Introduction

Forage and Reclamation Grasses

of the

Northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountains

Authored By Mark Majerus

Introduction

In the northern Great Plains, Rocky Mountain intermountain valleys, Palouse grasslands and the Intermountain Desert Basin grasses are the primary and dominant plant type of most plant

ecosystems. Within these native plant communities, grasses are the primary vascular plants which provide soil stabilization, a forage and/or biomass base and significant sequestration of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC). These grassland ecosystems provide food and shelter for a wide variety of wildlife and birds as well as domestic livestock. Grasses are the backbone of most reclamation mixes, as well as pastureland and hayland plantings.

The dominance of grasses and the scarcity of trees in the prairies, rangelands and open meadows result from a combination of edaphic factors (soil type and depth), climatic (precipitation patterns and seasonal patterns) and physical factors (fire and grazing). Their persistence and sustainability is often dependent on the human factors of management, patterns of use and in some cases re-establishment. The overall tolerance of grasses to extended periods of drought, grazing/haying, fire and severe cold has allowed grasses to flourish in the flat plains, rolling hills and mountain valleys of the Northern Plains and Rocky Mountains.

The 67 grasses [37 natives (highlighted in green), 19 introduced (highlighted in blue) and 11 weedy (highlighted in red)] included in this book are the primary native and introduced species that are commercially produced or wildland collected, along with the major weedy grasses that might be found in commercial seed production fields or in restoration or conservation plantings.

The native species are indigenous to a region extending from the Canadian Prairie Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan southward to Kansas, Colorado, Utah and Nevada and from eastern Washington and Oregon to North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska. Some of these species, of course, are found well beyond these borders. The introduced species are used almost exclusively in pastureland, hayland and other agronomic situations, as reclamation laws and government subsidized reseeding projects often dictate the use of natives.

This book is intended to make it easy to identify the important forage and reclamation grasses, providing four photographs of each species; the plant, the inflorescence, vegetative characteristics and seed, supplemented with verbal description. Species can be keyed out using any of the three dichotomous keys: one based on plants and seedheads, one on vegetative characteristics and the other on the seed unit. Information is provided on the use of these species, as it relates to reclamation, forage, wildlife habitat, landscaping, energy and cultural/human use. To aid in the harvest and planting of these native and introduced species the time of harvest, ease of harvest, seeding rates, time of planting and a list of commercially available cultivar and germplasm releases are provided.

Home | Book Information | Purchase | About the Author | Potential Customers