland, mountain brushland, basin big sagebrush grassland, black sagebrush, and black greasewood communities. It can be established on disturbed seedbeds by broadcast seeding, drill seeding, or transplanting. Fall or winter seeding is recommended. Nevada ephedra is useful for erosion control, and seedlings have been successfully planted onto reclaimed strip mines, with survival ranging from 12 to 94%. Atrazine may be effective in controlling Nevada ephedra, though some plants can survive through crown sprouting. Irrigation may increase control by atrazine. Green ephedra establishes readily through direct seeding, transplants, and stem cuttings. Desert needlegrass may be used for groundcover in areas of light disturbance, but it is susceptible to excessive trampling.
