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Species Review

Elymus trachycaulus, slender wheatgrass

Written
May, 1992
Contributors
Janet Howard - 1st Author

Howard, Janet L. 1992. Elymus trachycaulus, slender wheatgrass. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/elytra

DOI
10.2737/feis-species-review-elytra

AbbreviationCommon NameScientific NameClassificationStatus
Plants
ELYTRAslender wheatgrassElymus trachycaulusLife Form: Plants/Graminoid
Kingdom: Plantae
Class: Monocot
Order: Cyperales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Elymus		Fed. Protected: No
Nativity: Native
Invasiveness: Noninvasive

Three green reproductive spikes of a grass in the foreground. The out-of-focus background shows a road extending into the distance through shrubby, rolling hills below blue skies.
A green bunchgrass growing in brown, dried, cracked soil.

Taxonomy

The currently accepted scientific name of slender wheatgrass is Elymus trachycaulus (Link) Gould ex Shinners in the tribe Triticeae of Poaceae [38,61,65]. There are at least three subspecies and six varieties of this species, which differ in awn length, size and degree of crowding of spikelets, and culm length. Generally, plants at lower elevations are tall and slender, bearing long culms, narrow spikes, and separated spikelets. Plants at higher elevations have short, thick culms, dense, shortened spikes, and crowded spikelets. All possible gradations between these two growth habits are known to occur [55]. Recognized subspecies and varieties are as follows [23,26,29,56,65]:

  • E. t. ssp. latiglumis (Scribn. & J. G. Smith) Barkw. & D. R. Dewey
  • E. t. ssp. trachycaulus Bark. & D. R. Dewey
  • E. t. ssp. subsecundus (Link) Gould
  • E. t. var. andinum (Scribn. & J. G. Smith) Beetle
  • E. t. var. ciliatum (Scribn. & J. G. Smith) Gleason
  • E. t. var. glaucum (Pease & A. H. Moore) Malte
  • E. t. var. majus (Vasey) Fernald
  • E. t. var. novae-angliae (Scribn.) Fernald
  • E. t. var. unilaterale (Vasey) Malle

Extensive hybridization and introgression occur in Triticeae. Slender wheatgrass produces natural hybrids, some of which are unnamed, with the following species [26,35,61,65]:

  • × Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn. (crested wheatgrass)
  • × Elymus canadensis L. (Canada wildrye)
  • × E. elymoides (Rafin) Swezey (bottlebrush squirreltail): E. × saudersii Vasey (Saunders wheatgrass)
  • × E. glaucus Buckley (blue wildrye)
  • × E. lanceolatus (Scribner & J. G. Smith) Gould (thickspike wheatgrass): E. × pseudorepens (Scribn. & J. G. Smith) Bark. & D. R. Dewey (false quackgrass)
  • × E. scribneri (Vasey) M. E. Jones (Scribner wheatgrass): E. × brevifolium (Scribn.) Bark. & D. R. Dewey
  • × Pseudelymus saxicola Bark. & D. R. Dewey (foxtail wheatgrass)

Synonyms

  • Agropyron caninum (L.) Beauv.
  • Agropyron pauciforum (Schwcinitz) A. Hitchc.
  • Agropyron tenerum Vasey
  • Agropyron trachycaulum (Link) Malte ex H. F. Lewis
  • Agropyron subsecundum (Link) A. Hitchc.
  • Agropyron violaceum (Hornem.) Lange

Other Common Names

None

Notes

These Research Project Summaries provide information on postfire response of plant communities including slender wheatgrass, that was not available when this species review was originally written:

  • Seasonal fires in Saskatchewan rough fescue prairie
  • Vegetation recovery following a mixed-severity fire in aspen groves of western Wyoming
  • Herbaceous responses to seasonal burning in experimental tallgrass prairie plots

To find these summaries, search FEIS for this species by entering the species name on the Advanced Search page and selecting “Fire Study” as the publication type.

General Distribution

Slender wheatgrass is widely distributed across North America. Its range extends from Alaska to Newfoundland and south to North Carolina, Kentucky, Arkansas, Texas, and western Mexico [23,33,51].

