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Taxonomy |
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Synonymy:
Agropyron brevifolium Scribn., Agropyron pauciflorum
(Schwein.) Hitchc. ex Silveus, Agropyron tenerum Vasey,
Agropyron teslinense Porsild & Senn, Agropyron
trachycaulum (Link) Malte ex H. F. Lewis, Roegneria pauciflora
(Schwein.) Hyl.,
Roegneria trachycaula (Link) Nevski, Triticum trachycaulum
Link, Agropyron caninum (L.) P. Beauv. subsp. majus (Vasey)
C. L. Hitchc., Agropyron pauciflorum (Schwein.) Hitchc.
ex Silveus subsp. majus (Vasey) Melderis, Agropyron pauciflorum
(Schwein.) Hitchc. ex Silveus subsp. novae-angliae (Scribn.)
Melderis, Agropyron pauciflorum (Schwein.) Hitchc. ex
Silveus subsp. teslinense (Porsild & Senn) Melderis, Agropyron
violaceum (Hornem.) Lange subsp. andinum (Scribn. & J.
G. Sm.) Melderis, Elymus trachycaulus (Link) Gould ex
Shinners subsp. andinus (Scribn. & J. G. Sm.) Á. Löve
& D. Löve, Elymus trachycaulus (Link) Gould ex
Shinners subsp. novae-angliae (Scribn.) Tzvelev, Elymus trachycaulus
(Link) Gould ex Shinners subsp. teslinensis (Porsild & Senn)
A. Löve, Agropyron caninum (L.) P. Beauv. var. andinum
(Scribn. & J. G. Sm.) C. L. Hitchc., Agropyron caninum
(L.) P. Beauv. var. hornemannii (Koch) Pease & Moore, Agropyron
caninum (L.) P. Beauv. var. mitchellii S. L. Welsh, Agropyron
pauciflorum (Schwein.) Hitchc. ex Silveus var. novae-angliae
(Scribn.) Taylor & MacBryde, Agropyron subsecundum
(Link) Hitchc. var. andinum (Scribn. & J. G. Sm.) Hitchc.,
Agropyron trachycaulum (Link) Malte ex H. F. Lewis var.
majus (Vasey) Fernald Agropyron trachycaulum (Link) Malte
ex H. F. Lewis var. novae-angliae (Scribn.) Fernald, Agropyron
violaceum (Hornem.) Lange var. andinum Scribn. & J. G.
Sm., Elymus trachycaulus (Link) Gould ex Shinners var.
andinus (Scribn. & J. G. Sm.) Dorn, Elymus trachycaulus
(Link) Gould ex Shinners var. majus (Vasey) Beetle
Latin name meaning: Elymus from the Greek elumos, an ancient
grain.
Family: Poaceae
Tribe: Triticeae
Common names: Common names of this grass are slender wheatgrass
and slender wildrye.
Similar species: Elymus trachycaulus subsp. subsecundus
(Agropyron subsecundum) is similar to slender wheatgrass,
and is distinguished by long (10-30 mm) lemma awns |
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Key Identification Characteristics |
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Growth form:
Slender wheatgrass has a cespitose growth habit.
Roots: The roots of slender wheatgrass are dense and fibrous.
Leaves: Slender wheatgrass leaves are flat or folded,
slender, elongate. A narrow white band characterizes the leaf
margins.
Stem/sheath: The culm is usually erect, 0.5-1.5 m tall,
slender, green, and glabrous. Sheaths are round and open, sometimes
purplish at the base.
Auricles: The auricles are 0.3-1 mm long, or absent.
Ligule: The ligule is a rounded, ciliate membrane 0.4-0.8
mm in length.
Inflorescence/spikelets/florets: The spike is generally
10-25 cm in length, erect, slender, with one spikelet per node.
The spikelets are well spaced, overlapping one half of the next.
Often the lowest most spikelet does not over lap the one above.
Lemmas and glumes have a short awn. Lemmas are rough-hairy. |
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Ecological & Physiological
Relations |
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Life history:
Slender wheatgrass is a short-lived (5 years) perennial (26).
The grass is a tetraploid (2n=28), self-pollinating, and hybridizes
with other members of the Triticeae tribe (3, 16, 21, 48).
Native/Introduced: This grass is native, with many cultivars
developed.
Photosynthetic pathway: The photosynthetic pathway of
slender wheatgrass is C3 (52).
Phenology: Growth of slender wheatgrass begins in mid-April
to early June. Flower stalks begin to appear in late June, with
flowering occurring shortly thereafter. Seed ripening occurs
throughout the summer, and is followed by dissemination in the
fall and winter (36).
