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Table of Contents

• INTRODUCTORY
• DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
• BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• FIRE EFFECTS AND MANAGEMENT
• MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
• APPENDIX: FIRE REGIME TABLE
• REFERENCES

INTRODUCTORY

	AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION FEIS ABBREVIATION COMMON NAMES TAXONOMY SYNONYMS LIFE FORM
Photo courtesy of Robert Soreng, Smithsonian Institution, Department of Systematic Biology-Botany.

AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION:
Innes, Robin J. 2012. Pleuraphis mutica. 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.usda.gov /database/feis/plants/graminoid/plemut/all.html [].

FEIS ABBREVIATION:
PLEMUT

COMMON NAMES:
tobosagrass
tobosa
tobosa grass

TAXONOMY:
The scientific name of tobosagrass is Pleuraphis mutica Buckley (Poaceae) [71,79,81,95].

SYNONYMS:
Hilaria mutica (Buckl.) Benth. [1,6,57,71,78,79,82,95]

LIFE FORM:
Graminoid

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE

• GENERAL DISTRIBUTION
• SITE CHARACTERISTICS AND PLANT COMMUNITIES

Distribution of tobosagrass. Green indicates that tobosagrass is present. Yellow indicates that it is present but rare. Map courtesy of Kartesz, J. T.; The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2011. North American plant atlas, (Online). Chapel Hill, NC: The Biota of North America Program (Producer). Available: http://www.bonap.org/MapSwitchboard.html. (Maps generated from Kartesz, J. T. 2010. Floristic synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP)). (In press).

Tobosagrass is native to the southwestern and south-central United States and northern Mexico. In the Southwest, it occurs in the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts and surrounding areas. In Texas, it occurs most commonly in the Trans-Pecos, High Plains, Rolling Plains, Edwards Plateau, and South Texas Plains ecoregions. It is rare in Oklahoma [6,80]. One publication stated that tobosagrass occurs in southeastern California [110] but this appears to be erroneous, as tobosagrass is not included in California floras.

United States: AZ, NM, OK, TX [80]
Mexico [6,82,95]

SITE CHARACTERISTICS AND PLANT COMMUNITIES:
Site characteristics: Throughout its range, tobosagrass is found on both lowland and upland sites. Most characteristically though, it is found on lowland sites, particularly in soils that have developed from basin fill material. These are "heavy" clay soils which are tight and relatively impervious [120]. Tobosagrass attains its best development in depressions where surface run-off accumulates; in these locations it may occur in almost pure stands forming a dense, coarse sod. On dryer sites it grows in scattered stands of large, individual tufts [23,120,163].

Topography: Tobosagrass occurs on nearly level to steep sites (0-45%) on all aspects [45,47,128,135]. Tobosagrass communities occur in swales, on plains, piedmonts, and mesas, in basins, around playas, and on gentle foothill slopes [6,60,71,82,128].

Elevation: Across its distribution in the United States, tobosagrass occurs from 2,000 to 7,000 feet (600-2,100 m) [7,45,47,51,82,95,128,135,143,155].

Soils: Tobosagrass prefers moist, fine-textured soils [78].

• Texture
• Parent materials and pH
• Moisture
• Depth
• Salinity

Texture: Tobosagrass prefers fine-textured soils, including clays and loams [22,34,47,63,78,128,143,168]. It occasionally grows in soils with shallow sand on their surfaces [22,47,154], but it is intolerant of shifting sand [120]. Soils in some tobosagrass communities, particularly those on steep slopes, may have abundant gravel, stones, or boulders [63,128]. For example, high-elevation stands in the tobosagrass shrub herbaceous alliance in the Sonoran Desert occur on steep (up to 45%), rocky slopes of mountains, hills, and mesas [128].

Tobosagrass characteristically occupies low, swale sites that are often flooded by run-off water from surrounding foothills. These sites typically have clay soils with slow infiltration rates, which results in moisture being maintained high in the rooting zone (i.e., the upper 20 inches (50 cm) of soil) [37,63,82,117,154,156]. On sites less subject to flooding, which typically have a coarser surface texture, tobosagrass may be the most important grass, but a combination of several grass species such as burrograss (Scleropogon brevifolius), alkali sacaton (Sporobolus airoides), and muhly (Muhlenbergia spp.), may make up a greater percentage of the composition [120]. In the Animas Creek Valley, New Mexico, tobosagrass occurred only in soils with a high clay content in the rooting zone; thus, tobosagrass was considered a reliable indicator of clay soils [156]. In contrast, Bestelmeyer and others [10] concluded that geomorphic processes rather than soil texture determined tobosagrass abundance and distribution, noting tobosagrass's abundance along an ecotone at the Corralitos Ranch in Doña Ana County, New Mexico. On one side of the ecotone—the "grass side"—tobosagrass was the dominant grass and its cover averaged 12%. On the "sparse side" of the ecotone, tobosagrass was also the dominant grass but its cover was only 2%. Soils on both sides of the ecotone were sandy loams, but the sparse side occupied a slightly lower landscape position (due to wind erosion from the sparse side to the grass side) on soils with higher surface carbonate and a less developed argillic horizon (due to bioturbation by kangaroo rats) compared with the grass side [10].

Parent materials and pH: Soils in tobosagrass communities may be derived from a variety of parent materials, including gravelly or silty alluvium [45,63,82,128,143], andesite [128], and basalt [128]. Many researchers reported tobosagrass occurring in soils containing large amounts of calcium carbonate or gypsum [22,22,47,63,93,128,174].

Tobosagrass typically occurs on mildly alkaline to strongly alkaline soils (pH range: 7.4-8.8) [37,38,78,128,137,165]. In New Mexico and Arizona, pH values in a tobosagrass community were lower than those in tarbush (Flourensia cernua), creosotebush (Larrea tridentata), or burrograss communities [117].

Moisture: Tobosagrass occurs on dry to moist sites and on soils that are poorly drained to well drained [22,45,154]. Some authors suggested that tobosagrass prefers intermittently flooded areas [24,48,163]. However, tobosagrass may be killed when submersed in water for periods of "longer than a few days" [23] to "several months" [120,163]. At the Jornada Long Term Ecological Research Site in south-central New Mexico, Wondzell and others [178] concluded that tobosagrass was "intolerant of flooding" because of its absence from the lowest portions of playas. Instead, tobosagrass was most abundant in the soils surrounding the playas that absorbed water from sheet flow when the playas flooded [178]. Many authors stated that tobosagrass reaches its best development in swales and depressions that receive run-off water, where water either slowly exits to an arroyo or enters the soil before standing very long (e.g., [25,39,48,128,159]).

Tobosagrass grasslands with scattered mesquite (Prosopis spp.) on the northwest side of Flat Lake, New Mexico, looking east at the San Andres Mountains. Photo taken in February. Photo courtesy of Patrick Alexander.

Tobosagrass abundance is positively related to rainfall [107,159,188]. On the Edwards Plateau region of Texas, tobosagrass's density was positively correlated with rainfall during the previous year (r=0.65) and during the previous 2 years (r=0.61) [159].

