Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Achnatherum speciosum
Introductory
SPECIES: Achnatherum speciosum
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Pavek, Diane S. 1993. Achnatherum speciosum. In: Fire Effects
Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences
Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/graminoid/achspe/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
ACHSPE
SYNONYMS :
Stipa speciosa Trin. & Rupr.
SCS PLANT CODE :
STSP3
COMMON NAMES :
desert needlegrass
needlegrass
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name of desert needlegrass is
Achnatherum speciosum (Trin. & Rup.) Barkworth (Poaceae) [44]. Desert
needlegrass occasionally hybridizes with Indian ricegrass
(A. hymenoides)[37].
LIFE FORM :
Graminoid
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Achnatherum speciosum
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
The range of desert needlegrass extends from Colorado west to Nevada and
south into Arizona, southern California, and northern Mexico
[13,17,30,37,39]. Populations are also found in southern South America
[3,13].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES30 Desert shrub
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
FRES40 Desert grasslands
STATES :
AZ CA CO NV UT MEXICO
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
12 Colorado Plateau
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K023 Juniper - pinyon woodland
K024 Juniper steppe woodland
K031 Oak - juniper woodlands
K038 Great Basin sagebrush
K039 Blackbrush
K040 Saltbush - greasewood
K041 Creosotebush
K042 Creosotebush - bursage
K053 Grama - galleta steppe
K057 Galleta - three-awn shrubsteppe
SAF COVER TYPES :
238 Western juniper
239 Pinyon - juniper
240 Arizona cypress
241 Western live oak
242 Mesquite
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Desert needlegrass is an important grass species in the understory of
pinyon-juniper woodlands of northern Arizona and New Mexico [21]. In
sagebrush steppe, desert needlegrass importance increases in arid areas
[38,43]. Desert needlegrass is a component in the shadscale (Atriplex
confertifolia) series of the Great Basin desertscrub and in the
creosotebush (Larrea tridentata) communities of the Mohave Desert,
California [1,28,32].
Desert needlegrass is an indicator for habitat types in the following
publications:
(1) Survey of endangered plants, Joshua Tree National Monument [17]
(2) Transmontane coniferous vegetation [34]
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Achnatherum speciosum
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Desert needlegrass produces considerable basal foliage and is good
forage while young [13,25]. Desert bighorn sheep in Arizona and feral
burros in California grazed desert needlegrass [18,26].
PALATABILITY :
Young desert needlegrass is palatable to all classes of livestock [25].
Mature herbage is moderately grazed by horses and cattle but rarely
grazed by sheep [25].
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
In Arizona, Seegmiller and others [26] analyzed the nutritional quality
of desert needlegrass at bimonthly intervals for 1 year. Desert
needlegrass dry matter peaked at 95 percent in late summer. Protein
content increased through June to 6.73 percent and then dropped in
autumn to 2.35 percent. Acid detergent fiber percentages remained
constant through the year at 43.67 percent. Lignin and cellulose
increased from January to December, ending the year at 8.86 and 39.83
percent, respectively. Lipids steadily decreased from 3.74 percent in
January to 1.86 percent in December.
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Desert needlegrass seeds are easily germinated and have potential for
commercial use [42]. Desert needlegrass may be used for groundcover in
areas of light disturbance, but it is susceptible to excessive trampling
[18]. For 5 years, Cole and Hall [6] studied impacts to vegetation at
campsites in the Grand Canyon, Arizona. Although still infrequent,
desert needlegrass was relatively more abundant in campsites (2 plants
total) than in undisturbed controls (0 plants).
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Desert needlegrass florets have a prominent callus. The sharp-pointed
seeds with long, bent awns injure mouths and eyes of grazing animals
[13].
Desert needlegrass may be eliminated from areas with a high
concentration of grazing animals due to excessive trampling and
overgrazing [18].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Achnatherum speciosum
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Desert needlegrass is a native, cool-season, perennial bunchgrass with
stems 12 to 24 inches (30-60 cm) tall [10]. It grows in large dense
clumps that have persistent leaf bases [25,37]. The inflorescence is
compact and looks feathery due to the very hairy, bent awns [13,20].