Distribution: Slender wheatgrass is widely distributed
throughout North America, from Greenland to northern Mexico at
elevations from near sea level to 4000 m (52). The grass grows
on moist, well-drained soils of medium texture, and is tolerant
of salinity (8, 19, 42, 44, 52).
Succession: Slender wheatgrass is a pioneer species in
areas such as gravel slopes, abandoned coal mine sites, and in
burned pine forest (4, 17, 20, 43). Percent composition of the
grass in the stand increases from 3 to 8% following clear-cut
logging in Utah. (5)
Indicator value: Slender wheatgrass has great ecotypic
variation allowing it to thrive on many sites (41). However,
it is generally indicative of well-drained soils of medium texture
and moderate salinity (8, 19, 42, 44, 52). Emergence, root yield,
and herbage yield of the grass are reduced 50% relative to control
at electrical conductivities of 12, 12, and 17 mmohs cm-1,respectively,
with not plants growing at 35-40 mmohs cm-1 (31).
Canopy/ground cover, LAI, height: In saline areas, slender
wheatgrass comprises 25% of the canopy cover (11). In fescue
grasslands, slender wheatgrass comprises 11-29% of the canopy
cover (51). Leaf height has been measured at 30-34 cm (47).
Competitive ability as seedlings, in mixes, invasive:
Slender wheatgrass is a poor competitor with weeds because of
its short lifespan (26). Removal of forb competition increases
herbage production (35, 36). The grass is a good competitor with
Bromus inermis (smooth brome) on dry sites (39). |
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Management Considerations |
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Grazing:
In Saskatchewan, slender wheatgrass is a decreaser in the Brown
and Dark Brown soil zones, but an increaser in the Black and
Gray soil zones (1). The grass also increases with cattle grazing
in fescue grasslands in Manitoba and decreases under sheep grazing
in mountainous regions (51, 7). In Utah ungrazed slender wheatgrass
was 9% taller and produced 69% more biomass than similar stands
with 40-60% utilization (12). Average dry matter yield for this
grass is between 1200-2600 kg ha-1 (26, 27, 28). Crude protein
averages 22-25% in the spring, dropping to 10-11 % by fall (23,
27, 50). Phosphorus content ranges from 0.23-0.31% in the spring,
but decreases to 0.14-0.17% by fall (23,27,50). In vitro organic
matter digestibility ranges from 45-64% (26, 27). Acid detergent
fiber increases from 21% early in the growing season to 40% late
in the growing season (50).
Burning: Spring burning is the most damaging to slender
wheatgrass, particularly if burned when plants are growing. (53).
The grass is favored by summer burning, increasing basal cover
by 0.5 cm2 m-2 on burned sites by late summer (38). Fires of
moderate severity tend to increase herbage production of the
grass, with increases of up to 90 kg ha-1 (4). Removal of litter
by burning favors establishment of slender wheatgrass seedlings
(37).
Restoration: Slender wheatgrass is widely used for revegetation.
The grass was one of the first native western grasses cultivated
with many cultivars developed from ecotypes (22). These cultivars
include Primar, Revenue, Mecca, Summit, Highlander, Orbit, Grazier,
Fyra, Pryor, Adanac, and Hillcrest. The grass has been used for
reclamation of oil sands, coal mine spoils, alpine tundra, roadsides,
and saline areas including sodic mine spoils (2, 9, 10, 14, 15,
49). There are 295,055 seeds kg-1 and a seeding rate of 130 pure
live seed m-2 is recommended (10, 46). Seed viability decreases
as the storage time increases (30). Optimum seeding depth is
1.25 cm, with a maximum planting depth of about 6 cm (10, 34).
When used as a dryland forage crop, maximum herbage is produced
with 1 m row spacing (13). Adding nitrogen fertilizer on dryland
stands reduces productivity (13). Seed production, herbage production,
and canopy cover increase under irrigation (13, 15). Slender
wheatgrass is tolerant of flooding, with mature plants withstanding
49-63 days of flooding, seedlings withstand 21-35 days, and seeds
remain viable after 35-56 days of flooding (6, 32, 33). Cultivars
of the grass are well suited to moderately saline areas, and
have shown 100 % seedling establishment (23, 42, 44, 49).
Wildlife: Slender wheatgrass is an important food for
birds, rodents, and ungulates (5, 52, 51). Pocket gopher activity
increases slender wheatgrass herbage production, as the grass
is given a competitive advantage through the rodents' preference
for other plants (18, 29). Earthworm activity increases shoot
and root biomass through nutrient mobilization (45).
Other: Slender wheatgrass is resistant to the Russian wheat aphid.
(24, 25) The grass is susceptible to the fungi Ophiobolus
graminis, Helminthosporium sativum, and Claviceps
sp. (40) |
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References |
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