Tobosagrass grows quickly with increased moisture during the growing season [154]. At the Mapimi Biosphere Reserve in Durango, Mexico, tobosagrass produced flowers and fruits after 3 inches (75 mm) of water was experimentally applied to vegetation arcs in mid-October during a relatively dry year. Thirty-two days after the simulated rainfall, green biomass production of watered tobosagrass plants was 4.73 g/m²/day, whereas unwatered individuals had produced no green biomass [105]. Tobosagrass extracts a large portion of its moisture from shallow soil horizons through its dense network of shallow roots (see Tillers, rhizomes, and roots).

Although tobosagrass grows best in moist soils, it is drought tolerant [67,101,114,159]. Its growth may be reduced by drought, but it typically returns to predrought levels soon after the drought ends [46,52,67,107,188]. At the Jornada Experimental Range in south-central New Mexico, Moore [107] reported that tobosagrass was not readily killed by a "severe" 3-year drought during the 1910s, but its growth, which varied closely with rainfall, was reduced. In the same area during an "extreme" 5-year drought during the 1950s (when precipitation averaged 55% less than the predrought average) tobosagrass on lowland sites had almost no mortality. The authors concluded that tobosagrass was "little affected" by the drought [67]. A subsequent study of the effects of the 1950s drought on tobosagrass in lowland sites indicated that tobosagrass cover decreased during the drought, but returned to predrought values within 10 years of the end of the drought [188].

Tobosagrass is often cited as being more drought tolerant than many cooccurring grasses [67,159]. Herbel [67] remarked that tobosagrass seemed to have a "much higher" drought resistance than black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda) at the Jornada Experimental Range [67]. Tobosagrass was considered the most drought resistant of several grasses in shortgrass prairie on the Edwards Plateau because its density was the most stable during 16 years, despite less than average rainfall during 9 of those years [159]. In contrast, a flora suggested that during extended drought periods, tobosagrass suffers more than its associates [163]. In a greenhouse study of the water use and productivity of 4 desert grasses (tobosagrass, black grama, bush muhly (Muhlenbergia porteri), and mesa dropseed (Sporobolus flexuosus)), tobosagrass required the most water to produce 1 gram of shoot material. The water required for root production was intermediate among the grasses [36]. For more information on this study, see Seedling establishment and plant growth.

Depth: Soils with tobosagrass may be <1 foot to >5 feet (0.3-1.5 m) deep (e.g., [12,22,45,47,54,128,135,143,173]). Impermeable caliche and argillic horizons are common in areas with tobosagrass (e.g., [47,98]). These layers restrict deep percolation of soil-water and may favor the shallower rooted grasses like tobosagrass (see Tillers, rhizomes, and roots) over more deeply rooted shrubs like creosotebush or mesquite (Prosopis spp.) [98]. Where tobosagrass occurs in Trans-Pecos shrub savanna, soils were usually <2 feet (0.6 m) deep above caliche [47].

Salinity: Tobosagrass tolerates mildly saline soils [22,128].

Climate: Tobosagrass grows in arid and semiarid regions of the Southwest [128]. Within Texas, tobosagrass occurs in the semiarid climate of western Texas, the humid, subtropical climate of central Texas, and areas transitional to these climates [13,115,116]. Tobosagrass occurs in regions of the United States and Mexico with average annual rainfall ranging from <9 inches to >30 inches (230-762 mm) [47,84,92,124,125]. Precipitation may vary widely from year to year and drought is common [51,125]. Precipitation in regions with tobosagrass may be distributed either primarily in winter [135]; biseasonally with about 50% of it falling during the southwestern summer monsoon [92,125,128]; or primarily in summer, with about 75% of the total yearly precipitation falling during the monsoon [92,124,143]. In the Chihuahuan Desert, >50% of precipitation occurs in the summer months [47,92], whereas in the eastern Sonoran Desert, precipitation falls more biseasonally [92]. Annual evaporation may be 2 to 10 times precipitation [47]. Freezing temperatures may occur during winter. The average number of frost-free days ranges from <180 days to >300 days [47,84,157]. Strong winds from February to May may rapidly dry out the soil during a critical period for initiation of plant growth [84,143].

Plant communities: Tobosagrass occurs in southwestern shrub steppe, desert scrub, desert grassland, plains-mesa grassland, and Texas savanna ecosystems and their integrations. Tobosagrass grasslands and grama (Bouteloua spp.)-tobosagrass shrub steppe communities occur within these ecosystems [39,47,51,63]. See the Fire Regime Table for a list of plant communities in which tobosagrass may occur and information on the fire regimes associated with those communities.

Tobosagrass grasslands may occur on fine-textured, alluvial clays in enclosed basins with internal drainage ("tobosagrass swales"), on flats where salt accumulation is minimal ("tobosagrass flats"), or on upland mesas and hills where tobosagrass is typically mixed with other grasses [39,63,158]. Reid and others [128] described tobosagrass swales as shortgrass grasslands [128]. A distinctive feature of swale vegetation is the consistent dominance of tobosagrass [39]. Occasionally alkali sacaton or blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) may be codominant with tobosagrass in swales [39,128,143]. Forbs are sparse. Scattered shrubs and succulents such as honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa), tarbush, and tulip pricklypear (Opuntia phaeacantha) may be present [128]. Swale boundaries tend to be composed of deep sand that has accumulated as water flow slows and spreads as it enters the swale. These sandy borders support stands of soaptree yucca (Yucca elata). At these swale ecotones, tobosagrass may be codominant with soaptree yucca [39].

Tobosagrass flats are variously described as shortgrass or mixed-grass grasslands [128,158]. In these communities, tobosagrass may occur as nearly pure, monospecific stands or codominate with other perennial graminoids such as burrograss, alkali sacaton, buffalograss, vine mesquite (Panicum obtusum), grama, or dropseed (Sporobolus spp.) [51,63,128,158]. For example, tobosagrass-blue grama, tobosagrass-alkali sacaton, and tobosagrass-burrograss communities occurred at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico [109]. Perennial forbs are sparse in tobosagrass flats. Annual herbs are seasonally present and may be abundant in some stands [128]. Shrubs (e.g., honey mesquite, creosotebush) and succulents (e.g., tree cholla (Opuntia imbricata), sacahuista (Nolina microcarpa)) may be scattered in tobosagrass flats (e.g., [13,47,78,109,128,158]).

Tobosagrass grassland communities often border and intergrade with desert shrublands. Tobosagrass is particularly common in desert shrublands with mesquite [13,33,34,89], creosotebush, and tarbush [47,51,54,66,78]. Tobosagrass grasslands in saline-influenced areas grade into alkali sacaton grasslands or saltbush (Atriplex spp.) shrublands [33,34,45,63,78,92,128,143,158]. For example, tobosagrass occurred in the cattle saltbush (Atriplex polycarpa) shrubland alliance in New Mexico [123].

Tobosagrass is a major grass species in grama-tobosagrass prairie [47,87] and grama-tobosagrass shrub steppe [47,88]. Grama-tobosagrass prairie is an open grassland of low growth and scattered succulents dominated by blue grama and tobosagrass [47]. Succulents (e.g., sotol (Dasylirion spp.), beargrass (Nolina spp.), agave (Agave spp.), pricklypear (Opuntia spp.), and hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus spp.)) are well represented and characteristic of grama-tobosagrass prairie, particularly where soils are shallow and rocky.

