Decisions to control big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) on North American rangelands are traditionally based on morphological characteristics (e.g., cover) rather than more ecologically based community successional criteria. Big sagebrush stand age is a critical component for evaluating successional status, but has been difficult to obtain under field conditions. Assessing big sagebrush plant age based on stem diameter would provide resource managers with an efficient field tool to make management decisions based on ecological principles. For each of 3 subspecies of big sagebrush, between 75-80 stem cross-sections were collected within each of 9 stands situated at 3 regionally dispersed locations across Wyoming. Maximum basal stem diameters were measured and plant age determined from annual growth-ring assessments. Regression analysis (95% confidence interval) relating maximum basal stem diameter to plant age produced coefficients of determination ( ssp. t r i d e n t a t a, mountain big sagebrush (A. t r i d e n t a t a subsp. v a s e y a n a [Rydb.] Beetle), and Wyoming big sagebrush (A. t r i d e n t a t a subsp. w y o m i n g e n s i sBeetle and Young) are dominant constituents of many rangeland communities. Intensive livestock grazing during the first half of this century, periodic drought and recent wildfire suppression efforts have allowed big sagebrush to dominate more than 100 million acres of North American rangelands (Miller et al. 1994, Pieper 1994. Decisions to control big sagebrush are generally based on either the subjective condition of "when sagebrush stands are dense and tall" or the more quantitative condition "when sagebrush makes up more than one-half of the total plant cover," (Pechanec et al. 1954).Recently, several rangeland ecologists have advocated the development and implementation of successional models that contain the concepts of multiple stable states, thresholds, and/or transition states, allowing opportunistic management strategies to be utilized in the manipulation of plant communities (Smith 1978, Archer et al. 1988, Westoby et al. 1989, Friedel 1991 ResumenLas decisiones de controlar la artemisa grande (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) en las praderas norte americanos tradicionalmente están basadas en las características morfológicas (e.g., la tapa) más bien que el criterio comunitario sucesivo que es más basada en la ecología. La edad situada de la artemisa grande es un componente crítico para evaluar el estatus sucesivo, pero ha sido difí-cil en obtener bajo de las condiciones del campo. Amillarar la edad de la artemisa grande a base del diámetro del tallo les proveería a los gerentes de recursos con una ventaja eficaz para hacer decisiones basadas en los principales ecológicos. Por cada una de las 3 subespecies de la artemisa grande, fueron coleccionados entre 75-80 tallos cuadriculados dentro de cada de las 9 plataformas situadas en 3 lugares regionalmente dispersados por Wyoming. Los diámetros máximos de los tallos basales fueron medidos y la edad de la plant...
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