Species Brief
Artemisia tridentata subsp. wyomingensis, Wyoming big sagebrush
Written
July, 2026
Contributors
Ilana L. Abrahamson - 1st Compiler, Taryn R. Brahmsteadt - 1st Editor
Abrahamson, Ilana L., compiler. 2026. Species Brief: Artemisia tridentata subsp. wyomingensis, Wyoming big sagebrush. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-briefs/arttriw
DOI
10.2737/feis-species-brief-arttriw
Scientific Name
Artemisia tridentata subsp. wyomingensis
Common Names
Wyoming big sagebrush
FEIS Lifeform Type
Shrub
Kingdom
Plantae
Class
Magnoliopsida (Dicot)
Order
Asterales
Family
Asteraceae
Genus
Artemisia
Nativity
Native
Invasiveness
Noninvasive
This Species Brief is a concise summary of the biological, ecological, and fire‑related characteristics of an individual species derived from a Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) Species Review. Table 1 is derived from a standardized template and highlights these characteristics.
| Attribute | Characteristic | Justification | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biological characteristics | |||
| Life form | Shrub | Wyoming big sagebrush is an aromatic, evergreen shrub whose main stem branches at or near ground level. | FEIS: Botanical Description [1] |
| Typical lifespan | 21-50 years | Most Wyoming big sagebrush plants die before they are 50 years old, although some may live >100 years. | FEIS: Age Structure [1] |
| Life cycle | Perennial | Wyoming big sagebrush is a long-lived, evergreen shrub. | FEIS: Botanical Description; Age Structure [1] |
| Drought tolerance | High | Wyoming big sagebrush most commonly occurs at low to midelevations on warm, dry sites. Among the three major big sagebrush subspecies, soil moisture availability tends to be lowest on Wyoming big sagebrush sites, and it is the most drought tolerant of the three. | FEIS: Soil Moisture [1] |
| Rooting depth | Deep* | Wyoming big sagebrush develops a dense root network in upper and lower soil layers, with many laterals and one or more taproots. Some roots reach more than 2.0 m deep, and about 35% of the root system is in the upper 0.3 m. | FEIS: Botanical Description [1] |
| Bark thickness at maturity | N/A | This attribute applies to trees. | FEIS: Botanical Description [1] |
| Sheds low branches | N/A | This attribute applies to trees. | FEIS: Botanical Description [1] |
| Reproduction and Regeneration | |||
| Adventitious buds | None* | Wyoming big sagebrush does not sprout from roots or root crowns after top-kill, and most publications state it does not layer. One thesis describes layering as rare, so vegetative regeneration is essentially absent. | FEIS: Vegetative Regeneration [1] |
| Time to reproductive maturity | 2-5 years; 6-10 years; 11-20 years* | Wyoming big sagebrush can produce seed anywhere from 2 to more than 10 years old, with some plants reproducing at 5 years. The 11-20 year bin captures plants that reproduce after 10 years. On a postfire winter range no plants had matured within 10 years. | FEIS: Seed Production and Predation [1] |
| Soil seed bank longevity | Short-term persistent (1-5 years) | Wyoming big sagebrush has short-term persistent (1-5 years) seed banks. | FEIS: Seed Banking [1] |
| Serotinous cones | N/A | This attribute applies to conifers. The fruit of Wyoming big sagebrush is a one-seeded achene and is dispersed in fall and winter. | FEIS: Botanical Description; Seasonal Development [1] |
| Seed dispersal mechanism | Wind; Water; Animal | Wind, water, and animals disperse big sagebrush seeds. Wind may be the most important, although most long-distance dispersal is attributed to large mammals whose fur catches the mucilaginous seedcoat. | FEIS: Seed Dispersal [1] |
| Seed dispersal distance | Short (mostly under parent plant)* | Most big sagebrush seeds are dispersed within 3 m of parent plants and fall under the crown. Some seeds travel farther, with a maximum wind dispersal of about 30 m and, less commonly, long-distance dispersal by large mammals. | FEIS: Seed Dispersal [1] |