Black grama and tobosagrass are diagnostic dominants in the grama-tobosagrass shrub steppe, although blue grama is often dominant at high elevations. Shrubs (e.g., mesquite, creosotebush, tarbush, snakeweed (Gutierrezia spp.), acacia (Acacia spp.), allthorn (Koeberlinia spinosa), saltbush (Atriplex spp.), jointfir (Ephedra spp.), and littleleaf sumac (Rhus microphylla)) may share or assume dominance in these communities [51,109,123]. Grama-tobosagrass shrub steppe communities at high elevations in Arizona and New Mexico often adjoin pinyon-juniper (Pinus spp.-Juniperus spp.) woodlands or mountain-mahogany-oak (Cercocarpus spp.-Quercus spp.) shrublands. In the Trans-Pecos region of Texas, high-elevation boundaries are with oak-juniper woodlands. Low-elevation boundaries of grama-tobosagrass shrub steppe are with creosotebush-bursage (Ambrosia spp.) communities in Arizona, creosotebush-tarbush communities in New Mexico, and Trans-Pecos shrub savanna in Texas [51].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

• GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT
• REGENERATION PROCESSES
• SUCCESSIONAL STATUS

GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

• Botanical description
• Raunkiaer life form

Botanical description: This description covers characteristics that may be relevant to fire ecology and is not meant for identification. Keys for identification are available (e.g., [57,82,95,163]).

Form and architecture: Tobosagrass is a warm season, perennial midgrass [27,38,57,57,74,114,146,154,163]. It is a sod-forming grass with a tendency to form bunches (usually 6-12 inches (15-30 cm) in diameter) [30]) with bare spaces between [26]. Some authors described tobosagrass as a bunchgrass [20,48,74] or a tussock grass [12,172]. Plants may be up to 3 feet (0.9 m) tall, but 1 to 2 feet (0.3-0.6 m) tall is more common [6,20,48,57,63,71,74,95,146,154,163]. The base of a tobosagrass plant is thick and hard [57,71,74,154,163].

Leaves and reproductive structures: Leaf blades are up to 6 inches (15 cm) long and are stiff, tough, and smooth [6,48,74,95,154,163]. They occur mainly as a mass of basal leaves, with only a few leaves located along the stem [25,26]. Tobosagrass can produce branches on culms from the previous year [83]. The inflorescence consists of an erect spike 1.5 to 4 inches (4-10 cm) long [57,146,154,163].

Tillers, rhizomes, and roots: Ketchum [83] stated that tobosagrass produces tillers from reduced nodes at the bases of culms [83]. Tobosagrass also produces tillers at the perimeter of the plant base from rhizomes [38]. Tobosagrass rhizomes may be up to 3 inches (7.5 cm) long [83] and are stout, creeping, woody, and scaly [57,71,74,154,163]. A single plant may have up to 40 rhizomes [83]. Because rhizomes have very short internodes, plants have a "tufted" growth habit [124]. Ketchum [83] stated that because buds producing tillers are compressed at the bases of culms, they are protected from grazing, whereas buds producing branches on culms are exposed to grazing [83]. See Ketchum [83] for detailed drawings of tobosagrass tillers, rhizomes, and roots.

Tobosagrass roots are dense, coarse, and fibrous [30,120,163]. Most roots are shallow (<2 feet (0.6 m)), but some may extend to 6 feet (1.8 m) deep [30,54,120,163]. Lateral spread of most roots is <2 feet [30,54]. At the toe of a bajada slope at the Jornada Experimental Range, tobosagrass roots were 16 inches (40 cm) deep and extended horizontally only 16 inches in fine loams where the calcic horizon (the extremely compact B horizon) was about 30 inches (80 cm) deep. The authors suggested that the calcic horizon may have contributed to the relatively shallow penetration of tobosagrass roots at this site and further suggested that tobosagrass at this site may not be able to withstand drought as well as more deeply rooted species. At another site in a tarbush community where run-off water accumulated, tobosagrass roots had well-developed 1st-order branches that penetrated into the calcic horizon to 43 inches (110 cm) deep and spread laterally 24 inches (60 cm). In a tobosagrass-burrograss ephemeral lake basin, most tobosagrass roots extended to 24 inches deep, but sparse roots extended to 55 inches (140 cm) deep [54]. At the Mapimi Biosphere Reserve, 70% of tobosagrass roots on a bajada slope in Chihuahuan Desert scrub occurred between 2 and 12 inches (5-30 cm) deep where clay layers, found below 10 inches (25 cm), did not allow deep percolation of soil water. Characteristics of tobosagrass roots in clay loam soils were as follows [12]:

Tobosagrass root branches are sparse (only 2 to 3 roots/inch) and short (only 1.0 to 1.5 inches (2.5-3.8 cm) long) [30]. Ketchum [83] described tobosagrass root branching as "meager" and primarily in the upper 1 foot (0.3 m) of soil. Campbell [23] stated that tobosagrass roots are inefficient for absorbing moisture from soil, whereas Cottle [30] stated that the high degree of 3rd-order branching indicated that tobosagrass's absorbing system was efficient.

Stand and age class structure: tobosagrass stand structure varies with site characteristics. On bottomland sites, tobosagrass often grows in pure stands, forming a sod [58,125]. In the Chihuahuan Desert, it may occur in monospecific stands that are "hundreds of hectares" in size [63]. Because tobosagrass plants primarily reproduce by rhizomes, Henrickson [63] suggested that a 0.2-mile² (0.5 km²) stand may represent a single clone. On drier sites, tobosagrass typically grows in scattered stands of large, tufted individuals [57,120] with abundant rock and bare ground cover (e.g., [55,78,128]). In shrublands, tobosagrass tends to occur in intershrub spaces rather than under shrubs [4,126]. Thus, as shrub abundance increases, tobosagrass abundance typically decreases (see Successional Status).

Tobosagrass may be highly productive. Biomass of tobosagrass in communities ranged from <2 pounds/acre (2 kg/ha) in a year in moderately grazed Pinchot juniper (Juniperus pinchottii) communities on the Texas Rolling Plains [118] to >3,700 pounds/acre (4,200 kg/ha) in a year in lightly grazed tobosagrass grasslands in the Trans-Pecos [8]. Without periodic removal of dead plant material, such as via burning or grazing, tobosagrass litter may accumulate and decrease biomass production [180]. For more information on tobosagrass production after fire, see Plant response to fire.

The maximum life span of a tobosagrass plant at the Jornada Experimental Range was 7 years; mean life span was 2 years [187].

Raunkiaer [127] life form:
Hemicryptophyte
Geophyte

SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Tobosagrass's growing season depends upon temperature and the timing of precipitation [24,26,154,186]. Tobosagrass plants become dormant when the surface soil layer dries out [31,67] and are dormant in winter [38,113,138]. Growth may occur any time during the frost-free season as long as sufficient moisture is available [23,24]. Generally about 1 inch (25.4 mm) of rain, concentrated within 1 week, is needed to initiate growth of tobosagrass and other desert grasses [26]. In the Chihuahuan Desert in the Trans-Pecos, where most precipitation occurs in summer months, the growing season of tobosagrass began in mid-July and ended in early October [8]. In the Chihuahuan Desert in Durango, Mexico, the growing season started in June and ended in September [124]. At the Jornada Experimental Range, where precipitation occurs during winter storms and summer monsoons, green-up typically occurs biseasonally in early spring and again in mid- to late summer. During the wettest of 6 years, when winter-spring precipitation was 2.9 inches (74 mm), tobosagrass was green and growing in March and April. When winter-spring precipitation was only 1.3 inches (32 mm), "a little green-up" of tobosagrass occurred in mid-March. Following the driest winter and spring, when winter-spring precipitation was only 0.7 inches (19 mm), tobosagrass green-up occurred in March, apparently because the previous fall precipitation was high and temperatures were warm in February [68]. During a year when 10.0 inches (255 mm) of rainfall was received during 17 rainfall events between 11 July and 1 December, tobosagrass plants were actively growing in August. During a year when 11.2 inches (285 mm) of rainfall was received during 24 rainfall events from 6 June to 7 December, plants were actively growing in July. Most tobosagrass tillers senesced in early August because of lack of rainfall, but 1.9 inches (48 mm) of rainfall on 23 August initiated new growth and tobosagrass remained actively growing into October [138]. Another study at the Jornada Experimental Range reported that tobosagrass plants had new growth in July after heavy rainfall in June and that plants did not respond to precipitation after September [38].

