Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Deschampsia elongata
Introductory
SPECIES: Deschampsia elongata
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Esser, Lora L. 1994. Deschampsia elongata. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/graminoid/deselo/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
DESELO
SYNONYMS :
NO-ENTRY
SCS PLANT CODE :
DEEL
COMMON NAMES :
slender hairgrass
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name of slender hairgrass is
Deschampsia elongata (Hook.) Munro (Poaceae) [11,14,19,25]. There are
no recognized infrataxa.
LIFE FORM :
Graminoid
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Deschampsia elongata
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Slender hairgrass occurs from Alaska south throughout most of the
western United States and Mexico [14,15,16,20,35]. It also occurs in
Argentina and Chile [16,35].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES22 Western white pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES24 Hemlock - Sitka spruce
FRES25 Larch
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES37 Mountain meadows
FRES41 Wet grasslands
FRES42 Annual grasslands
FRES44 Alpine
STATES :
AK AZ CA CO ID MT NV NM OR UT
WA WY AB BC YT MEXICO
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
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
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
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
K007 Red fir forest
K008 Lodgepole pine - subalpine 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
K018 Pine - Douglas-fir forest
K020 Spruce - fir - Douglas-fir forest
K021 Southwestern spruce - fir forest
K022 Great Basin pine forest
K025 Alder - ash forest
K030 California oakwoods
K038 Great Basin sagebrush
K047 Fescue - oatgrass
K048 California steppe
K052 Alpine meadows and barren
SAF COVER TYPES :
205 Mountain hemlock
206 Engelmann 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
221 Red alder
222 Black cottonwood - willow
224 Western hemlock
226 Coastal true fir - hemlock
227 Western redcedar - western hemlock
228 Western redcedar
229 Pacific Douglas-fir
230 Douglas-fir - western hemlock
235 Cottonwood - willow
237 Interior ponderosa pine
243 Sierra Nevada mixed conifer
244 Pacific ponderosa pine - Douglas-fir
245 Pacific ponderosa pine
247 Jeffrey pine
255 California coast live oak
256 California mixed subalpine
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Slender hairgrass occurs in a wide variety of habitats including maple
(Acer spp.), aspen (Populus spp.), fir-spruce (Abies-Picea spp.),
ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), and lodgepole pine (P. contorta). It
also occurs in alpine, subalpine forest, riparian forest, meadow, and
coastal prairie communities [13,17,24,30,35].
Slender hairgrass is an indicator species in lodgepole pine and
Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests of western Oregon [12].
Slender hairgrass occurs in many wetland and riparian habitats. In
Nevada, slender hairgrass is a component of the willow (Salix spp.)-forb
community type of the subalpine zone. In northeastern California,
slender hairgrass occurs in the quaking aspen/skunkcabbage (Populus
tremuloides/Veratrum californicum) habitat type [30]. Slender hairgrass
occurs in the montane black cottonwood (P. trichocarpa) riparian forest
of California. This is a dense, mixed riparian forest dominated by
black cottonwood with emergent Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi) towering up
to 150 feet (45 m) [17].
Slender hairgrass occurs in moist forests. It is a member of the
lodgepole pine/California oatgrass (Danthonia californica) community on
moist sites in Washington and Oregon [5]. In the Cascade Ranges of
southern Oregon, slender hairgrass occurs in the western hemlock/Pacific
rhododendron-twinflower (Tsuga heterophylla/Rhododendron
macrophyllum-Linnaea borealis var. longiflora) association [1]. In
eastern Washington and northern Idaho, slender hairgrass occurs in
western redcedar (Thuja plicata) forests [3]. In larch-fir (Larix-Abies
spp.) forests of Montana, slender hairgrass occurs in two phases: the
subalpine fir/queencup beadlily-rusty menziesia (A.
lasiocarpa/Clintonia uniflora-Menziesia ferruginea) phase and the
subalpine fir/queencup beadlily-beargrass (A. lasiocarpa/C.
uniflora-Xerophyllum tenax) phase [32].
Slender hairgrass also occurs in moderate to dry habitats. In eastern
Washington and northern Idaho, slender hairgrass is a common understory
species in subalpine fir, grand fir (A. grandis), Douglas-fir, and
ponderosa pine forests [3]. In the Santa Lucia and Diablo ranges of
southern California, slender hairgrass can be found in the understory of
sugar pine (P. lambertiana), bristlecone fir (Abies bracteata), and
mixed oak-Coulter pine (Quercus spp.-Pinus coulteri) communities [10].
In the Sierra Nevada, slender hairgrass occurs in Jeffrey pine forests
[31]. Slender hairgrass has been a member of the fescue-oatgrass
(Festuca-Danthonia spp.) coastal prairie community along the coast of
California [13]. Slender hairgrass is a component of the subalpine forb
community in the Bridger-Teton National Forest of Wyoming [9].