States and Provinces

  • United States: AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE HI ID IL IN IA KS KY ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY
  • Canada: AB BC LB MB NB NF NT NS ON PE PQ SK YT
  • Mexico

Site Characteristics

Widely distributed, slender wheatgrass has numerous ecotypes that occur in widely differing climates. Slender wheatgrass is found on semiarid ranges, in temperate and boreal forests, and in subalpine, alpine, and subarctic habitats [8,23]. More detailed site characteristics are as follows:

Soil: Slender wheatgrass grows in dry to moist, medium-textured soil. It tolerates silt and clay but does best on sandy loam. This species has a high salt tolerance. Soil pH usually ranges from moderately acid to moderately alkaline, although it has been reported growing in soils with a pH as high as 8.8 [20,23].

Precipitation: Slender wheatgrass requires from 10 to 20 inches (25 - 50 cm) of annual precipitation [20].

Elevation: The following ranges in elevation have been reported for slender wheatgrass in several western states [24,25,38]:

StateElevation (ft)Elevation (m)
Arizona5,000–12,0001,370–3,660
Californiabelow 11,000below 3,330
Colorado4,500–12,0001,370–3,600
Utah4,500–12,2001,370–3,660

Plant Communities

Slender wheatgrass is generally subdominant. When dominant in alpine meadows it indicates overgrazing [62]. Published classifications listing slender wheatgrass as a dominant, codominant, or dominant understory species in community types (cts), habitat types (hts), plant associations (pas), or vegetation types (vts) are as follows:

AreaClassificationAuthority
Utah, central, Wasatch PlateauSubalpine grassland ctsEllison 1954
Idaho, south-central; northeastern UtahSagebrush vtsMickelson & others 1990
Nebraska, northeasternSagebrush–snowberry pasTueller & Eckert 1987
Wisconsin, Florence CountyBracken–grassland vtsVogl 1964
Illinois, Lake CountyPrairie ctsTaft & Solecki 1990
New Mexico, north-centralSagebrush–grassland ctsStahlecker & others 1989
Nevada, centralSubalpine meadow vtsEckert 1975
North Dakota, easternGrassland htsWhitman & Wali 1975

Associated species: Slender wheatgrass associates are too numerous to list due to its wide geographical distribution and occurrence in disparate ecosystems.

Botanical Description

Slender wheatgrass is a perennial, cool-season, short-lived, coarse, tufted bunchgrass. Leaves are from 3 to 13 inches (8-33 cm) long and 0.25 to 0.5 inch (0.6-1.3 cm) wide, with basal leaves longer than upper leaves. The culms are erect, ranging from 6 to 48 inches (8-120 cm) in height, and bear terminal, erect spikes [37,55]. The root system is dense, consisting of coarse and fine fibrous roots which extend beyond 12 inches (30 cm) in depth. One author has reported this species as having short rhizomes [23]. The dense root system makes this species moderately drought tolerant [44].

A green bunchgrass growing in brown, dried, cracked soil.
Photo Credit
Photo by Matt Lavin (CC BY 4.0).

Slender wheatgrass.

Raunkiaer Life Form (Raunkiaer 1934)

  • Chamaephyte

Seasonal Development

Development varies depending upon latitude, elevation, and time of snowmelt. Generally, slender wheatgrass develops as follows [17,20,55]:

StageNorthern rangeSouthern range
Growth startsFollowing snowmeltEarly spring
FlowersJuly–AugustMay–October
Seeds ripeAug–SeptemberJune–November
Seeds disseminatedSeptember–OctoberSeptember–November

Regeneration Processes

Sexual: Slender wheatgrass is a self-pollinated or wind-pollinated species with heavy seed production [5,20,23]. Seed is disseminated by transport on animal hides. The seed, stored in seed banks, remains viable for 3 to 6 years, with a germination capacity of 80 to 90 percent. This species requires 1- to 2-month short night/long day stratification prior to germination. The temperature and light regime required for optimal germination fluctuates from a daily minimum of 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 deg C) for 16 hours without light to a maximum of 77 degrees (25 deg C) for 8 hours with light [20,42]. Slender wheatgrass requires a moderately moist bare mineral or lightly mulched seedbed. It is a good competitor on disturbed sites for the first 2 to 3 years. Seedling establishment is often poor in older communities because seedlings to not grow well in thatch or other heavy litter [40]. Generally, seed dispersal and seedling establishment is the primary method of reproduction in this species [23]. Considerable variation, however, has been noted among northern ecotypes in both seed production and vegetative reproduction.