According to Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas floras, tobosagrass flowers and sets seed from April to October [57,82,95]. In Durango, Mexico, tobosagrass flowers and fruits towards the last 2 months of the rainy season, which starts in June and ends in September [124].

REGENERATION PROCESSES:

• Pollination and breeding system
• Seed production
• Seed dispersal
• Seed banking
• Germination
• Seedling establishment and plant growth
• Vegetative regeneration

Tobosagrass reproduces by seeds and rhizomes. Seed production and viability are typically low, and seedling survival may also be low [57,114,154]. Generally, vegetative sprouting from rhizomes is the major mode of reproduction in established plants [23,25,57].

Pollination and breeding system: Tobosagrass plants are bisexual. They can produce seeds both by outbreeding and by inbreeding (Watson and Dallwitz 1992 cited in [124]).

Seed production: Floras reported "low" or "poor" seed production in tobosagrass plants [57,154] but did not provide more information. A study of a wild population in a tobosagrass-honey mesquite community on the Rolling Plains reported seed stalk production ranged from 0 to 92 seed stalks/m² 4 months after spring prescribed fires [133]. For more information on this study, see Fire intensity. Mean seed yields of tobosagrass ranged from 7.3 to 11.1 grams/4 foot² in plants that were transplanted to field plots and irrigated [35].

Tobosagrass seed production may depend upon tobosagrass density. At the Mapimi Biological Reserve, where tobosagrass occurs in vegetation arcs, tobosagrass plants at low density in the "colonization zone" of vegetation arcs produced more seeds (35.2 seeds/spike) than plants in dense clumps in the "central zone" of vegetation arcs (28.5 seeds/spike) [172]. For more information on vegetation arcs, see Vegetative regeneration.

Few tobosagrass seeds are viable. Average viability of tobosagrass seeds collected from 8 populations in central and western Texas from May to August was 4.7%. Eighty-five percent of the sterility of tobosagrass seeds was the result of abortion before pollination [20]. Heavy parasitism of the inflorescence by fungi may also contribute to low viability in tobosagrass seeds [114]. Ketchum [83] reported "very few" viable seeds after "many hours" of inspecting tobosagrass spikelets on the Edwards Plateau. Amount and timing of rainfall may also affect seed viability (see Germination).

Seed dispersal: Tobosagrass seeds drop from parent plants at maturity [48,74] and are dispersed by wind and water [23]. Ants [55] and likely other animals disperse tobosagrass seeds.

Seed banking: As of 2012, little information regarding tobosagrass seed banking was available in published literature. A flora stated that tobosagrass seeds are "short-lived" but did not provide additional details [164]. Given its lack of viable seed production, it is unlikely that tobosagrass produces a persistent seed bank.

Germination: Limited evidence suggests that some tobosagrass seeds have a dormant embryo. In a laboratory, 1 of 6 tobosagrass seeds collected on the Edwards Plateau germinated in July. Two of the 5 remaining seeds germinated in a subsequent emergence test in February [83]. Mechanical scarification with sandpaper increased tobosagrass seed germination at the Mapimi Biosphere Reserve. Seeds were collected in September and dry-stored for 8 to 9 months at 39 °F (4 °C). In a growth chamber, scarified seeds had 88% germination, whereas unscarified seeds had 60% germination (P<0.05) [124].

Percent germination of tobosagrass seeds varies. Germination of seeds collected at the Jornada Experimental Range and germinated in a laboratory ranged from 0% to 87% [23]. A flora reported seed germination as 55% but did provide germination conditions [164].

Germination is best under moist, warm conditions, and light does not appear to affect germination [86,147]. Tobosagrass germination in a laboratory germinator was <10% under low moisture conditions and >95% under high moisture conditions [86]. In a light chamber, viable seeds from Las Cruces, New Mexico, had 73% emergence at 102 °F (39 °C) and 24% emergence at 127 °F (53 °C). The difference was not statistically significant [147]. In a growth chamber, scarified seeds had similar germination (70%-80%) under 3 light treatments: white light (simulating open habitat), far-red light (simulating canopy cover), and complete darkness (simulating buried seeds) [124].

The amount of rainfall during the year, especially during the growing season and at the time of harvesting, may affect tobosagrass seed germination rates. Tobosagrass plants in an area of New Mexico that received 18.3 inches (465 mm) of rain annually, 41% of which fell during July, August, and September, was substantially greater (91% germination) than seeds collected from an area of New Mexico which received 14.7 inches (373 mm) of rain annually, 33% of which fell during July, August, and September (34% germination) [77].

Seedling establishment and plant growth: Tobosagrass seedling survival is generally low [114], and few seedlings are found in wild populations [23,38]. Low seedling survival has been attributed to fluctuating climatic conditions during late spring and early summer [23]. A 2-year study in northwestern Texas [38] and a 6-year study on the Edwards Plateau [83] reported no tobosagrass seedlings. At the Mapimi Biological Reserve, no seedlings established during a 2-year study, possibly due to drought during those years [172]. For information on the effects of drought on established plants, see Moisture.

Tobosagrass seedling survival and growth are best under warm, moist conditions. After 156 hours in the laboratory, mean radicle growth of tobosagrass seedlings was 1 inch (2.6 cm) under high moisture conditions, but only <0.04 inch (0.1 cm) under low moisture conditions [86]. Germination may be reduced by high temperatures. When viable seeds were placed 0.7-inch (1.3 cm) deep in soil in a laboratory, mean survival, shoot height, and root length of emerging seedlings 21 days later were significantly higher at a soil temperature of 102 °F (39 °C) than at a soil temperature of 127 °F (53 °C) [147]:

Growth of tobosagrass seedlings may be rapid. In a germination chamber, the primary leaf of tobosagrass plants was 0.6 inches (15 mm) long at 15 days. The 2nd leaf appeared at 18 days and the 3rd leaf at 51 days. At 100 days, the seedling was 4.7 inches (12 cm) tall and consisted of 2 large branches and 3 tillers. Tillering was extensive as the seedling got older, but no rhizomes were produced by the 259th day. Root growth of seedlings may also be rapid. Forty hours after being put in a germination chamber, the length of the primary root of a tobosagrass plant was 0.4 inches (10 mm) and 65 hours later, the primary root was 0.7 inches (17 mm) [83].