| Optimal conditions for seedling establishment | Bare soil; Sun | Seedling emergence is highest at the soil surface or at very shallow burial depths and where other vegetation cover is low. Fire creates favorable conditions by reducing vegetation cover and increasing sunlight reaching the soil surface. | FEIS: Planting Depth; Plant Response to Fire [1] |
| Successional Status | |||
| Shade tolerance | Shade tolerant*; Moderately shade tolerant | Big sagebrush tolerates shade, but growth is highest in full sun when moisture is plentiful. Wyoming big sagebrush cover declines as overstory cover increases and increases when tree cover is removed. | FEIS: Plant Growth and Mortality; Successional Status [1] |
| Successional status | Late | Wyoming big sagebrush is a late-successional dominant or climax species in sagebrush steppe and shrubland communities, dominating in late-successional stages in the absence of fire or other large-scale disturbances. | FEIS: Successional Status [1] |
| Fire | |||
| Primary fire response(s) or adaptation(s) | Fire Sensitive; Recruit* | Wyoming big sagebrush is poorly adapted to survive fire, is easily killed, and does not sprout. It regenerates after fire from seed in the soil seed bank and from surviving on-site and off-site plants, but postfire seedling establishment rates are typically low. | FEIS: Fire Adaptations; Plant Response to Fire [1] |
| Germination is fire stimulated | Rarely/No | Germination requires saturated surface soil and occurs around snowmelt. Fire kills many seeds in the soil, and the source describes no heat- or smoke-cued germination. | FEIS: Germination; Immediate Effects on Seeds [1] |
| Flowering/fruiting is fire stimulated | Rarely/No | Flowering and fruiting follow normal seasonal phenology from midsummer to late fall and are not described as enhanced by fire. Fire typically kills plants rather than stimulating reproduction. | FEIS: Seasonal Development; Immediate Effects on Plants [1] |
| Season when it is most sensitive to fire | Insufficient information | Wyoming big sagebrush is sensitive to fire, although its sensitivity in different seasons was not explicitly discussed in the source. Where cheatgrass dominates, Wyoming big sagebrush may be most vulnerable once the cheatgrass dries and when native perennials are more susceptible to injury from fire (late spring or early summer). | FEIS: Entire [1]; Fire regimes of Wyoming big sagebrush and basin big sagebrush communities [2] |
| Plant flammability | High | The wood, bark, and foliage of big sagebrush are highly flammable. | FEIS: Immediate Effects on Plants; Fuels [1] |
| Early colonizer/recolonizer of burned or disturbed sites | Rarely/No* | Postfire seedling establishment rates vary but are typically low and recovery is generally slow, with full recovery not occurring within 66 years since fire on average across 112 sites. On a few relatively moist sites, establishment occurred within the first few postfire years and recovery was faster. | FEIS: Postfire Seedling Establishment; Analysis of Postfire Recovery Studies [1] |
| Effect of fire exclusion on population | Increase*; Varies throughout habitat or range | On many sites, big sagebrush dominates in late-successional stages in the absence of fire, but on relatively warm, moist sites long fire-free intervals can allow conifers to expand and convert communities to woodlands, reducing big sagebrush. | FEIS: Successional Status [1] |
| Is this species typically managed with prescribed fire? | Sometimes* | Prescribed fire is not considered effective for maintaining or restoring Wyoming big sagebrush communities and reduces habitat for sagebrush obligates, yet as of 2017 it was still commonly used in some communities. | FEIS: Fire Management Considerations [1] |
| Predominant historical fire frequencies of ecosystem where it most commonly occurs | Mid-frequency; Infrequent | Across the sagebrush biome, historical fire frequency estimates range from decades to centuries. Because Wyoming big sagebrush sites are drier and produce fewer fine fuels, they tended to burn less frequently than mountain big sagebrush sites. | FEIS: Fire Regimes [1,2] |
