Types and Categories of Range Plants

1. Types and Categories of Range Plants Jen Peterson Jen Peterson

2. Growth Forms of Rangeland Plants • 4 major growth forms: • Grasses • Grass-likes • Forbs • Shrubs Jen Peterson

3. Grasses • Most important and abundant kind of range plant • Cover more than 1/5th of the earth’s land surface • Jointed stems • Stems are hollow between the joints (nodes) • Leaves are in 2 rows along the stem • Veins in the leaves are parallel Jen Peterson

4. Grasses • No showy flowers • All grasses are herbaceous (i.e., not woody) • Size = very small to very large • Great morphological variation • Poacea family (the grass family) has 500 genera & 8,000 species K. Launchbaugh

5. Grass-like Plants • Look like grasses but have solid stems without joints • Stems are often triangular • Veins in the leaves are parallel • Includes sedges and rushes www.livinglandscapes.bc.ca

6. Forbs • Herbaceous plants • Broad leaves and showy flowers • Above-ground growth dies back each year • Veins in the leaves are net veins although some forbs have veins that are parallel • Range wildflowers and weeds K. Launchbaugh

7. Shrubs • Woody plants with several main stems • Usually have broad leaves Jen Peterson K. Launchbaugh

8. Shrubs • Efficiently use water - invade into grasslands • Deep roots to tolerate xeric environments • Defenses against grazing: • Chemical • Physical • Large plants Jen Peterson

9. Life Span • Length of time from the beginning of development to death of the plant • Annuals – live for one growing season • Winter annuals • Summer annuals • Biennials – live for two growing seasons • Perennials – live from one year to the next

10. Winter Annuals Summer plant dies Spring Fall germinate produce seed Winter dormant

11. Summer Annuals Summer grow Spring Fall germinate produce seed Winter plant dies

12. Biennials Summer & Fall Winter Spring germinate go dormant produce rosette & developed roots Spring Winter Summer plant dies produce flowering stalk produce seed

13. produce seed 1st Fall 1st Summer build up root reserves flower 1st Winter go dormant 1st Spring Winter go dormant 2nd Spring new plant from root germinate Fall build up root reserves Summer flower produce seed Perennials Cycle continues until plant eventually dies

14. Season of Growth • Cool Season • Make most growth in cool weather of spring and fall • Flower mostly in early summer • Provide spring/fall forage at lower elevations and summer forage at high elevations • Adapted to cool, wet conditions • Most plants in Idaho and northern states

15. Season of Growth • Warm Season • Make most growth in warm summer periods • Flower from mid-summer to early fall • Provide forage in summer months • Adapted to hotter, drier conditions • Some of the warm regions of Idaho have a few warm season plants • Common in southern states

16. Origin • Area where the plant evolved • Native plants – originated in North America • Introduced plants – Intentionally or accidentally brought to North America • Invasive Species (Noxious Weeds) – weeds that have been specifically identified as “noxious” by state law • 64 Noxious weeds in Idaho • 47 Noxious weeds in Nevada • 27 Noxious weeds in Utah

17. Plant Terminology • Native • ? • Introduced • ? • Invasive • ? • Weed • ?

18. Native on Indigenous • Originated where they now occur without the help of humans. • For example, native to North America • Well adapted to the local climate, soils, animals, and microbes. • How long have they been here? Western Yarrow - widely distributed throughout North America

19. Introduced, Exotic or Non-native http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=eDji4I1v4-E#!

20. Introduced, Exotic or Non-native • An organism occurring outside of its natural home range • Other names include alien, foreign, non-indigenous • Introduced by humans

21. Introduced, Exotic or Non-native • Humans introduced non-native plants as: • Grains and food crops • Seeds in Ship Ballast • Ornamentals • Plants for erosion control • Plants with higher forage value • Accidental • Introductions of exotics continues today

22. Invasive Species • An organism that spreads and establishes over large areas and persists • Growth characteristics that allow it to dominate the ecosystem Invasive Species Website = http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/

23. Invasive Species • Often non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem • Not all non-natives are invasive • Whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. Cheatgrass Juniper

24. Characteristics of Invasive Plants • Abundant seed producers • Rapid population establishment • Long-term survival of seeds • Occupy disturbed sites • Competitive • Lack of natural enemies Cheatgrass Juniper

25. Weed • Plant of little value or a plant “out of place” • Competes with crops and native species • Troublesome pest that affects the health an productivity of native landscapes • “a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered”... Ralph Waldo Emerson • “plants that interfere with the growth of desirable plants and that are unusually persistent and pernicious. They negatively impact human activities and as such are undesirable” Ross & Lembi – Applied Weed Science. 1999

26. Impacts of Weeds • Reducing biological diversity • Altering hydrologic conditions • Altering soil characteristics • Altering fire intensity and frequency • Interfering with natural succession • Competing for native pollinators • Replacing complex communities with monocultures • Displacing rare plant species

27. Noxious Weeds • Noxious = plant species that have been designated “noxious” by law. • The word “noxious” simply means deleterious • Weeds are declared noxious by states or counties. • In Idaho, hundreds of weed species exist. However, only 64are designated noxious by Idaho law. www.agri.idaho.gov/Categories/PlantsInsects/NoxiousWeeds/watchlist.phpwww.cals.uidaho.edu/weeds2/IWR/iwr-v6_website/files/Download/BUL816.pdf

28. Plant Terminology • Native • Originated where they now occur without the help of humans • Introduced • Introduced by humans, exotic or not native • Invasive • Growth characteristics that allow it to spread and dominate the ecosystem • Weed • Troublesome pest that affects the health an productivity of native landscapes • Noxious Weeds = designated “noxious” by law