Established tobosagrass plants green-up rapidly when water is available and become dry and dormant during drought [30]. After a 5-inch (127 mm) May rain in western Texas, tobosagrass grew "several inches" in a few days [150]. Experimental irrigation of soils with tobosagrass at the Mapimi Biosphere Reserve, indicated that tobosagrass growth is most strongly influenced by water present in the upper 100 inches (40 cm) of soil [105]. Tobosagrass attains best growth in depressions where surface run-off accumulates [82,163]. For more information, see Moisture.

Vegetative regeneration: Tobosagrass reproduces vegetatively through a system of large, well-developed rhizomes connected to a coarse root system [23]. From these rhizomes, tobosagrass produces tillers at the perimeter of the plant base. Thus, plants tend to expand at their periphery. With advancing maturity the centers of plants die, leaving decadent openings [38]. One publication stated that tobosagrass propagates via stolons [30], but this appears to be erroneous.

At the Mapimi Biological Reserve, tobosagrass was dominant in vegetation arcs, which are bands of vegetation separated by bare areas. The bands are oriented perpendicular to the main slope and have upslope and downslope boundaries. The upslope boundary is dominated by herbs and is considered the "colonization zone", while the middle and downslope boundaries have both herbs and shrubs and are considered the "mature" and "senescent" zones. Over time, the vegetation arc is displaced upward in the direction of colonization, as new vegetation growth occurs upward and plants in the downslope boundary die. Because most seed dispersal is downslope (with the flow of water) and seedling survival is low [97,172], most of the upward movement of tobosagrass in vegetation arcs is probably the result of vegetative sprouting.

According to a review, most tobosagrass growth begins from terminal nodes on solid perennial stems, with only a small amount of growth occurring from tillers [114]. Thirty-four years after a drought in shortgrass prairie on the Edwards Plateau, tobosagrass had not yet spread into bare areas created by the drought-caused death of other plants, suggesting that clonal expansion of tobosagrass was either relatively slow even under favorable conditions and/or that tobosagrass was a "poor competitor" for resources with other grasses [101]. Other researchers have also described tobosagrass vegetative spread as relatively slow [23,29]. According to Brown and Coe [20], its vegetative spread is limited to a "few centimeters" each year.

Tobosagrass tillering increases with water availability. In a greenhouse, tobosagrass plants produced short, leafy culms that became better distributed through tillering as moisture increased [36]. Tillering and rhizome production are influenced by disturbances, such as mowing, that remove herbage. See Mowing for more information.

Frequent clipping stimulates vegetative reproduction [26]. Canfield [26] postulated that the removal of old growth stimulated rhizome growth by activating buds that otherwise may have remained dormant, but this stimulus dissipated if plants were clipped too closely. He found that clipping plants weekly to a 4-inch (10 cm) stubble height produced 110% more total herbage than clipping plants to 2 inches (5 cm) [26].

SUCCESSIONAL STATUS:
Tobosagrass and black grama are 2 of the most common grasses in desert grasslands (which are often referred to in the literature as semidesert grasslands) [16,39]. In this ecosystem, tobosagrass is considered a "climax" species of lowland sites with clay soils that receive some surface run-off from upland sites, whereas black grama is considered characteristic of gravelly upland sites [23,39]. On lowland sites with clay soils, tobosagrass often forms dense, almost pure stands. Campbell [23] stated that succession to a tobosagrass swale starts with pioneers such as lichen (Lecidea spp.) and bluegreen algae (Nostoc commune), followed by establishment of alkali sacaton, burrograss, and various forbs such as hog potato (Pomaria jamesii), collegeflower (Hymenopappus flavescens var. canotomentosus), Mexican drymary (Drymaria holosteoides), and pigweed (Amaranthus spp.). Ear muhly (Muhlenbergia arenacea) dominates the community before tobosagrass becomes dominant.

Grazing and drought may shift dominance of plants in tobosagrass swales. In some areas, burrograss and ear muhly, which generally preceded tobosagrass as dominants in swales, increased during drought years when tobosagrass swales did not receive surface run-off. When sufficient moisture returned, tobosagrass typically recovered and regained dominance [23]. Campbell [23] classified the burrograss vegetation type as a seral stage leading to a tobosagrass climax. However, Gibbens and Beck [49], noting that tobosagrass grasslands were relatively stable during a 66-year study at the Jornada Experimental Range despite drought and grazing, concluded that "although this may be the case on a few sites", persistence of burrograss on other sites indicates it is a very stable vegetation type and may occupy a climax position of its own [49].

In heavily grazed desert grasslands, many native grasses have been replaced by introduced annuals. Brown [16] noted that in these areas tobosagrass may be the only native grass still remaining, but the reasons for this were not stated. Other authors reported that tobosagrass had decreased historically due to livestock grazing and fire exclusion, and that vast areas of tobosagrass grasslands were subsequently dominated by creosotebush, tarbush, and honey mesquite [22,54,66]. In western Texas, southern New Mexico, southeastern Arizona, and northern Chihuahua, Herbel [66] considered the creosotebush-tarbush vegetation type to be a "persistent subclimax" of the grama-tobosagrass grassland shrub steppe vegetation type. He concluded that honey mesquite or tarbush typically invaded lowland areas dominated by tobosagrass, while creosotebush invaded drier sites [66]. At the Jornada Experimental Range, tarbush died during drought years and its invasion into tobosagrass grasslands was "set back" [119].

In general, tobosagrass cover decreases as shrub cover increases. At the Jornada Experimental Range, in lowland areas on a desert grassland range, tobosagrass was slowly reduced as tarbush established in mixed-grass and burrograss-tobosagrass communities during 105 years. After tarbush established, mesquite established [22]. At the Mapimi Biosphere Reserve, dense patches of tarbush generally corresponded to low or absent tobosagrass cover [97]. In pinyon-juniper communities in Arizona, tobosagrass production doubled after removal of the overstory via cutting, girdling, and/or herbicide spraying, and livestock exclusion; production was 30 kg/ha before treatment and 62 kg/ha 3 years after treatment [29].

Tobosagrass often occurs in postfire successional communities. See Plant response to fire for more information on this topic.

FIRE EFFECTS AND MANAGEMENT

• FIRE EFFECTS
• FUELS AND FIRE REGIMES
• FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

FIRE EFFECTS:
Literature reviews of fire effects in tobosagrass communities used in this review included these sources: [15,114,162,167,181,183,185].

• Immediate fire effect on plant
• Postfire regeneration strategy
• Fire adaptations and plant response to fire

Immediate fire effect on plant: Tobosagrass is likely to survive most fires and sprout from extensive rhizomes and/or protected buds located at the bases of culms (see Tillers, rhizomes, and roots and Plant response to fire). Rhizomes are short, typically <3 inches (8 cm) long [83]. As of this writing, no published literature reported the depth of tobosagrass rhizomes in the soil. However, even the most severe fires rarely damage plant tissues below 2 inches (10 cm) in the soil [145], so many tobosagrass rhizomes are probably insulated by soil from heat damage and are likely survive most fires. As of this writing (2012), no information was available in the published literature regarding the immediate effects of fire on tobosagrass seeds.

