Animal community
Livestock Interpretations:
This site has limited value for livestock grazing, due to the low forage production, steep slopes and stony surfaces. 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. Overall, bottlebrush squirreltail is considered moderately palatable to livestock. Shadscale provides good browse for domestic sheep and goats. Shadscale leaves and seeds are an important component of domestic sheep and cattle winter diets. Shadscale tends to be browse tolerant. Heavy grazing during the winter and/or spring reduces shadscale. Die-off can also occur during extended periods of high precipitation. Shadscale is tolerant of early spring light-intensity browsing. Torrey’s ephedra is important winter forage for cattle and sheep. Torrey’s ephedra is moderately palatable to all domestic livestock especially as winter browse. Nevada ephedra is important winter range browse for domestic cattle, sheep and goats. Nevada ephedra is usually grazed heavily and seems to be perfectly safe for grazing livestock since it induces neither toxicity in ewes or cows, nor congenital deformities in lambs. Cattle will graze the stems of spiny menodora in the spring before the stems become woody and spiny. Spiny menodora has lower palatability than the other shrubs but is consumed during early spring before spines mature. White bursage is of intermediate forage value. It is fair to good forage for horses and fair to poor for cattle and sheep. However, because there is often little other forage where white bursage grows, it is often highly valuable to browsing animals and is sensitive to browsing.
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:
Shadscale is a valuable browse species providing a source of palatable, nutritious forage for a wide variety of wildlife. The fruits and leaves are a food source for deer, desert bighorn sheep and pronghorn antelope. Torrey’s ephedra is an important browse species for big game. Torrey’s ephedra is moderately palatable to many big game species, especially as winter browse. Mule deer, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn browse Nevada ephedra, especially in spring and late summer when new growth is available. Mountain quail eat Ephedra seeds. Elk will graze the stems of spiny menodora in the spring before the stems become woody and spiny. White bursage is an important browse species for wildlife. Desert bighorn sheep and feral horses and burros will graze desert needlegrass. Indian ricegrass is eaten by pronghorn in moderate amounts whenever available. In Nevada it is consumed by desert bighorns. A number of heteromyid rodents inhabiting desert rangelands show preference for seed of Indian ricegrass. Indian ricegrass is an important component of jackrabbit diets in spring and summer. In Nevada, Indian ricegrass may even dominate jackrabbit diets during the spring through early summer months. Indian ricegrass seed provides food for many species of birds. Doves, for example, eat large amounts of shattered Indian ricegrass seed lying on the ground. Bottlebrush squirreltail is a dietary component of several wildlife species. Townsend's ground squirrels, Nuttall's cottontails, and black-tailed jackrabbits all feed upon bottlebrush squirreltail.
Hydrological functions
Runoff is very high. Permeability is moderately rapid.
Other products
Indian ricegrass was traditionally eaten by some Native Americans. The Paiutes used seed as a reserve food source. Seeds of shadscale were used by Native Americans for bread and mush. Some Native American tribes steeped the twigs of Nevada ephedra and drank the tea as a general beverage. White bursage is a host for sandfood, a parasitic plant. Sandfood was a valuable food supply for Native Americans.
Other information
Desert needlegrass may be used for groundcover in areas of light disturbance, but it is susceptible to excessive trampling. White bursage may be used to revegetate disturbed sites in southwestern deserts.
