PLANT MORPHOGENESIS FOR SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT OF RANGE RESOURCES 



75 



most effective techniques for rapid treatment of 

 large areas is that of pulling a heavy anchor 

 chain between crawler tractors to reduce the 

 undesirable brush and trees. Adapted species are 

 then aerially seeded and the area is chained 

 again in the opposite direction to cover the seed 

 and further reduce competition (IfS). 



While anchor chaining has been found es- 

 pecially useful on rough and sloping lands, disk 

 plows and undercutters are widely and effectively 

 used on more level ranges. These methods are 

 followed by drilling the seed of adapted species. 

 Two pieces of rugged equipment in popular use 

 are the brushland plow for eliminating competi- 

 tion and preparing the seedbed, and the range- 

 land drill for planting. This equipment was de- 

 signed after similar pieces used in Australia. 



Controlled burning has been used quite exten- 

 sively in the northern desert shrub type where big 

 sagebrush prevails and where fire will carry. It 

 is also being fairly widely applied in the chap- 

 arral (6, 31). After burning, adapted species are 

 aerially seeded, and techniques similar to those 

 described above are used to cover the seed. Spray- 

 ing with either 2,4-D, 2,4,5,-T, or a mixture of 

 them is done to keep sprouting brush under con- 

 trol. These chemicals have been widely used to 

 control undesirable shrubby plants. They have 

 probably been most widely and successfully 

 applied on big sagebrush, but experimental and 

 pilot spraying programs are underway on sev- 

 eral types of undesirable brush (30, 52). 



Plant Species 



Similar to overlapping occurrence of native 

 shrubs between regional types, there is wide range 

 in the adaption of species which can be utilized 

 for artificially improving shrublands. More than 

 one hundred species, including grasses, forbs, and 

 shrubs, are in some degree of use on wildlands. 

 It is of interest that most of the grasses are 

 exotics, whereas the majority of shrubs are na- 

 tives, and the forbs are about equally divided. I 

 will remark only on the major species and will 

 not allude to strains. 



On ranges being improved for game, effort is 

 made to achieve a reasonable balance of grasses, 

 forbs, and shrubs. At present this is difficult be- 

 cause seed supplies of adapted shrubs and forbs 



are inadequate. However, progress is being made 

 in this area (43, Ifi). 



Planting of forbs and shrubs has been prin- 

 cipally confined to the juniper-pinyon, mountain 

 brush, and northern desert shrub where effort is 

 directed to improvement of game range. Where 

 emphasis is on improvement of range for live- 

 stock, grasses are principally planted. 



Grasses most seeded through the northern 

 desert shrub, juniper-pinyon, and mountain 

 brush are crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cris- 

 tatum [L.] Gaertn.), desert wheatgrass (A. des- 

 ertorum [Fisch] Schult.), intermediate wheat- 

 grass (A. intermedium [Host] Beauv.), pube- 

 scent wheatgrass (A; trichophorum [Link] 

 Richt.), smooth brome (Bromus inermis Leyss.), 

 Russian wildrye (Elymus junceus Fish), and 

 hard fescue (Festuca ovina duriuscula [L.] 

 Koch). These latter two grasses have exhibited 

 greater value than any other for for improving 

 succulence on late fall, winter, and spring ranges. 



Because of its marked adaption to alkaline 

 soils, Russian wildrye has shown unusual adapt- 

 ation to sites throughout the northern desert shrub 

 for growing in association with the existing 

 shrubby cover, such as shadscale saltbush (A. 

 confertifolia [Torr. and Frem.] S. Wats.) and 

 black greasewood. It will do well on areas re- 

 ceiving only 200 mm. precipitation or even where 

 there is somewhat less. Tall wheatgrass (A. elon- 

 gatum Host) has good adaption for planting in 

 the more moist, salt desert shrublands as well as 

 in basic soils of the aforementioned types, but 

 this grass needs a minimum of 300 mm. precipi- 

 tation or the presence of a water table a few 

 feet from the surface (4-5). 



Intermediate and pubescent wheatgrass are also 

 widely used in the chaparral for suppressing re- 

 growth of the sprouting species. In addition, 

 Harding grass (Phalaris tuberosa var. stenoptera 

 [Hack.] Hitchc.) and smilograss (Oryzopsis mi- 

 liacea [L.] Benth. and Hook.) are used. Soft 

 chess (Bromus mollis L.), an annual, is sometimes 

 planted to provide a quick competitive cover while 

 perennials are becoming established (6 1 ). 



In the southern desert shrub, Lehmann love- 

 grass (Eragrostis lehmanniana Nees.) is the most 

 extensively planted grass (9). Boer lovegrass (E. 

 chloromelas Steud.), weeping lovegrass (E. cur- 

 vula [Schrad.] Ness.) (31), sideoats gramma 