Three green reproductive spikes of a grass in the foreground. The out-of-focus background shows a road extending into the distance through shrubby, rolling hills below blue skies.
Photo Credit
Photo by Matt Lavin (CC BY 4.0).

Reproductive slender wheatgrass.

Vegetative: Slender wheatgrass reproduces asexually by tillering [23].

Successional Status

Slender wheatgrass is a pioneer in primary and secondary succession. It is among the first grasses to establish in gravelly pockets of soil on talus slopes of the Wasatch Plateau, Utah, and has colonized abandoned coal mine spoils in Alberta, Canada [17,46]. Slender wheatgrass is often dominant in early seral grassland communities due to its high seed production and is also a dominant or codominant understory species in early seral forest and woodland communities [10,23]. Populations decrease in all three community types at later stages. Slender wheatgrass planted with crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum) on a disturbed grassland range in Alberta declined from 69.5 percent of total herbage production in the first year to 2.6 percent after 4 years [23]. Litter buildup in older communities reduces flowering and seedling establishment in this species [41,43]. It is somewhat shade tolerant and persists in the community as a minor plant associate through the climax stage [23].

Immediate Fire Effects

Moderate-severity fire will top-kill slender wheatgrass and kill some tillers [59]. Fire effects upon this species differ according to the growth habit of the variety. Elymus trachycaulus spp. trachycaulus, for example, has moderately to densely clustered long leaves and stems. Studies show that bunchgrasses of this form generate high temperatures at the soil surface because fire burns down into the clump, resulting in tiller and root damage [64]. Tall, decadent plants with many dead basal leaves sustain the most fire damage. E. trachycaulus spp. latiglumis, having a short, sparse growth form, is least likely to sustain damage to the root system during fire [22,64].

Postfire Regeneration Strategy (Stickney 1989)

  • Caudex, growing points in soil
  • Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)
  • Secondary colonizer - off-site seed

Fire Adaptations

Slender wheatgrass is a short-lived species that is favored by summer or fall fires [3,41]. The dense roots survive, and plants establishes from tillers and soil-stored seed in the seed bank.

Plant Response to Fire

Plant response varies with season and fire severity. Slender wheatgrass is most sensitive to spring fire that coincides with its active growing period [27,64]. Three months following spring fire in a bracken fern-grassland community in northeastern Wisconsin, slender wheatgrass frequency was reduced by 19.6 percent [57]. Moderate-severity summer and fall fires usually do not affect the frequency of slender wheatgrass [31]. Postfire recovery of this species is rapid. Biomass production is lowered the first year, but original biomass is equaled or exceeded by postfire year 2. Biomass production is usually highest at postfire year 3. By postfire year 4 production has usually returned to prefire levels. Moderate-severity fire causes the greatest increase in biomass. Variations in biomass production according to fire severity were noted in western Wyoming at postfire year 3 [4]:

TreatmentBiomass production (air-dry kg/ha)
Before burning49
Light burn57
Moderate burn139
Severe burn60

Flower production usually increases following fire, especially on sites already disturbed prior to fire [43].

Fire Regimes

For fire regime information, search FEIS for this species by entering the species name or acronym on the home page and selecting “Fire Regime” as the publication type.

Fire Management Considerations

Frequent spring fire coinciding with the active growing period can be used to control slender wheatgrass [2]. In mixed stands, summer or fall burning favors slender wheatgrass by removing the thatch or litter layer that inhibits seedling establishment [41].

Federal Status

None

Other Status

Elymus t. var. unilaterale is listed as endangered by the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board [52].

Importance to Wildlife and Livestock

Slender wheatgrass is grazed by sage grouse, deer, elk, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, pronghorn, various rodents, and all classes of livestock. The seeds are eaten by various seed predators [15,16,47].

