Sagebrush Shrubland - Code: Ne2E

An arid to semiarid mosaic of shrubs and grasses, this habitat occurs in the flat basins and plateaus of the intermountain region of w. North America. Mostly present in cold semideserts, sagebrush country experiences hot, dry summers with persistent wind and bitterly cold winters. The majority of the scant (10 in./250mm) annual precipitation falls as snow during the boreal winter. Growth of grasses and forbs is dependent on spring snowmelt. Based on elevation and seasonal timing of precipitation, the structure of sagebrush shrubland varies between steppe dominated by grasses and dense shrublands.
Interior Sagebrush Shrubland communities are typically dominated by a single sagebrush species, often Big Sagebrush (Artemesia tridentata). Rubber rabbitbrush ( Ericameria nauseosa), Antelope Bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) and Winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata) are also commonly present but never dominant. This subtype is typically grassier with large clearings blanketed in Thick-stem wheatgrass (Elymus lanceolatus), Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis) and Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis). The understory also supports a diverse array of forbs that are important forage for herbivores incapable of digesting sagebrush. The associated faunal assemblage depends more on habitat structure than on the species of sagebrush present. While this is typically a short and stunted shrub community (about 3 ft./1m in height), Big Sagebrush is historically capable of reaching heights over 10 ft. (3m), particularly in the eastern part of the range.
In the more arid Great Basin Shrubland, the prevalence of perennial grasses is greatly diminished, and the density of shrub species decreases as well. Big Sagebrush is still a major feature on the landscape but other woody shrubs play an important role as well. Shadscale saltbush (Atriplex confertifolia), Yellow Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus), Blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima), and Greasewood (Sarcobatus spp.) can all be codominant. In these areas, cryptobiotic crust, composed of blue-green algae, fungi, mosses, and lichens, is an important part of the biological community; it stabilizes barren soil, retains moisture, and aids in seed establishment.
Fire is an important driver in the mosaic structure of this habitat, and healthy sagebrush communities have small, infrequent, stand-replacing fires resulting in a patchwork of plant ages and density. Human activities including grazing, fire suppression, and introduction of non-native grasses have changed this regime, resulting in larger, more frequent, and higher-intensity fires.