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ERO Resources <br />The herb layer of the sagebrush-wheatgrass type has a mean cover value of <br />• 6.7X, The two co-dominant grasses in this type are Colorado wildrya and <br />western wheatgrass with mean cover values of 1.1x and 1.9X, respectively. <br />[The cover data for western wheatgrass compares with Dastrup'c (19631 <br />findings that cover for western wheatgrasa has decreased on range depleted <br />by overgrazing from 10 to 2X,) Other species of grass important in the <br />herb layer include cheatgrass - 1.1x, Sandberg bluegrass - 0.4x, galleta - <br />0.3X, needle-and-thread grass - 0.3x, Junegrass - O.lx and Bquirreltail <br />grace - 0.1x, Perennial grasses comprise 82x of the total averaged <br />herbaceous cover. Important forb species present in the sagebrush- <br />wheatgrass type with their respective mean cover values are fleabane - <br />O.SX, globemallow - 0.2X, long-leaf phlox - O.lX and cushion phlox - O.1X <br />(Figure 4, Table 61. <br />Mean shrub cover values are 19.9X for the sagebrush-wheatgrass type. Of <br />the above value big sagebrush, the most important shrub in this type, has <br />a mean cover of 17.3X. Other shrubs of descending iagortance include <br />shadscale - 1%, greasewood - 0.8x, spiny horsebruah (Tetra pia gam) - <br />• 0.1x, big rabbitbrush - <O.1X, little rabbitbrush - <0.1X and Gordon <br />saltbrush - <O.1X, Half-shrubs are less important in terms of mean cover <br />values in this community type. Of this life-form snakeweed is most <br />important with an average cover value of 0.6X, followed by petradoria - <br /><0.1X, winter fat - <O.lx and prickly pear - <O.lx (Table 61. Mean shrub <br />density for the sagebrush-wheatgrasa type is 11,862 shrubs par hectare <br />(Figure 4, Table 1). Big sagebrush has an mean density of 10,776/Fla <br />followed by shadscale - 424/Ha, little rabbitbrush - 96/Ha, big <br />rabbitbrush - 40/Ha and spiny horssbrush - 35/Fla. Half-shrubs include <br />snakeweed with a mean density of 2,562/Ha and petradoria - 111/lia. <br />5nakeweed is considered an indicator of overgrazing (Costello 1944). <br />Greasewood characteristically occurs along superficial fraotures and in <br />places where water is perched. Greasewood is not considered an upland <br />species and its occurrerae in this landscape position is remarkable. <br />Primary production in the sagebrush-wheatgrass stands ie moderate at a <br />mean production of 20.6 g/m2, Grasses account for 70X of the above <br />r 1 <br />U <br />II.F-35 <br />