Palatability and Nutritional Value

Slender wheatgrass is among the preferred foods of elk and bighorn sheep [23,50], and is palatable to all classes of livestock [25,47,55]. The palatability of slender wheatgrass in several western states is rated as follows [15,17]:

SpeciesCaliforniaMontanaNorth DakotaUtah
CattleGoodGoodGoodGood
Domestic sheepGoodFairFairGood
HorsesGoodGoodFairGood
Pronghorn———Poor
Elk———Good
Mule deerGood——Fair
Small mammals———Fair
Small nongame birds—Fair—Fair
Upland game birds—Poor—Fair
Waterfowl—Fair—Poor

Slender wheatgrass is rated as good in energy value and poor in protein value [15]. The nutritional composition of flowering slender wheatgrass in the United States is as follows [39]:

NutrientComposition (%)
Ash9.70
Crude fiber36.40
Protein4.90
Calcium0.31
Magnesium0.36
Phosphorus0.08
Sulfur0.12
SpeciesDigestible protein (%)
Cattle2.1
Goats1.1
Horses1.7
Rabbits2.5
Domestic sheep1.6

Cover Value

Slender wheatgrass provides hiding and thermal cover for songbirds, upland game birds, waterfowl, and small mammals. It is used as nesting cover by mallard, Northern pintail, and blue-winged teal ducks [19]. The degree to which it provides environmental protection for wildlife in several western states is rated as follows [15]:

SpeciesMontanaUtahWyoming
Small mammalsFairGood—
Small nongame birdsFair——
Upland game birdsGoodFairGood
WaterfowlGoodPoor—

Value for Rehabilitation or Restoration of Disturbed Sites

Slender wheatgrass is widely used for revegetating disturbed lands. It has been used for rehabilitating mine spoils, oil-drilling sites, livestock ranges, wildlife habitat, and watershed areas [10,12,48]. There are three commercially-available slender cultivars commonly used for rehabilitation: 'Primar', 'Revenue', and 'San Luis'. 'Primar' and 'Revenue' are recommended for use in the Great Plains [14]. 'Revenue' is greatly used for rangeland revegetation. It has high seed and forage yields, and is tolerant of saline and alkaline soils [34]. 'Primar' is also used for rangeland revegetation and has been used in subalpine range improvement. It was successfully established in a severely overgrazed subalpine meadow (elevation: 7,400 ft. (2,256 m)) in central Nevada [16]. 'San Luis' is recommended for use in Colorado, and is noted for good seedling vigor, robustness, tall growth, and long life [34]. Slender wheatgrass will establish in moist or dryland sites. Allison [1] has detailed seeding methods.

Slender wheatgrass is used for rehabilitating alpine meadows and other high elevation habitats [9]. Cultivars are not recommended for this use; seed must be collected from alpine sites in late summer or early fall. Fall plantings yield higher rate of germination at high elevation than do spring plantings. Surface mulching is recommended [8].

Slender wheatgrass has been used in a variety of watershed projects, including reclaiming logged-over watershed areas, improvement of subalpine watershed, and streambank and streambottom improvement [30,48,60]. A watershed rehabilitation project in New Mexico increased available water run-off by 40 percent following seeding with slender wheatgrass and other grasses [13].

Slender wheatgrass is planted using a seed mix selected for the particular rehabilitative purpose. The mix consists of other grasses, and may contain forb seed as well. Possible companion seeds are too numerous to list. A selected few which have been used successfully include western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii), intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium), blue wildrye (Elymus glaucus spp. glaucus), tall oatgrass (Arrhenatherum elatius), and Parry clover (Trifolium parryi). Slender wheatgrass seedlings have also been successfully transplanted onto disturbed sites [11].

Heavy metal and hydrocarbon tolerances: Slender wheatgrass does well in soils containing high levels of boron (10-20 p/m). Some research suggests that this species tolerates heavy and lead bitumen-contaminated soils. It did not establish well, however, on alkaline tailings in Quebec that were contaminated by unidentified heavy metals [23].

Other Uses

Slender wheatgrass is cultivated on haylands of the northern Great Plains [55].

