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This is a scientific and historical account of the cheatgrass invasion. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is an exotic species that appeared in North America in the late nineteenth century and has since become a dominant plant in the arid and semiarid rangelands between the Sierra Nevada, Cascades, and Rocky Mountains. It is the first grass to appear after the region's long, cold winters and thus has become an important forage plant for livestock and wildlife. Cheatgrass is also a major environmental hazard in the sagebrush plant communities where it has established itself, providing highly combustible fuel for the wildfires that have ravaged so much of the Great Basin since the mid-twentieth century.
This book is the first comprehensive study of this highly invasive plant that has changed the ecology of millions of acres of western rangeland. Authors Young and Clements have researched the biology and impact of cheatgrass for four decades. Their book addresses the subject from several perspectives: the history of the invasion; the origins and biology of cheatgrass; its genetic variations, breeding system, and patterns of distribution; its impact on grazing management; and the role it plays, both positive and negative, in the lives of high desert wildlife.
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James A. Young is a retired senior research scientist who specialized in range ecology with the USDA Agricultural Research Service. He has published widely on both scientific and historical topics, including Cattle in the Cold Desert (with B. Abbott Sparks) and Purshia: The Wild and Bitter Roses (with Charlie D. Clements), and he has received awards for outstanding service from the USDA and the Secretary of Agriculture. He lives in Reno, Nevada. Charlie D. Clements is a rangeland scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service. His many publications include Purshia: The Wild and Bitter Roses (with James A. Young). He lives in Sparks, Nevada.
By: James A Young and Charlie D Clements
352 pages, 42 b/w photographs
This book should be the primary reference regarding cheatgrass. - Lynn F. James, Research Leader, USDA Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory, Logan, Utah "This book should be required reading for anyone working in or studying natural resources in the western U.S." - Kenneth Sanders, Rangeland Ecology and Management, University of Idaho, Moscow "This publication defines the history of cheatgrass in this country and the impact on natural ecosystems from watersheds to native plant communities and wildlife." - Jim Jeffress, retired biologist, Nevada Department of Wildlife and Nevada Board of Wildlife Commission"