While some observations indicate that tobosagrass may be killed by fire [22], most studies indicate that tobosagrass may be top-killed by fire but is unlikely to be killed. Even high-intensity prescribed fires are unlikely to kill tobosagrass (see Fire intensity) (e.g., [132,133]). After a spring prescribed fire on the Rolling Plains, mean tobosagrass cover was reduced from 74% before the fire to 0% immediately after the fire. By the middle of the 1st growing season, however, tobosagrass cover averaged 16% [115]. In Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, during a year of average precipitation, tobosagrass cover on black grama grasslands was significantly lower 1 month following a patchy July prescribed fire than prior to the fire. However, 1 year after the fire, tobosagrass cover was similar between burned and unburned plots, which were similar to preburn values [151]. At the Jornada Experimental Range, Bill McCall (1963 personal communication cited in [22]) observed that fire killed tobosagrass plants in swales. Another researcher at the Jornada Experimental Range reported that a fire in the early 1940s on tobosagrass range killed tobosagrass plants (K. A. Valentine 1964 personal communication cited in [22]). In 1965, the site remained almost bare and no tobosagrass occurred there [22].

A 675-acre November prescribed fire in a tobosagrass grassland, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico. Photo courtesy of Travis Neppl, National Park Service.

Postfire regeneration strategy [152]:
Surface rhizome and/or a chamaephytic root crown in organic soil or on soil surface
Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
Ground residual colonizer (on site, initial community)
Initial off-site colonizer (off site, initial community)
Secondary colonizer (on- or off-site seed sources)

Fire adaptations and plant response to fire:

• Fire adaptations
• Plant response to fire

Fire adaptations: Tobosagrass is very resistant to fire mortality. It can sprout and grow quickly after top-kill by fire [13]. Tobosagrass seedling establishment is generally low, and no studies reported postfire seedling establishment either from on-site or off-site seed sources. Tobosagrass seeds have the potential for long-distance dispersal by wind, water, or animals after fire, but tobosagrass is unlikely to establish from the soil seed bank after fire.

Plant response to fire: Tobosagrass may increase, decrease, or remain unaffected by fire depending upon soil moisture and plant phenology at the time of the fire, precipitation in the months following the fire, and site characteristics that influence soil moisture availability (see Fire timing) [40,116,180]. In general, tobosagrass is most likely to benefit from fire during a year of average or above average precipitation (a "wet" year) if the fire occurs when the soil is moist and plants are dormant, such as in winter or early spring. Tobosagrass palatability and nutrition may increase following fire, and livestock often prefer to graze on tobosagrass soon after fire (see Postfire palatability and nutrition and Livestock grazing after fire).

Fire timing: Tobosagrass response to fire depends in part on season, due to plant phenology at the time of burning and soil moisture levels that vary with time of year. Tobosagrass plants burned during dormancy may increase more during the 1st postfire growing season than plants burned when green. In tobosagrass-honey mesquite grasslands in Justiceburg, Texas, plots burned under prescription in February had 400 kg/ha greater tobosagrass yield than March-burned plots during the 1st growing season. Plants were dormant at the time of the February fire, whereas in March they were initiating growth. The March burns consumed the new growth; this loss in production, plus the stress of reinitiating growth, probably caused much of the reduced yield [13].

Soil moisture at the time of fire greatly influences tobosagrass production after fire. In a chained honey mesquite-mixed-grass rangeland on the Rolling Plains, tobosagrass production increased 71% the 1st growing season after a March prescribed fire that was conducted when soil moisture was "good", but after a prescribed fire that occurred a month earlier when soil moisture was "low", tobosagrass production did not increase [166]. In northwestern Texas, tobosagrass production (pounds/acre) increased 3-fold the 1st growing season after a late March prescribed fire in chained and unchained tobosagrass-honey mesquite communities compared with unburned and unchained controls. The fire was conducted during a year with a "mild drought", but the site received >3 inches (8 mm) of rain just prior to and immediately following the fire. For more information on this study, see this Research Project Summary [61,62]. In tobosagrass grasslands on a clay bottomland site in south-central New Mexico, tobosagrass production after prescribed fires in June was reduced more and for 1 year longer than production after prescribed fires in July, August, or December (Table 3). The author suggested this was due to lower soil and fuel moistures, higher soil and air temperatures, and lower relative humidity during the June fire than that during the other fires [40].

With sufficient soil moisture, tobosagrass can sprout and grow quickly after top-kill by fire [13]. In western Texas, tobosagrass was top-killed by a "cool" prescribed fire conducted in a tobosagrass-honey mesquite community soon after green-up in April. From the time of the fire until the first substantial rain in May, there was almost no grass cover. After a 5-inch (127 mm) May rain, tobosagrass grew "several inches" in a few days [150]. During a year of above-average rainfall on the Rolling Plains, dormant tobosagrass plants burned by a prescribed headfire in February had new growth about 2 weeks later [13]. Two months after a "hot" March prescribed fire in a tobosagrass-honey mesquite community in Mitchell County, Texas, tobosagrass was ≤1 inch (3 cm) tall; after rains at the end of May, tobosagrass grew to 3 to 5 inches (8-13 cm) tall [151].

Postfire response of tobosagrass is greatly influenced by precipitation during the year of the fire. Several researchers reported increased tobosagrass production after prescribed fires during wet years and reduced tobosagrass production after fires during years of below average precipitation ("dry" years) (e.g., [13,40,62,116,181]). In tobosagrass-mesquite communities in northwestern Texas where mesquite had been variously treated with herbicides and/or masticated, tobosagrass production was 2- to 3-fold higher (approximately 2,000-3,500 pounds/acre) on burned areas the 1st growing season following prescribed fire than on unburned controls. Fires were conducted when plants were dormant, in either early spring or late winter during wet years. Production subsequently decreased until it was similar to that in unburned areas during approximately the 5th postfire year. Average annual precipitation in the study areas was approximately 19 inches (48 cm) [15,62,116,140,141,180,181]. In tobosagrass grasslands on a clay bottomland site in south-central New Mexico, tobosagrass production did not increase the 1st year after prescribed fire regardless of fire timing, probably due to below-average precipitation that year. Plots were burned either in June, July, August, or December. During the 1st postfire growing season (2-10 months after fire), precipitation was 26% below average and all burned plots had significantly less herb production than control plots. During postfire years 1 to 4 (14-58 months after fire), when precipitation ranged from 30% below average to 10% above average, herbaceous abundance on most burned plots were similar to unburned controls (Table 3) [40]. In tobosagrass grasslands in Texas, recovery of total yield (live plus dead materials) was slower following high-intensity summer fires than after either high-intensity or low-intensity winter fires. However, total yield never exceeded the unburned control in any fire treatment up to 5 years after fire. The authors attributed this relatively poor postfire productivity in part to a severe drought during the 2nd postfire year. For more information, see this Research Paper [5].

Tobosagrass production may have increased on burned areas following fire in years with above average precipitation because high soil temperatures (due to litter removal and/or heat absorption by black ash) accelerated bacterial activity on burned areas and thus increased nitrate production. During dry years and years when rainfall is delayed until fall, soil moisture, rather than soil temperature and nitrate production, appeared to limit tobosagrass production. Ash appeared to have little if any fertilizing effects [140,141,167,183], and most ash was gone within 3 months after fire [116].