Other Management Considerations

Range: Slender wheatgrass will maintain vigor indefinitely under moderate grazing [47]. It is a decreaser on overgrazed cattle ranges because its short rootstocks cannot withstand heavy grazing as well as species with well-developed rhizomes [25,59]. Ellison [17] reported slender wheatgrass as scarce on overgrazed cattle ranges of the Wasatch Plateau, Utah, but plentiful in areas inaccessible to livestock. Slender wheatgrass has increased on some mountain ranges following heavy use by sheep, however, because sheep will only lightly graze the leaves of coarser ecotypes [7]. Slender wheatgrass cover at five different levels of livestock grazing in Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba was as follows [53]:

Grazing useMean foliage cover (%)
Slight use11.0
Light use8.7
Moderate use16.9
Heavy use28.5
Severe use2.0

Slender wheatgrass populations decrease when livestock are allowed to graze during flowering and seed set [42].

Slender wheatgrass has been used to inhibit the highly unpalatable Rocky Mountain iris (Iris missouriensis) on ranges overtaken by the iris [16].

Table A1— Forest and range ecosystems, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) physiographic regions, Kuchler plant associations, Society for American Foresters (SAF) forest cover types, and Society for Rangeland Management (SRM) rangeland cover types in which this species occurs.

Forest and Range Ecosystems (Garrison et al. 1977)

  • FRES10 White - red - jack pine
  • FRES11 Spruce - fir
  • FRES12 Longleaf - slash pine
  • FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine
  • FRES14 Oak - pine
  • FRES15 Oak - hickory
  • FRES17 Elm - ash - cottonwood
  • FRES18 Maple - beech - birch
  • FRES19 Aspen - birch
  • FRES20 Douglas-fir
  • FRES21 Ponderosa pine
  • FRES22 Western white pine
  • FRES23 Fir - spruce
  • FRES24 Hemlock - Sitka spruce
  • FRES25 Larch
  • FRES26 Lodgepole pine
  • FRES27 Redwood
  • FRES28 Western hardwoods
  • FRES29 Sagebrush
  • FRES30 Desert shrub
  • FRES31 Shinnery
  • FRES32 Texas savanna
  • FRES33 Southwestern shrubsteppe
  • FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
  • FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
  • FRES36 Mountain grasslands
  • FRES37 Mountain meadows
  • FRES38 Plains grasslands
  • FRES39 Prairie
  • FRES40 Desert grasslands
  • FRES41 Wet grasslands
  • FRES42 Annual grasslands
  • FRES44 Alpine

BLM Physiographic Regions (Bernard and Brown 1977)

  • 1 Northern Pacific Border
  • 2 Cascade Mountains
  • 3 Southern Pacific Border
  • 4 Sierra Mountains
  • 5 Columbia Plateau
  • 6 Upper Basin and Range
  • 7 Lower Basin and Range
  • 8 Northern Rocky Mountains
  • 9 Middle Rocky Mountains
  • 10 Wyoming Basin
  • 11 Southern Rocky Mountains
  • 12 Colorado Plateau
  • 13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
  • 14 Great Plains
  • 15 Black Hills Uplift
  • 16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands

Kuchler Plant Associations (Kuchler 1964)

