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Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) Seed Production

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

James A. Young ,
Raymond A. Evans  and
Debra E. Palmquist
James A. Young
Affiliation:
U.S. Dep. Agric., Agric. Res. Serv., 920 Valley Road, Reno, NV 89512
Raymond A. Evans
Affiliation:
U.S. Dep. Agric., Agric. Res. Serv., 920 Valley Road, Reno, NV 89512
Debra E. Palmquist
Affiliation:
U.S. Dep. Agric., Agric. Res. Serv., 920 Valley Road, Reno, NV 89512
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Abstract

Establishment of seedlings of big sagebrush subsequent to range weed control treatments limits the economic feasibility of such treatments for increased forage production. This study investigated the dynamics of seed production by this species as one step in understanding seedling establishment. Studies were conducted on five different ecological sites along the arid extremity of big sagebrush distribution in western Nevada. Demography, physical dimensional parameters, biomass, and community structure were determined for each site and related to seed production over a 4-yr period. In addition, seeds harvested from each site were used to grow plants that were transplanted to establish reciprocal gardens at all sites. Seeds were subsequently harvested from the plants in these gardens. The average stand studied was capable of producing about 50 million seeds/ha annually. The plant characteristics most closely correlated with seed production were leaf weight, canopy density, and root crown diameter. The stand that consistently had the highest average seed production had the lowest woody biomass accumulation rate. In reciprocal gardens, plants grown from this stand had the highest average seed production. Seed production of big sagebrush plants appears to be related to site characteristics, shrub biomass characteristics, and inherent genetic potential of the plants in a given collection.

Keywords

Big sagebrushArtemisia tridentata Nutt. # ARTTRSynecologysite potentialseed ecologyrange ecologybiomassARTTR
Type
Weed Biology and Ecology
Information
Weed Science , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , January 1989 , pp. 47 - 53
Copyright
Copyright © 1989 by the Weed Science Society of America 

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References

Literature Cited

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