Vegetation Characteristics of Mountain and Wyoming Big Sagebrush Plant Communities in the Northern Great Basin |
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| Authors: | Kirk W. Davies Jon D. Bates |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Graduate Program, Logan, UT 84322-5230, USA;2. Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center, Logan, UT 84322-5230, USA;3. U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service Forage and Range Research Laboratory, Logan, UT 84322-6300, USA;1. Research Ecologist, US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Reno, NV 89509, USA;2. Sagebrush Ecosystem Specialist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Redmond, OR 97756, USA;3. Research Ecologist, US Geological Survey, Forest & Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA;5. Rangeland Ecologist, USDI Bureau of Land Management, Boise, ID 83709, USA;6. Presidential Management Fellow, US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Regional Office, Golden, CO 80401, USA;1. Research Scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)–Agricultural Research Service, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center (EOARC), Burns, OR 97720, USA;2. Research Technician at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)–Agricultural Research Service, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center (EOARC), Burns, OR 97720, USA;1. Research Geneticists, USDA-ARS Forage and Range Research Laboratory, Logan, UT 84322, USA.;2. Agronomist, USDA-ARS Forage and Range Research Laboratory, Logan, UT 84322, USA.;3. Supervisory Research Geneticist, USDA-ARS Grain, Forage, and Bioenergy Research Unit, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA.;4. Research Agronomist, USDA-ARS Grain, Forage, and Bioenergy Research Unit, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA.;5. Research Agronomist, USACE Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.;6. Physical Science Technician, USACE Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.;1. Research Geneticist, US Department of Agriculture (USDA)?Forest Service (FS), Rocky Mountain Research Station, Boise, ID 83702, USA;2. Associate Professor, Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA;3. Research Botanist (Emeritus), USDA-FS, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Boise, ID 83702, USA;5. Assistant Professor, Department of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA;6. Great Basin Ecologist, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Nevada State Office, Boise, ID 83712, USA;7. Professor, Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA;8. Associate Research Professor, Department of Statistics, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA |
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| Abstract: | Dominant plant species are often used as indicators of site potential in forest and rangelands. However, subspecies of dominant vegetation often indicate different site characteristics and, therefore, may be more useful indicators of plant community potential and provide more precise information for management. Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) occurs across large expanses of the western United States. Common subspecies of big sagebrush have considerable variation in the types of sites they occupy, but information that quantifies differences in their vegetation characteristics is lacking. Consequently, wildlife and land management guidelines frequently do not differentiate between subspecies of big sagebrush. To quantify vegetation characteristics between two common subspecies of big sagebrush, we sampled 106 intact big sagebrush plant communities. Half of the sampled plant communities were Wyoming big sagebrush (A. tridentata subsp. wyomingensis [Beetle & A. Young] S. L. Welsh) plant communities, and the other half were mountain big sagebrush (A. tridentata subsp. vaseyana [Rydb.] Beetle) plant communities. In general, mountain big sagebrush plant communities were more diverse and had greater vegetation cover, density, and biomass production than Wyoming big sagebrush plant communities. Sagebrush cover was, on average, 2.4-fold higher in mountain big sagebrush plant communities. Perennial forb density and cover were 3.8- and 5.6-fold greater in mountain compared to Wyoming big sagebrush plant communities. Total herbaceous biomass production was approximately twofold greater in mountain than Wyoming big sagebrush plant communities. The results of this study suggest that management guidelines for grazing, wildlife habitat, and other uses should recognize widespread subspecies as indicators of differences in site potentials. |
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