  • K001 Spruce - cedar - hemlock forest
  • K002 Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
  • K003 Silver fir - Douglas-fir forest
  • K004 Fir - hemlock forest
  • K005 Mixed conifer forest
  • K006 Redwood forest
  • K007 Red fir forest
  • K008 Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
  • K009 Pine - cypress forest
  • K010 Ponderosa shrub forest
  • K011 Western ponderosa forest
  • K012 Douglas-fir forest
  • K013 Cedar - hemlock - pine forest
  • K014 Grand fir - Douglas-fir forest
  • K015 Western spruce - fir forest
  • K016 Eastern ponderosa forest
  • K017 Black Hills pine forest
  • K018 Pine - Douglas-fir forest
  • K019 Arizona pine forest
  • K020 Spruce - fir - Douglas-fir forest
  • K021 Southwestern spruce - fir forest
  • K022 Great Basin pine forest
  • K023 Juniper - pinyon woodland
  • K024 Juniper steppe woodland
  • K025 Alder - ash forest
  • K026 Oregon oakwoods
  • K027 Mesquite bosque
  • K028 Mosaic of K002 and K026
  • K029 California mixed evergreen forest
  • K030 California oakwoods
  • K031 Oak - juniper woodlands
  • K032 Transition between K031 and K037
  • K033 Chaparral
  • K034 Montane chaparral
  • K035 Coastal sagebrush
  • K036 Mosaic of K030 and K035
  • K037 Mountain mahogany - oak scrub
  • K038 Great Basin sagebrush
  • K039 Blackbrush
  • K040 Saltbrush - greasewood
  • K041 Creosotebush
  • K042 Creosotebush - bursage
  • K043 Paloverde - cactus shrub
  • K044 Creosotebush - tarbush
  • K045 Ceniza shrub
  • K047 Fescue - oatgrass
  • K048 California steppe
  • K050 Fescue - bluegrass
  • K051 Wheatgrass - bluegrass
  • K052 Alpine meadows and barren
  • K053 Grama - galleta steppe
  • K054 Grama - tobosa prairie
  • K055 Sagebrush steppe
  • K056 Wheatgrass - needlegrass shrubsteppe
  • K057 Galleta - threeawn shrubsteppe
  • K058 Grama - tobosa shrubsteppe
  • K059 Trans-Pecos shrub savanna
  • K060 Mesquite savanna
  • K061 Mesquite - acacia savanna
  • K062 Mesquite - live oak savanna
  • K063 Foothills prairie
  • K064 Grama - needlegrass - wheatgrass
  • K065 Grama - buffalograss
  • K066 Wheatgrass - needlegrass
  • K067 Wheatgrass - bluestem - needlegrass
  • K068 Wheatgrass - grama - buffalograss
  • K069 Bluestem - grama prairie
  • K070 Sandsage - bluestem prairie
  • K071 Shinnery
  • K073 Northern cordgrass prairie
  • K074 Bluestem prairie
  • K075 Nebraska sandhills prairie
  • K076 Blackland prairie
  • K077 Bluestem - sacahuista prairie
  • K078 Southern cordgrass prairie
  • K081 Oak savanna
  • K082 Mosaic of K074 and K100
  • K083 Cedar glades
  • K084 Cross Timbers
  • K085 Mesquite - buffalograss
  • K086 Juniper - oak savanna
  • K087 Mesquite - oak savanna
  • K088 Fayette prairie
  • K089 Black Belt
  • K093 Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
  • K094 Conifer bog
  • K095 Great Lakes pine forest
  • K096 Northeastern spruce - fir forest
  • K097 Southeastern spruce - fir forest
  • K098 Northern floodplain forest
  • K099 Maple - basswood forest
  • K100 Oak - hickory forest
  • K101 Elm - ash forest
  • K102 Beech - maple forest
  • K103 Mixed mesophytic forest
  • K104 Appalachian oak forest
  • K106 Northern hardwoods
  • K107 Northern hardwoods - fir forest
  • K108 Northern hardwoods - spruce forest
  • K109 Transition between K104 and K106
  • K110 Northeastern oak - pine forest
  • K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
  • K112 Southern mixed forest
  • K114 Pocosin

SAF Cover Types (Eyre 1980)