Roots extend into the soil 3.3 to 3.9 feet (1-1.2 m) with most of the
roots located from 0 to 1 foot (0-0.3 m) deep [3].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Hemicryptophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Desert needlegrass reproduces asexually and sexually. Vegetative
reproduction occurs with the annual growth of new tillers [7]. This
wind-pollinated grass may produce large amounts of seed [25]. From year
to year, desert needlegrass seed crops are variable in amount and
germibility in different populations [42]. Sexual reproduction is
closely tied to water availability. Seed is not set if soil moisture is
low and temperatures are high [3].
Desert needlegrass has persistent seed and seedling banks [35]. Seeds
are self-planting. Depending upon moisture conditions, the awn
alternately twists (dry) and untwists (wet), which drives the seed into
the ground [25]. Awns and calluses catch on animal fur, assisting in
seed dissemination [13]. The long awns may aid in wind dispersal.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Desert needlegrass typically occurs on coarse-textured soils with no
profile development, often on sandy or gravelly alluvial fans
[16,19,42,43]. It grows on dry rocky hills, talus slopes, and in
canyons [10,13,42]. Desert needlegrass is found at elevations from
4,025 to 5,249 feet (1,227-1,870 m) in California and Nevada
[5,19,25,31]. It is found from 3,000 to 7,000 feet (914-2,134 m) in
Arizona and up to 8,500 feet (2,590 m) in southwestern Colorado [10,13].
Desert needlegrass grows in warm to temperate mediterranean climates,
characterized by mild winters and warm to hot summers [4]. Young and
Evans [42] state that compared to other native needlegrasses, desert
needlegrass probably occurs in the most arid and harsh environments.
Associated species not mentioned in Distribution and Occurrence are
Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia), white burrobrush (Hymenoclea salsola),
Indian ricegrass, bottlebrush squirreltail (Elymus elymoides), Thurber
needlegrass (Achnatherum thurberianum), and spiny phlox (Leptodactylon pungens)
[16,38,40].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Facultative Seral Species
Desert needlegrass is a stress-tolerant ruderal [35]. In disturbed
areas, such as abandoned town sites and roads, in Great Basin vegetation
(for example, spiney hopsage [Atriplex spinosa] communities), desert
needlegrass and Indian ricegrass seedlings were the first perennials to
appear [23]. In town sites abandoned for 30 to 73 years, desert
needlegrass and white burrobrush continued to dominate the vegetation
[35,36].
At the Nevada Test Site, vegetation in the crater from an aboveground
nuclear detonation was assessed after 14 and 24 years [24]. Desert
needlegrass and Indian ricegrass had gradually filled in after annual
plants. After 24 years, desert needlegrass plants had advanced into the
crater 2,000 feet (610 m) and increased to 2.8 plants per square foot
(30 plants/sq m).
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
New leaves emerge from dormant desert needlegrass tufts in the spring.
Most vegetative growth occurs from late spring to early summer when
moisture conditions and temperatures are conducive to growth [3,38].
Florets are produced April to June [10,13]. Seed production and
dissemination occur May to June [25]. Tiller senescence begins in late
summer [3].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Achnatherum speciosum
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Desert needlegrass has persistent dead leaf bases, which make it
susceptible to burning. Fire removes the accumulation; a rapid, cool
fire will not burn deep into the root crown [11]. Most perennial
grasses have root crowns that can survive wildfire [14].
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Tussock graminoid
Secondary colonizer - off-site seed
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Achnatherum speciosum
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Fire probably top-kills desert needlegrass. Most needlegrasses (Achnatherum
spp.), especially young plants, are very susceptible to fire damage
[41].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Surviving tufts of desert needlegrass probably will sprout.
Two years after a lightning fire on the Nevada Test Site, many new
seedlings and surviving bunches of desert needlegrass were present [12].
Fire did not kill belowground root crowns.
In pinyon-juniper woodlands of the Great Basin, desert needlegrass was
one of the perennial grasses that remained the same or increased in
frequency 15 to 17 years after fire [14].
