Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Sporobolus heterolepis
Introductory
SPECIES: Sporobolus heterolepis
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Snyder, S. A. 1992. Sporobolus heterolepis. 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/spohet/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
SPOHET
SYNONYMS :
Agrostis heterolepis Wood
Vilfa heterolepis Gray
SCS PLANT CODE :
SPHE
COMMON NAMES :
prairie dropseed
northern dropseed
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for prairie dropseed is
Sporobolus heterolepis (Gray) Gray (Poaceae) [12,19]. There are no
recognized subspecies or varieties.
LIFE FORM :
Graminoid
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
Prairie dropseed is endangered in Ohio and North Carolina, and is a
candidate for endangered species listing in Kentucky [20,23].
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Sporobolus heterolepis
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Prairie dropseed is found in 24 states and 4 Canadian provinces with
remnant tallgrass prairie stands. The species is scattered from Wyoming
and Colorado east to Connecticut and Massachusetts and as far south as
Texas [12,23].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES15 Oak - hickory
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES39 Prairie
STATES :
AR CO CT IL IN IA KS KY LA MA
MI MN MO NE NY NC ND OH OK PA
SD TX WI WY MB ON PQ SK
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
10 Wyoming Basin
12 Colorado Plateau
14 Great Plains
15 Black Hills Uplift
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K017 Black Hills pine forest
K065 Grama - buffalograss
K067 Wheatgrass - bluestem - needlegrass
K069 Bluestem - grama prairie
K074 Bluestem prairie
K075 Nebraska Sandhills prairie
K100 Oak - hickory forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
42 Bur oak
53 White oak
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
NO-ENTRY
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Sporobolus heterolepis
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Prairie dropseed (prematuration) has been rated as good in forage value
for livestock. It is an important hay and pasture grass in Nebraska
[29].
PALATABILITY :
Prairie dropseed is the most palatable of Sporobolus species in Nebraska
[29].
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Prairie dropseed is widely used for roadside revegetation and prairie
rehabilitation projects [9,25]. Planting by hand may be the best method
for establishing this species. Refer to Schramm [28] for other planting
techniques.
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Prairie dropseed is used in residential landscapes [6].
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Prairie dropseed will decrease in response to heavy grazing [2,29].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Sporobolus heterolepis
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Prairie dropseed is a native, perennial, sod-forming, warm-season grass.
It is 1 to 3 feet (0.5-1 m) tall, densely tufted, with alternate basal
leaves. Its leaves are half as long as its stout culms; the panicles
are purple to black and up to 11.8 inches (30 cm) long [12,23].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Phanerophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Prairie dropseed regenerates by seed. In germination tests, seeds
stratified in dry soil for 10 weeks germinated in 7 days; peak
germination occurred in 25 days. Greenhouse temperatures during the day
varied between 70 and 90 degrees F (21-32 deg C) and at night varied
between 40 and 70 degrees F (4-21 deg C) [25]. Other tests showed that
only slightly more seeds germinated when stratified than when
unstratified [18]. Prairie dropseed does not establish well when direct
seeded [25].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Prairie dropseed is a tallgrass species that grows in mesic prairies,
well-drained moraines, rock outcrops, glades, pine savannahs and
barrens, lightly grazed pastures, and along railroad and highway
rights-of-way [3,5,14,23]. In Colorado it grows at elevations between
5,300 and 7,200 feet (1,615-2,195 m) [19]. Soil types in Kansas include
shallow, cherty, clay loams and deep silty, clay loams [15]. In North
Dakota prairie dropseed grows in Hamerly and Barnes soil types in
moderately drained rolling plains [24].
Associates include bluestems (Andropogon/Schizachyrium spp.), gramas
(Bouteloua spp.), junegrass (Koeleria cristata), porcupine grass (Stipa
spartea), panic grass (Panicum spp.), indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans),
northern bedstraw (Galium boreale), common goldstar (Hypoxis hirsuta),
mountain deathcamas (Zygadenus elegans), leadplant (Amorpha canescens),
green milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora), coreopsis (Coreopsis spp.),
purple sorrel (Oxalis violacea), phlox (Phlox spp.), and yellow cone
flower (Ratibida pinnata) [2,5,8,]. Species that invade prairie
dropseed areas include Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), smooth brome
(Bromus inermis), and quackgrass (Elytrigia repens) [3].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Prairie dropseed is a climax species that is codominant with little
bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) in some community types of Ohio and
Minnesota [8,20]. It codominates with prairie dropseed, big bluestem
(Andropogon gerardii var. gerardii), and indiangrass on remnant mesic
prairies in Indiana [5].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Prairie dropseed flowers and fruits from August through November
[12,23].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Sporobolus heterolepis
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
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: Sporobolus heterolepis
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Fire top-kills prairie dropseed [1,2,3,7,10,16,17].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Prairie dropseed sprouts and generally increases following fire
[1,2,3,7,10,16,17].
The Research Project Summary, Herbaceous responses to seasonal burning in
experimental tallgrass prairie plots provides information on postfire response
of plant communities including prairie dropseed in experimental prairie plots
that was not available when this species review was originally written.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
In most prescribed burning studies prairie dropseed was shown to
increase in flower production, height, and cover. It has been described
as an increaser following spring or winter fires [17]. Following an
April wildfire in Wisconsin, flower production increased by 25 times,
cover by 30 times, and average plant height by 4 inches (10 cm) [7].