  • 1 Jackpine
  • 5 Balsam fir
  • 12 Black spruce
  • 13 Black spruce - tamarack
  • 15 Red pine
  • 16 Aspen
  • 17 Pin cherry
  • 18 Paper birch
  • 19 Gray birch - red maple
  • 20 White pine - northern red oak - red maple
  • 21 Eastern white pine
  • 22 White pine - hemlock
  • 23 Eastern hemlock
  • 24 Hemlock - yellow birch
  • 25 Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch
  • 26 Sugar maple - basswood
  • 27 Sugar maple
  • 28 Black cherry - maple
  • 30 Red spruce - sugar maple - beech
  • 31 Red spruce - sugar maple - beech
  • 32 Red spruce
  • 33 Red spruce - balsam fir
  • 34 Red spruce - Fraser fir
  • 35 Paper birch - red spruce - balsam fir
  • 37 Northern white cedar
  • 38 Tamarack
  • 39 Black ash - American elm - red maple
  • 40 Post oak - blackjack oak
  • 42 Bur oak
  • 43 Bear oak
  • 44 Chestnut oak
  • 45 Pitch pine
  • 46 Eastern redcedar
  • 50 Black locust
  • 51 White pine - chestnut oak
  • 52 White oak - black oak - northern red oak
  • 53 White oak
  • 55 Northern red oak
  • 57 Yellow poplar
  • 58 Yellow poplar - eastern hemlock
  • 59 Yellow poplar - white oak - northern red oak
  • 60 Beech - sugar maple
  • 62 Silver maple - American elm
  • 63 Cottonwood
  • 64 Sassafras - persimmon
  • 67 Mohrs ("shin") oak
  • 68 Mesquite
  • 70 Longleaf pine
  • 71 Longleaf pine - scrub oak
  • 72 Southern scrub oak
  • 73 Southern redcedar
  • 75 Shortleaf pine
  • 76 Shortleaf pine - oak
  • 79 Virginia pine
  • 80 Loblolly pine - shortleaf pine
  • 81 Loblolly pine
  • 83 Longleaf pine - slash pine
  • 93 Sugarberry - American elm - green ash
  • 94 Sycamore - sweet gum - American elm
  • 95 Black willow
  • 107 White spruce
  • 108 Red maple
  • 109 Hawthorn
  • 110 Black oak
  • 201 White spruce
  • 202 White spruce - paper birch
  • 203 Balsam poplar
  • 204 Black spruce
  • 205 Mountain hemlock
  • 206 Engelman spruce - subalpine fir
  • 207 Red fir
  • 208 Whitebark pine
  • 209 Bristlecone pine
  • 210 Interior Douglas-fir
  • 211 White fir
  • 212 Western larch
  • 213 Grand fir
  • 215 Western white pine
  • 216 Blue spruce
  • 217 Aspen
  • 218 Lodgepole pine
  • 219 Limber pine
  • 220 Rocky Mountain juniper
  • 221 Red alder
  • 222 Black cottonwood - willow
  • 223 Sitka spruce
  • 224 Western hemlock
  • 225 Western hemlock - Sitka spruce
  • 226 Coastal true fir - hemlock
  • 227 Western redcedar - western hemlock
  • 228 Western redcedar
  • 229 Pacific Douglas-fir
  • 230 Douglas-fir western hemlock
  • 231 Port-Orford-cedar
  • 232 Redwood
  • 234 Douglas-fir - tanoak - Pacific madrone
  • 235 Cottonwoood - willow
  • 236 Bur oak
  • 237 Interior ponderosa pine
  • 238 Western juniper
  • 239 Pinyon - juniper
  • 240 Arizona cypress
  • 241 Western live oak
  • 242 Mesquite
  • 243 Sierra Nevada mixed conifer
  • 244 Pacific ponderosa pine - Douglas-fir
  • 245 Pacific ponderosa pine
  • 246 California black oak
  • 247 Jeffrey pine
  • 248 Knobcone pine
  • 249 Canyon live oak
  • 250 Blue oak - gray pine
  • 251 White spruce - aspen
  • 252 Paper birch
  • 253 Black spruce - white spruce
  • 254 Black spruce - paper birch
  • 255 California coast live oak
  • 256 California mixed subalpine

SRM Rangeland Cover Types (Shiflet 1994)

  • No entry

 1. Allison, Chris. 1988. Seeding New Mexico rangeland. Circular 525. Las Cruces, NM: New Mexico State University, College of Agriculture and Home Economics, Cooperative Extension Service. 15 p. [11830]

2. Bailey, Arthur W. 1978. Use of fire to manage grasslands of the Great Plains: Northern Great Plains and adjacent forests. In: Hyder, Donald N., ed. Proceedings, 1st international rangeland congress; 1978 August 14-18; Denver, CO. Denver, CO: Society for Range Management: 691-693. [372]

3. Bailey, Arthur W.; Anderson, Murray L. 1978. Prescribed burning of a Festuca-Stipa grassland. Journal of Range Management. 31: 446-449. [373]

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