{"id":3577,"date":"2011-11-29T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-29T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/ecological-systems-sagebrush-shrublands\/"},"modified":"2022-05-31T18:05:08","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T18:05:08","slug":"ecological-systems-sagebrush-shrublands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/2011\/11\/29\/ecological-systems-sagebrush-shrublands\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecological Systems: Sagebrush Shrublands"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n<\/span><\/span><\/span>There are two major types of sagebrush ecological systems in Colorado: big sagebrush shrublands and montane sagebrush steppe. These shrublands occur throughout much of the western United States. Although they can be found on Colorado\u2019s east slope, the largest occurrences are on the western slope. North Park, Middle Park, and the upper Gunnison Basin have extensive stands of sagebrush shrublands.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\n     Big sagebrush shrublands in western Colorado<\/span>.<\/div>\n
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Big sagebrush shrublands are typically found in broad basins between mountain ranges, on plains and foothills. Big sagebrush shrublands are characterized by a dense stands of taller sagebrush species with a significant herbaceous understory, and are generally found at elevations from 5,000 to 7,500 feet. Taller shrubs distinguish the big sagebrush shrubland ecological system from the montane sagebrush steppe shrublands, which are dominated by shorter sagebrush species.<\/div>\n
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\nMontane sagebrush, Gunnison County, Colorado.<\/span><\/div>\n

Montane sagebrush steppe primarily occurs on ridges, near flat ridgetops, and mountain slopes. Montane sagebrush stands are usually found at elevations from 7,000 to 10,000 feet, often adjacent to the lower elevation big sagebrush shrublands. <\/p>\n

Sagebrush shrublands provide food and shelter for many small mammal and bird species. The most significant at-risk animal species in Colorado\u2019s sagebrush ecosystem is the Gunnison Sage Grouse, ranked \u201ccritically imperiled\u201d (G1S1) by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, and listed as a Tier 1 Species of Greatest Conservation need by the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Other Tier 1 Species of Greatest Conservation Need that are found exclusively (or almost exclusively) in sagebrush habitats are Greater Sage Grouse, Brewer\u2019s Sparrow and Sage Sparrow. In addition, several of Colorado\u2019s rarest plants are found primarily in sagebrush habitats. These include the federally listed (Endangered) Osterhout\u2019s milkvetch,<\/a> as well as several other globally rare members of the milkvetch family (Gunnison milkvetch, violet milkvetch, and skiff milkvetch). Other rare Colorado plants that are most commonly found in sagebrush habitats are the globally rare narrow-leaf evening primrose, Bessey locoweed, Fremont\u2019s beardtongue, and Harrington\u2019s beardtongue.<\/p>\n

Many of Colorado\u2019s sagebrush shrublands are vulnerable to changes induced by domestic livestock grazing. Over the past century the condition of much of Colorado\u2019s sagebrush shrubland has been degraded due to fire suppression and heavy livestock grazing. Although many livestock operations are now more sensitive in their treatment of sagebrush habitats than they once were, recovery in these systems is slow. Furthermore, many remaining sagebrush patches are now being fragmented by fast-paced and widespread energy development. <\/p>\n

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\nOverall biodiversity, threat, and protection status scores for sagebrush shrubland in Colorado.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\ufeff<\/span><\/div>\n
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\n <\/span><\/span><\/span>A “windrose” graph depicting sagebrush status for individual scoring factors.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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There are two major types of sagebrush ecological systems in Colorado: big sagebrush shrublands and montane sagebrush steppe. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":6522,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,21,3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3577","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-biodiversity-scorecard","8":"category-conservation-planning","9":"category-ecology","10":"entry","11":"override"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}