Because of its influence on soil moisture, topography may influence postfire response of tobosagrass, with bottomland sites having greater tobosagrass production after fire than upland sites. During a wet year in a lightly grazed tobosagrass grassland with honey mesquite in west-central Texas, tobosagrass production on bottomland sites the 1st postfire growing season (1,646 kg/ha) was greater than that on upland sites (1,005 kg/ha). Mid-slopes had intermediate tobosagrass production (1,596 kg/ha). However, the average yield of tobosagrass increased after fire compared to prefire levels by a greater percentage on upland sites (232%) than on bottomland sites (104%). Tobosagrass production on upland sites was similar to unburned controls in 3 growing seasons, whereas bottomland sites had increased production for a longer period following fire. This was likely because bottomland sites were moist due to the accumulation of surface run-off. During a "dry" year, tobosagrass production during the 1st postfire growing season on bottomland sites (697 kg/ha) was still greater than that on upland sites (190 kg/ha) but much less than during the wet year. As in the wet year, mid-slopes had intermediate tobosagrass production (230 kg/ha) [116].

Fire frequency: Too frequent burning in tobosagrass grasslands may deplete soil nitrogen reserves and reduce plant growth. Observations in tobosagrass communities in Texas suggested that areas that were burned once produced more herbage than areas reburned within 2 or 3 years; thus, burning at <3-year intervals may reduce tobosagrass productivity [142]. Based on the amount of time it took for litter nitrogen in tobosagrass grasslands to recover to prefire levels, a study of 5 prescribed fires on the Rolling Plains concluded that tobosagrass should not be burned more frequently than every 5 to 8 years, depending upon topography. Convex (upland) sites were dryer and required an estimated 8 years to reach prefire litter nitrogen levels, whereas moister concave (bottomland) sites reached prefire litter nitrogen levels 5 years after the fires [142].

Fire intensity: Tobosagrass production appears unaffected by fireline intensity [133]. In a tobosagrass-honey mesquite community on the Rolling Plains, tobosagrass height, seed production, and yield 4 months after spring prescribed fires were not related to fireline intensity, nor did they differ between headfires and backfires. The fires burned 82% of the study areas, on average [132,133]. In tobosagrass grasslands in Texas, tobosagrass total yield and live yield were similar following low-intensity and high-intensity winter prescribed headfires. The low-intensity fire had a fireline intensity of 483 kW/m, while the high-intensity fire had a fireline intensity of 1,437 kW/m [5]. For more information, see the Research Paper by Ansley and others [5].

Postfire palatability and nutrition: Burning tobosagrass may increase its palatability and nutritive quality by reducing litter and stimulating green and succulent new growth [149]. New growth may have higher protein content than unburned plants for a few months after fire ([40,148,149], Huston and Uekert 1980 cited in [75]). On tobosagrass grasslands in the Chihuahuan Desert, crude protein content increased to 10.2% 14 months after a winter prescribed fire and to 8.6% 10 months after a summer prescribed fire compared to unburned control levels, although biomass was only 180 pounds/acre on the winter-burned areas and only 300 pounds/acre on the summer-burned areas compared with 2,850 pounds/acre prior to the fires. Digestibility increased to 63.8% on the winter-burned area and to 60.7% on the summer-burned area compared to 51.4% on unburned controls [148,149]. In contrast, in Justiceburg, Texas, crude protein concentrations were similar on burned and unburned tobosagrass-honey mesquite grasslands [13].

Postfire increases in tobosagrass palatability and nutritive quality may be short lived, sometimes lasting less than 1 growing season. On the southern Rolling Plains, digestible organic matter (burned sites: 62.1%, unburned controls: 57.1%) of tobosagrass in domestic sheep diets on mesquite-tobosagrass rangelands were higher the spring following a March prescribed fire than on control sites. By mid-June, however, tobosagrass had matured and digestible organic matter was similar on burned and control sites (Huston and Uekert 1980 cited in [75]). Wright [181] recommended grazing tobosagrass immediately after spring burning because, at that time, it is young and tender. If it is ungrazed for 3 to 4 months after fire, cattle will eat very little of it. See Livestock grazing after fire and Importance to Wildlife and Livestock for more information.

FUELS AND FIRE REGIMES:

• Fuels
• Fire regimes

Fuels: Tobosagrass may accumulate a large amount of litter that decays slowly [106,138], which provides "excellent fuel for fires" [40]. Fire consumes tobosagrass litter, which is replaced by new growth. The previous year's new growth becomes litter and standing dead material for the current growing season [116]. Culms produced following fire stand erect for several years before they die, break off, and contribute to the litter layer. During the 1st postfire year, litter consists mostly of dead leaf blades, but by the end of the 4th or 5th growing season after fire tobosagrass litter typically consists of large amounts of standing dead material and litter from stems that have died and fallen [142]. Litter build-up is typically "very fast" during the first 3 growing seasons after fire and then slows. It may take >4 years for tobosagrass litter cover on burned areas to approach that on unburned controls [181]. In a lightly grazed tobosagrass grassland with honey mesquite (a "tobosagrass flat") in west-central Texas, tobosagrass standing litter accumulation was most rapid the 1st and 2nd growing seasons after prescribed fires and then declined. Rate of standing litter accumulation was influenced by topography: litter accumulation was faster on concave (bottomland) sites than convex (upland) sites [116].

When found in pure stands, tobosagrass may accumulate large amounts of litter, up to 7,000 pounds/acre of total fuels (live, standing dead, and litter) in a year [15,186], which carries fire easily. According to Stinson and Wright [153] the compact growth form of tobosagrass "usually ensures a complete burn". A spring prescribed fire in tobosagrass grasslands in Colorado City, Texas, consumed "virtually all" of the 5,451 kg/ha of litter present; an April prescribed fire in Post, Texas, consumed 97% of the 6,800 kg/ha of litter present [141]. However, in some tobosagrass communities, tobosagrass may be sparse, and rock and bare ground cover may be high (see Stand and age class structure). In these communities, fire may be "patchy" or "spotty" [15,56,62,132,133]. For example, near Guthrie, Texas, a March prescribed fire in a tobosagrass community was "spotty" and the fire required frequent relighting due to the abundant bare ground and rock at the site, which served as natural fire breaks [56].

Tobosagrass burns "hot" when in pure stands, reaching temperatures up to 1,260 °F (682 °C) with temperatures >150 °F (66 °C) lasting for more than 8 minutes. At 6 sites in the southern mixed prairie of Texas, where total fuels in tobosagrass grasslands ranged from 3,758 to 7,025 pounds/acre, average maximum temperatures reached during late March headfires ranged from 593 to 984 °F (312-529 °C) and were sustained from 2.0 to 5.4 minutes on average [153]. In honey mesquite/mixed-grass savanna on the northern Rolling Plains, a prescribed headfire was conducted in early March when tobosagrass production was 4,968 kg/ha and its fuel moisture was 12.9%. Fuel loads, composed mostly of tobosagrass, were "moderate" and the fire was of high intensity: flame length was >20 feet (6 m) and fireline intensity was >15,000 kW/m, driven by high winds (16 miles/hr (26 km/hr), high atmospheric temperature (85 °F (29 °C)), and low relative humidity (11%) [4]. In north-central Texas, prescribed headfires were used to reduce honey mesquite cover in tobosagrass-buffalograss grasslands. In these grasslands, fine fuels were nearly continuous and bare ground cover was <10%. Fine fuels (litter plus standing crop of herbaceous plants) ranged from 2,484 to 3,803 kg/ha in all plots. Prescribed fire was applied to plots either in winter or in late summer. Fireline intensity in winter-burned plots was 402 kW/m and in summer-burned plots ranged from 981 to 3,723 kW/m [3].