| Predominant historical fire severity where it most commonly occurs | Replacement | Wildfires in Wyoming big sagebrush communities are often stand replacing because fire easily kills Wyoming big sagebrush. | FEIS: Fire Characteristics; Fire Regimes [1] FEIS: [2] |
| Predominant historical fire regime group where it most commonly occurs | 4 | Wyoming big sagebrush occurs in a variety of plant communities that span fire regime groups. However, communities where it dominates (e.g., Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland and Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Steppe) tend to burn infrequently in stand replacing fires. | LANDFIRE Biophysical Settings section, below |
| Alters historical fuel characteristics of ecosystems where it occurs | Rarely/No | Wyoming big sagebrush is a native dominant in many sagebrush communities; shifts in fuel and fire regimes outside historical variation are attributed to nonnative invasive grasses such as cheatgrass and to conifer expansion, not to the species itself. | FEIS: Fuels; Fire Regimes [1] |
| Biophysical Setting | Mean Fire Interval (years) | Fire Severity Percent (%) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Code | Fire Regime Group | Low | Mixed | Replacement | All | Low | Mixed | Replacement |
| Series 10800 - Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland | ||||||||
| 10800_1_7_8_9 | IV-B | 101 | 101 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| 10800_10_19 | IV-A | 80 | 80 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| 10800_13_14 | IV-B | 111 | 111 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| Series 11230 - Columbia Plateau Steppe and Grassland | ||||||||
| 11230_1_7_8_9 | IV-A | 39 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| Series 11250 - Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Steppe | ||||||||
| 11250_1_7_8_9_10_19 | IV-A | 59 | 59 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| 11250_6_12_13_15_16_17_18_23_24_25_28 | IV-B | 117 | 117 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| 11250_20_29_30_31_33 | IV-A | 92 | 92 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| Series 10190 - Great Basin Pinyon-Juniper Woodland | ||||||||
| 10190_4 | V-A | 814 | 467 | 640 | 203 | 25 | 43 | 32 |
| 10190_6_7_9_12_16_17_18_19 | V-A | 898 | 865 | 440 | 0 | 49 | 51 | |
| 10190_13_14 | III-B | 780 | 337 | 474 | 157 | 20 | 47 | 33 |
| 10190_15 | III-B | 765 | 335 | 475 | 156 | 20 | 47 | 33 |
| Series 10170 - Columbia Plateau Western Juniper Woodland and Savanna | ||||||||
| 10170_6_7_8_9_12_18 | III-B | 272 | 445 | 169 | 0 | 62 | 38 | |
| Series 10620 - Inter-Mountain Basins Curl-leaf Mountain Mahogany Woodland and Shrubland | ||||||||
| 10620_6_12_17_18 | III-A | 238 | 149 | 288 | 69 | 29 | 47 | 24 |
| 10620_7_9 | III-A | 244 | 213 | 243 | 77 | 32 | 36 | 32 |
| 10620_10_19_21_29_31 | III-A | 232 | 151 | 286 | 69 | 30 | 46 | 24 |
| 10620_13 | III-A | 232 | 149 | 287 | 69 | 30 | 46 | 24 |
| 10620_16_23 | III-A | 228 | 137 | 246 | 64 | 28 | 46 | 26 |
| 10620_22_28 | III-A | 78 | 229 | 58 | 0 | 75 | 25 | |
| Series 10803 - Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland - Semi-Desert | ||||||||
| 10803_6_12_15_16_17_18_23_24_25 | IV-B | 151 | 151 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| Series 10804 - Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland - Upland | ||||||||
| 10804_6_12_15_16_17_18_23_24_25 | IV-B | 120 | 120 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| Series 11270 - Inter-Mountain Basins Semi-Desert Shrub-Steppe | ||||||||
| 11270_7_8_9 | V-A | 212 | 212 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| 11270_10_12_13_17_18 | V-A | 225 | 225 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| 11270_14 | V-A | 226 | 226 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| 11270_15 | IV-B | 118 | 118 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| 11270_16_23_24_25 | IV-B | 105 | 105 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| 11270_21 | V-A | 217 | 217 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| 11270_28 | IV-B | 120 | 120 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| Series 11350 - Inter-Mountain Basins Semi-Desert Grassland | ||||||||