A recent (number of postfire years not mentioned) fire in pinyon (Pinus
edulis)-juniper rangeland resulted in 1,271 pounds per acre (1,425
kg/ha) of desert needlegrass compared with nonburned production of 612
pounds per acre (686 kg/ha) [29].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Season of burning may be critical to desert needlegrass survival. Early
summer fires caused higher mortality than fall fires in other
needlegrass species (needle-and-thread (Nassella comata) and Thurber
needlegrass) populations [41].
References for species: Achnatherum speciosum
1. Barbour, M. G.; MacMahon, J. A.; Bamberg, S. A.; Ludwig, J. A. 1977. The structure and distribution of Larrea communities. In: Mabry, T. J.; Hunziker, J. H.; DiFeo, D. R., Jr., eds. Creosote bush: Biology and chemistry of Larrea in New World deserts. U.S./IBP Synthesis Series 6. Stroudsburg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Inc.: 227-251. [7172]
2. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. [434]
3. Bertiller, Monica B.; Beeskow, Ana M.; Coronato, Fernando. 1991. Seasonal environmental variation and plant phenology in arid Patagonia (Argentina). Journal of Arid Environments. 21: 1-11. [20414]
4. Brown, David E. 1982. Californian Valley grassland. In: Brown, David E., ed. Biotic communities of the American Southwest--United States and Mexico. Desert Plants. 4(1-4): 132-135. [8896]
5. Cody, M. L. 1986. Spacing patterns in Mojave Desert plant communities: near-neighbor analyses. Journal of Arid Environments. 11: 199-217. [4411]
6. Cole, David N.; Hall, Troy E. 1992. Trends in campsite condition: Eagle Cap Wilderness, Bob Marshall Wilderness, and Grand Canyon National Park. Res. Pap. INT-453. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 40 p. [17764]
7. Esau, K. 1965. Plant anatomy. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. [pages unknown]. [20413]
8. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
9. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
10. Harrington, H. D. 1964. Manual of the plants of Colorado. 2d ed. Chicago: The Swallow Press Inc. 666 p. [6851]
11. Humphrey, Robert R. 1974. Fire in the deserts and desert grassland of North America. In: Kozlowski, T. T.; Ahlgren, C. E., eds. Fire and ecosystems. New York: Academic Press: 365-400. [14064]
12. Hunter, Richard B.; Medica, Philip A. (Reynolds Electrical & Engineering Co., Inc., Environment & Health Division, Las Vegas, NV). 1987. Status of the flora and fauna on the Nevada Test Site: Results of continuing basic environmental research, January through December 1987.. 103 p. Available from: NTIS, Springfield, VA 22161. NTIS-PR-360. [10571]
13. Kearney, Thomas H.; Peebles, Robert H.; Howell, John Thomas; McClintock, Elizabeth. 1960. Arizona flora. 2d ed. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 1085 p. [6563]
14. Koniak, Susan. 1985. Succession in pinyon-juniper woodlands following wildfire in the Great Basin. The Great Basin Naturalist. 45(3): 556-566. [1371]
15. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
16. Leary, Patrick J. 1987. Survey of endangered plants, Joshua Tree National Monument. No. 037/01. Las Vegas, NV: University of Nevada, Department of Biological Sciences, Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit. 26 p. [14927]
17. Leary, Patrick J. 1988. Plant succession after fire, Hunter Mountain, Death Valley National Monument. Report No. 034/06.. Las Vegas, NV: University of Nevada, Department of Biological Sciences, Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit. 30 p. [14926]
18. Loope, Lloyd L.; Sanchez, Peter G.; Tarr, Peter W.; [and others]. 1988. Biological invasions of arid land nature reserves. Biological Conservation. 44: 95-118. [3263]
19. McCarten, Niall; Van Devender, Thomas R. 1988. Late Wisconsin vegetation of Robber's Roost in the western Mohave Desert, California. Madrono. 35(3): 226-237. [6183]
20. Munz, Philip A. 1973. A California flora and supplement. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 1905 p. [6155]
21. Pieper, Rex D. 1977. The southwestern pinyon-juniper ecosystem. In: Aldon, Earl F.; Loring, Thomas J., technical coordinators. Ecology, uses, and management of pinyon-juniper woodlands: Proceedings of the workshop; 1977 March 24-25; Albuquerque, NM. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-39. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station: 1-6. [17251]
22. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
23. Rickard, W. H.; Beatley, Janice C. 1965. Canopy-coverage of the desert shrub vegetation mosaic of the Nevada test site. Ecology. 46(4): 524-529. [3495]
24. Romney, E. M.; Hunter, R. B.; Wallace, A. 1990. Field trip report: natural and managed recovery of vegetation on disturbed areas at the Nevada Test Site. In: McArthur, E. Durant; Romney, Evan M.; Smith, Stanley D.; Tueller, Paul T., compilers. Proceedings--symposium on cheatgrass invasion, shrub die-off, and other aspects of shrub biology and management; 1989 April 5-7; Las Vegas, NV. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-276. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station: 344-349. [12870]
25. Sampson, Arthur W.; Chase, Agnes; Hedrick, Donald W. 1951. California grasslands and range forage grasses. Bull. 724. Berkeley, CA: University of California College of Agriculture, California Agricultural Experiment Station. 125 p. [2052]
26. Seegmiller, Rick F.; Krausman, Paul R.; Brown, William H.; Whiting, Frank M. 1990. Nutritional composition of desert bighorn sheep forage in the Harquahala Mountains, Arizona. Desert Plants. 10(2): 87-90. [11943]
27. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 10 p. [20090]
28. Svejcar, Tony; Tausch, Robin. 1991. Anaho Island, Nevada: a relict area dominated by annual invader species. Rangelands. 13(5): 233-236. [17104]
29. Thatcher, Albert P.; Hart, Virgil L. 1974. Spy Mesa yields better understanding of pinyon-juniper in range ecosystem. Journal of Range Management. 27(5): 354-357. [20416]
30. Tidestrom, I.; Kittell, T. 1941. A flora of Arizona and New Mexico. Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press. 897 p. [18145]
31. Tueller, P. T.; Tausch, R. J.; Bostick, V. 1991. Species and plant community distribution in a Mojave-Great Basin desert transition. Vegetatio. 92(2): 133-150. [15366]
32. Turner, Raymond M. 1982. Great Basin desertscrub. In: Brown, David E., ed. Biotic communities of the American Southwest--United States and Mexico. Desert Plants. 4(1-4): 145-155. [2373]
33. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982. National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names. SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
34. Vasek, Frank C.; Thorne, Robert F. 1977. Transmontane coniferous vegetation. In: Barbour, Michael G.; Major, Jack, eds. Terrestrial vegetation of California. New York: John Wiley & Sons: 797-832. [4265]
35. Webb, Robert H.; Steiger, John W.; Newman, Evelyn B. 1988. The response of vegetation to disturbance in Death Valley National Monument, California. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1793. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. 69 p. [8915]
36. Wells, Philip V. 1961. Succession in desert vegetation on streets of a Nevada ghost town. Science. 134: 670-671. [4959]
37. Welsh, Stanley L.; Atwood, N. Duane; Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry C., eds. 1987. A Utah flora. The Great Basin Naturalist Memoir No. 9. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University. 894 p. [2944]
38. West, Neil E. 1988. Intermountain deserts, shrub steppes, and woodlands. In: Barbour, Michael G.; Billings, William Dwight, eds. North American terrestrial vegetation. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press: 209-230. [19546]
39. Wiggins, I. L. 1980. Flora of Baja California. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. 1025 p. [20412]
40. Winward, A. H.; McArthur, E. D.; Kaffer, D. A.; Plummer, C. A.; Brackley, G. K. 1986. Another sagebrush in Nevada. Technical Notes TN-RANGE NV-44. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Nevada Soil Conservation Service. 2 p. [5226]
41. Wright, Henry A.; Neuenschwander, Leon F.; Britton, Carlton M. 1979. The role and use of fire in sagebrush-grass and pinyon-juniper plant communities: A state-of-the-art review. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-58. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 48 p. [2625]
42. Young, James A.; Evans, Raymond A. 1980. Germination of desert needlegrass. Journal of Seed Technology. 5(1): 40-46. [20415]
43. Young, James A.; Evans, Raymond A.; Major, Jack. 1977. Sagebrush steppe. In: Barbour, Michael G.; Major, Jack, eds. Terrestrial vegetation of California. New York: John Wiley & Sons: 763-796. [4300]
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