Other studies on the effects of prescribed burning have shown similar
results [3,10]. Prairie dropseed appears to increase when burned during
winter and spring and decrease when burned during summer or fall [2,16].
Annual fires are less beneficial to prairie dropseed than fires
conducted every 2 to 3 years [1].
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
On prairie sites in Iowa, burning in early spring, after vegetation has
dried but while soils are still frozen, has been recommended [10].
Timing of the burn is important; burning too early may expose soils to
late winter storms, while burning too late may damage emerging plants.
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Sporobolus heterolepis
REFERENCES :
1. Abrams, Marc D. 1988. Effects of burning regime on buried seed banks and
canopy coverage in a Kansas tallgrass prairie. Southwestern Naturalist.
33(1): 65-70. [4415]
2. Aldous, A. E. 1934. Effect of burning on Kansas bluestem pastures. Tech.
Bull. 38. Manhattan, KS: Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied
Science, Agricultural Experiment Station. 65 p. [5999]
3. Becker, Donald A. 1989. Five years of annual prairie burns. In: Bragg,
Thomas A.; Stubbendieck, James, eds. Prairie pioneers: ecology, history
and culture: Proceedings, 11th North American prairie conference; 1988
August 7-11; Lincoln, NE. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska: 163-168.
[14037]
4. 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]
5. Betz, Robert F. 1978. The prairies of Indiana. In: Glenn-Lewin, David
C.; Landers, Roger Q., Jr., eds. Proceedings, 5th Midwest prairie
conference; 1976 August 22-24; Ames, IA. Ames, IA: Iowa State
University: 25-31. [3292]
6. Diekelmann, John; Howell, Evelyn A.; Harrington, John. 1986. An approach
to residential landscaping with prairie. In: Clambey, Gary K.; Pemble,
Richard H., eds. The prairie: past, present and future: Proceedings, 9th
North American prairie conference; 1984 July 29 - August 1; Moorhead,
MN. Fargo, ND: Tri-College University Center for Environmental Studies:
242-248. [3587]
7. Dix, Ralph L.; Butler, John E. 1954. The effects of fire on a dry,
thinsoil prairie in Wisconsin. Journal of Range Management. 7: 265-268.
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8. Dziadyk, Bohdan; Clambey, Gary K. 1983. Floristic composition of plant
communities in a western Minnesota tallgrass prairie. In: Kucera, Clair
L., ed. Proceedings, 7th North American prairie conference; 1980 August
4-6; Springfield, MO. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri: 45-54.
[3194]
9. Ehley, Alan M. 1990. Program encourages use of prairie species on
roadsides. Restoration & Management Notes. 8(2): 101-102. [14156]
10. Ehrenreich, John H.; Aikman, John M. 1963. An ecological study of the
effect on certain management practices on native prairie in Iowa.
Ecological Monographs. 33(2): 113-130. [9]
11. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
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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]
14. Gartner, F. R. 1986. The many faces of South Dakota rangelands:
description and classification. In: Clambey, Gary K.; Pemble, Richard
H., eds. The prairie: past, present and future: Proceedings of the ninth
North American prairie conference; 1984 July 29 - August 1; Moorhead,
MN. Fargo, ND: Tri-College University Center for Environmental Studies:
81-85. [3529]
15. Gibson, David J.; Hulbert, Lloyd C. 1987. Effects of fire, topography
and year-to-year climatic variation on species composition in tallgrass
prairie. Vegetatio. 72: 175-185. [3866]
16. Gibson, David J. 1989. Hulbert's study of factors effecting botanical
composition of tallgrass prairie. In: Bragg, Thomas B.; Stubbendieck,
James, eds. Prairie pioneers: ecology, history and culture: Proceedings,
11th North American prairie conference; 1988 August 7-11; Lincoln, NE.
Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska: 115-133. [14029]
17. Glenn-Lewin, David C.; Johnson, Louise A.; Jurik, Thomas W.; [and
others]. 1990. Fire in central North American grasslands: vegetative
reproduction, seed germination, and seedling establishment. In: Collins,
Scott L.; Wallace, Linda L., eds. Fire in North American tallgrass
prairies. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press: 28-45. [14194]
18. Greene, H. C.; Curtis, J. T. 1950. Germination studies of Wisconsin
prairie plants. American Midland Naturalist. 43(1): 186-194. [4086]
19. Harrington, H. D. 1964. Manual of the plants of Colorado. 2d ed.
Chicago: The Swallow Press Inc. 666 p. [6851]
20. Knoop, Jeffrey D. 1986. Floristic and vegetational survey of the W.
Pearl King Praire Grove, a prairie remnant in Madison County, Ohio. In:
Clambey, Gary K.; Pemble, Richard H., eds. The prairie: past, present
and future: Proceedings, 9th North American prairie conference; 1984
July 29 - August 1; Moorhead, MN. Fargo, ND: Tri-College University
Center for Environmental Studies: 44-49. [3513]
21. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
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22. Lyon, L. Jack; Stickney, Peter F. 1976. Early vegetal succession
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[5432]
25. Nuzzo, Victoria. 1978. Propagation and planting of prairie forbs and
grasses in southern Wisconsin. In: Glenn-Lewin, David C.; Landers, Roger
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28. Schramm, Peter. 1978. The "do's and don'ts" of prairie restoration. In:
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State University: 139-150. [3368]
29. Whitford, Walter G.; Dick-Peddie, Scott; Walters, David; Ludwig, John A.
1978. Effects of shrub defoliation on grass cover and rodent species in
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[4403]
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FEIS Home Page
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