| 11350_7_8_9_10_12_17_18 | IV-A | 81 | 81 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| 11350_13_14 | IV-B | 119 | 119 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| Series 10200 - Inter-Mountain Basins Subalpine Limber-Bristlecone Pine Woodland | ||||||||
| 10200_13 | V-A | 540 | 981 | 348 | 64 | 0 | 36 | |
| Series 10860 - Rocky Mountain Lower Montane-Foothill Shrubland | ||||||||
| 10860_13_16_17_18_21_23 | I-C | 28 | 102 | 22 | 0 | 79 | 21 | |
| Series 11020 - Colorado Plateau Pinyon-Juniper Shrubland | ||||||||
| 11020_13_15_16_23_24 | III-A | 127 | 222 | 333 | 65 | 51 | 29 | 20 |
| 11020_28 | III-B | 2125 | 192 | 431 | 125 | 6 | 65 | 29 |
| Series 11070 - Rocky Mountain Gambel Oak-Mixed Montane Shrubland | ||||||||
| 11070_13 | III-A | 52 | 152 | 39 | 0 | 75 | 25 | |
| 11070_17 | III-A | 52 | 153 | 39 | 0 | 75 | 25 | |
| Series 11450 - Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Montane Mesic Meadow | ||||||||
| 11450_13 | II-C | 159 | 40 | 32 | 0 | 20 | 80 | |
| Series 10160 - Colorado Plateau Pinyon-Juniper Woodland | ||||||||
| 10160_15_28 | III-B | 2245 | 194 | 430 | 126 | 6 | 65 | 29 |
| Series 10490 - Rocky Mountain Foothill Limber Pine-Juniper Woodland | ||||||||
| 10490_16_22 | V-A | 216 | 216 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| 10490_19_20_21_23_28_29 | V-A | 385 | 385 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| Series 10540 - Southern Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Woodland | ||||||||
| 10540_17 | I-B | 28 | 39 | 257 | 15 | 55 | 39 | 6 |
| 10540_22 | I-B | 19 | 49 | 165 | 13 | 66 | 26 | 8 |
| Series 10110 - Rocky Mountain Aspen Forest and Woodland | ||||||||
| 10110_20_29 | IV-A | 588 | 121 | 100 | 0 | 17 | 83 | |
| 10110_21 | IV-B | 110 | 110 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| Series 11410 - Northwestern Great Plains Mixedgrass Prairie | ||||||||
| 11410_20 | II-B | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| Series 10802 - Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland - Wyoming Big Sagebrush | ||||||||
| 10802_21_22_28 | IV-A | 98 | 98 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| Series 11150 - Inter-Mountain Basins Juniper Savanna | ||||||||
| 11150_21_22 | III-A | 123 | 212 | 355 | 64 | 52 | 30 | 18 |
| Series 10801 - Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland - Basin Big Sagebrush | ||||||||
| 10801_21_22_28 | IV-A | 72 | 72 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| Series 10810 - Inter-Mountain Basins Mixed Salt Desert Scrub | ||||||||
| 10810_15_16_23_24_28 | V-B | 616 | 616 | 0 | 0 | 100 | ||
| Summary | ||||||||
| Minimum | 19 | 28 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| Maximum | 2245 | 898 | 981 | 616 | 66 | 79 | 100 | |
| Mean | 583 | 226 | 246 | 132 | 11 | 22 | 67 | |
| Median | 238 | 176 | 189 | 103 | 0 | 0 | 100 | |
| Percentage of fires in 3 fire severity classes, derived from LANDFIRE succession modeling. Replacement-severity fires cause >75% kill or top-kill of the upper canopy layer; mixed-severity fires cause 26%-75%; low-severity fires cause <26%. | ||||||||
| LANDFIRE. 2020. Biophysical settings models and descriptions, [Online]. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service; U.S. Department of the Interior; U.S. Geological Survey; Arlington, VA: The Nature Conservancy, (Producers). Available: https://www.landfirereview.org/search.php [96496] | ||||||||
1. Innes, Robin J. 2019. Artemisia tridentata subsp. wyomingensis, Wyoming big sagebrush. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arttriw
2. Innes, Robin J. 2019. Fire regimes of Wyoming big sagebrush and basin big sagebrush communities. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/fire-regimes/wyoming-big-sagebrush-and-basin-big-sagebrush
Last updated August 20, 2026