Species not previously mentioned but commonly associated with slender
hairgrass include incense-cedar (Libocedrus decurrens), Rocky Mountain
maple (Acer glabrum), Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia), erect willow
(Salix rigida), western chokecherry (Prunus virginiana var. demissa),
Oregon boxwood (Pachistima myrsinites), devil's club (Oplopanax
horridus), ninebark (Physocarpus malvaceus), oceanspray (Holodiscus
discolor), Wood's rose (Rosa woodsii), starry Solomon-seal (Smilacina
stellata), longstalk clover (Trifolium longpipes), salal (Gaultheria
shallon), Oregon-grape (Berberis nervosa), larkspur (Delphinium
nutallianum), western yarrow (Achillea millefolium), sweetscented
bedstraw (Galium triflorum), tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa),
red fescue (Festuca rubra), western needlegrass (Stipa occidentalis),
blue wildrye (Elymus glaucus), prairie Junegrass (Koeleria macrantha),
Columbia brome (Bromus vulgaris), Merten's rush (Juncus mertensianus),
and sedge (Carex spp.) [3,5,17,24,30].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Deschampsia elongata
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Slender hairgrass provides excellent forage in mountain meadows of
Arizona [20].
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Deschampsia elongata
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Slender hairgrass is a native, perennial bunchgrass. Culms are slender,
erect, densely tufted, and usually 12 to 48 inches (30-120 cm) tall
[11,15,25,35]. The leaves have flat or folded blades from 0.04 to 0.06
inch (1-1.5 mm) wide [11,25,35]. The panicle is narrow and from 4 to 12
inches (10-30 cm) tall [11,35].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Hemicryptophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Slender hairgrass reproduces from seed and tillers.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Slender hairgrass occurs in a wide variety of habitats including forest
openings, woodlands, grasslands, meadows, marshes, valley floodplains,
and stream and lake margins [11,16,23,24,35]. It is most commonly found
in moist soil in open to shaded habitats [12,14,16,23]. In Oregon,
slender hairgrass occurs from sea level to alpine zones [16].
Elevational ranges of slender hairgrass in several states are as follows
[1,20,24,25,33,35]:
feet meters
Arizona 4,000-9,000 1,200-2,700
California 0-10,500 0-3,150
Montana 4,900-4,950 1,470-1,485
Nevada 8,050-8,800 2,455-2,685
Utah 6,040-10,360 1,830-3,140
Slender hairgrass grows best on fine-textured sandy or gravelly soils
derived from glacial, volcanic, and sedimentary parent materials
[12,16,30].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Facultative Seral Species
Slender hairgrass is a facultative wetland species [27,28,29].
According to Hickman [14], it survives best in full or partial shade.
However, in Montana, slender hairgrass is more prominent in areas that
have been opened and disturbed by logging than in areas with undisturbed
vegetation [6]. In southwestern Oregon, slender hairgrass is an
indicator species in Douglas-fir forests that have been recently
harvested [8]. In the foothills of the western Cascades, Oregon,
slender hairgrass establishes in the early stages of secondary plant
succession after clearcutting [18].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Slender hairgrass flowers from May to August in California [25].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Deschampsia elongata
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Tussock graminoid
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Deschampsia elongata
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Perennial grasses are generally top-killed by fire so slender hairgrass
is probably top-killed by fire. Its densely tufted growth form may
protect regenerative tissues from fires that are not severe. Specific
fire effects, however, are not described in the literature.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Studies of larch-Douglas-fir forest succession were conducted at Miller
Creek on the Flathead National Forest in Montana. Eight study areas
were clearcut and then slashed to provide a uniform fuel bed. Most
units were broadcast burned within 1 year after timber harvest. Slender
hairgrass was a component of two units: N-7 and S-1. The N-7 unit was
logged in January of 1967, slashed in February of 1967, and
broadcast-burned June 18, 1968. Postfire duff depth was 1.8 inches (4.5
cm), 51 percent of prefire depth. The S-1 unit was logged in June 1967,
slashed in June 1967, and broadcast burned May 18, 1968. Postfire duff
depth was 1.7 inches (4.3 cm), 84 percent of prefire depth. Slender
hairgrass was not in the prefire community and was reported in only 2 of
the 9 postfire years. Cover and volume development of slender hairgrass
were as follows [32]:
Cover development of slender hairgrass (sq m/0.01 ha or %)
succession year
pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
N-7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0
S-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Volume development of slender hairgrass (cubic m/0.01 ha)
succession year
pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
N-7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.5 0.2 0
S-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 0 0
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
The Research Project Summary Vegetation response to restoration treatments
in ponderosa pine-Douglas-fir forests of western Montana provides information
on prescribed fire and postfire response of plant community species, including
slender hairgrass, that was not available when this species review was written.
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Deschampsia elongata
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