Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T20:46:46.543Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

1. Evans, R. A. and Young, J. A. 1975. Aerial application of 2,4-D plus picloram for green rabbitbrush control. J. Range Manage. 28:315–318.Google Scholar
2. Ferguson, C. W. 1964. Annual rings in big sagebrush Artemisia tridentata . Papers of the Laboratory of Tree Ring Res., Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson. 95 pp.Google Scholar
3. McArthur, E. D. 1983. Taxonomy, origin and distribution of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and allies (subgenus tridentatae). Pages 3–13 in Johnson, K. L., ed. Proc. First Utah Shrub Ecology Workshop. Coll. of Natural Resources, Utah State Univ., Logan, UT.Google Scholar
4. Proffett, J. M. Jr. and Proffett, B. H. 1976. Stratigraphy of the Tertitary ash-flow tuffs in the Yerington district, Nevada. Nevada Bur. of Mines and Geology Rep. 27. 28 pp.Google Scholar
5. Sneva, F. A. 1972. Grazing return following sagebrush control in eastern Oregon. J. Range Manage. 25:174–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6. Soil Survey Staff. 1975. Soil taxonomy. Agric. Handb. 436. U.S. Dep. Agric., Soil Conserv. Serv., U.S. Gov. Printing Office, Washington, DC. 754 pp.Google Scholar
7. West, N. E., (ed.) Temperate deserts and semideserts. Ecosystems of the World 5. Elsevier Sci. Publ. Co., Amsterdam, Netherlands. 507 pp.Google Scholar
8. Young, J. A. and Young, C. G. 1986. Seeds of Wildland Plants. Timber Press, Portland, OR. 236 pp.Google Scholar
9. Young, J. A., Eckert, R. E. Jr., and Evans, R. A. 1979. Historical perspectives regarding the sagebrush ecosystem. Pages 1–13. The Sagebrush Ecosystem: A Symposium. College of Natural Resources. Utah State Univ., Logan, UT.Google Scholar