The amount of fine fuels in tobosagrass communities affects maximum temperatures reached during fire. Using prescribed fire in an herbicide-sprayed tobosagrass-honey mesquite community, Wright and others [186] found that the greater the fuel load the longer the duration of elevated temperatures.

Total fuel load and total fuel moisture content best determined the success of 29 spring prescribed headfires in tobosagrass stands in northwestern Texas (as measured by fire spread and accomplishment of burning objectives). Success of 16 backfires was best determined by total fuel load, wind speed, and relative humidity. Fireline intensity of the 45 headfires and backfires ranged from 46 to 5,504 btu/ft/s [28]. In the spring, a minimum total fuel load of 2,791 kg/ha was necessary for successful fire spread on level plots. Maximum total fuel moisture in a successful fire was 57%. Successful fires spread at 0.02 to 2.06 miles (0.03-3.32 km)/hour [27].

Fire regimes: Tobosagrass occurs in a variety of plant communities in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and Oklahoma. It is most common in desert grasslands, southwestern shrub steppe, and shortgrass and mixed-grass prairies that have predominantly replacement fire regimes with mean fire-return intervals ranging from <10 years to >80 years. Tobosagrass is also abundant in mesquite savannas, where surface fires predominated historically at about 6-year intervals. See the Fire Regime Table for further information on fire regimes of vegetation communities in which tobosagrass may occur. Find further 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".

Humphrey [73] stated that historical records indicating the occurrence of fires in the Sonoran or Chihuahuan deserts are rare. He suggested that vegetation was too sparse to carry fire in most areas, with the exception of tobosagrass swales. He hypothesized that fires must at one time have been the primary factor that maintained tobosagrass swales as pure grasslands rather than as grasslands with shrubs. He noted that although tobosagrass grows on both upland and lowland sites, only in tobosagrass swales is the growth dense enough to carry fire. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the vegetation composition of many tobosagrass swales and tobosagrass flats changed from pure grasses to a grass-shrub mixture. By 1963, fire in tobosagrass swales was "largely nonexistent" and mesquite and acacia were establishing within them. Because of the small areas of tobosagrass swales and their juxtaposition with "nonflammable vegetation types", Humphrey concluded that tobosagrass swales must have burned less frequently historically than more extensive grasslands. As of this writing (2012), no wildfires were reported in tobosagrass communities in published literature.

FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
Prescribed fire is commonly used in tobosagrass grasslands with one or more of the following objectives: 1) removing accumulated litter; 2) increasing tobosagrass and other grass production; 3) increasing accessibility and palatability of tobosagrass and other grasses for livestock and wildlife; 4) reducing shrub, succulent, and tree (especially honey mesquite) cover; and 5) reducing "undesirable", cool-season herbaceous annuals, particularly prairie broomweed (Xanthocephalum dracunculoides) [167,181,182,183,184].

Whether prescribed fire is beneficial to tobosagrass depends predominantly upon precipitation during the year of the fire, and soil moisture and plant phenology at the time of the fire (see Plant response to fire). Although wildfires generally occurred historically during the growing season during dry years [182], Wright [181,182] recommended burning tobosagrass communities in spring, when plants are dormant and the soil is wet, but only during years with adequate precipitation. Fires during dry years may be harmful to tobosagrass because they magnify drought stress on plants, whereas fires during wet years are generally beneficial (see Fire timing) [182]. Based on data from late winter and spring prescribed fires in Texas, he concluded that tobosagrass could be burned throughout the year without reducing the following year's production; only the current season's production would be reduced if a site was burned between 10 April and 15 November [181]. However, one study in Texas suggested that tobosagrass production may be greater the 1st growing season after winter prescribed fire than the 1st growing season after summer prescribed fire. During the 1st postfire growing season in a mesquite community in Foard County, Texas, tobosagrass production on sites burned in winter was about 1,000 pounds/acre greater than that on sites burned the previous September [162]. Based on observations made during a series of prescribed fires in north-central Texas, Neuenschwander and others [116] concluded that biomass changes in tobosagrass grasslands were dependent on moisture and topography, and that good winter-spring precipitation was the "key" to a successful prescribed burn. In contrast, Dwyer [40], based upon prescribed fires conducted in June, July, August, and December in New Mexico, recommended burning tobosagrass to remove old growth in August, shortly after initiation of new growth. He also suggested that burning from late October to December was unlikely to damage tobosagrass plants. For more information on this study, see Fire timing.

Fuels in tobosagrass communities range from sparse to abundant (see Fuels). In order for a prescribed fire to carry in tobosagrass communities, fine fuel loads need to be sufficient and continuous. In a review, Wright [183] suggested that prescribed fire not be attempted in grasslands in Texas where fine fuels (grasses and forbs) are <1,000 kg/ha, and fine fuels should generally be >2,500 kg/ha. Because many southwestern grasslands with tobosagrass have been heavily grazed, fine fuels may be too sparse to carry prescribed fire [183]. Ansley and Jacoby [3] suggested that grazing should be deferred on tobosagrass and other rangelands on a regular basis to allow sufficient accumulation of fine fuel to carry fires. Based on the amount of time it took for tobosagrass fuels to build-up after prescribed fire in Texas, Wright [181] suggested burning tobosagrass grasslands on a 4- to 7-year rotation. Based on the amount of time it took for nitrogen in tobosagrass stands to return to prefire levels, a study on the Rolling Plains suggested burning on a 5- to 8-year rotation to maintain productivity [15,142].

Specific guidelines for burning tobosagrass range in Texas to increase tobosagrass productivity for livestock use were as follows [15]:

First, create a fireline by bulldozing a line out of mineral soil around the area to be burned. A 2nd bulldozed line should be cut 100 feet (30 m) inside the perimeter line on the north and east sides. This 100-foot strip should be burned between late January and early March when the following weather conditions prevail:

1. 40% to 60% relative humidity
2. 40 to 60 °F (4-16 °C) air temperature
3. <10 mile/hour (16 km/hour) wind speeds

The main area should be burned in March before green-up of tobosagrass. Weather conditions for the headfires should be as follows:

1. 25% to 40% relative humidity
2. 70 to 80 °F (21-27 °C) air temperature
3. 8 to 15 mile/hour (13-24 km/hour) wind speeds [15]

Where fuels in tobosagrass grasslands are continuous, high winds are not necessary to move the fire across an area [15]. In Texas, tobosagrass and other grasses burned satisfactorily at moisture contents between 12% and 57% [14,27,61,62,153].

High-intensity prescribed fires intended to damage or kill shrubs encroaching into tobosagrass grasslands are not likely to adversely impact tobosagrass during years of normal or higher precipitation (see Fire intensity). Roberts [133] suggests that methods of quantifying fire behavior other than fire intensity, such as those that consider the area around the base of the plant (e.g., residence time), may be more appropriate for determining postfire response of herbaceous vegetation.

Broomweeds and firewhirls are primary concerns when conducting prescribed fires in tobosagrass stands. Broomweeds can burn off at their bases and tumble into other areas, potentially igniting nontarget areas. Firewhirls generally develop where wind shears occur, such as when a headfire runs into a backfire or when burning across ridges [181,184,185]. Wright [184] mentioned that firewhirls caused escapes during prescribed burns in tobosagrass-honey mesquite communities in Texas.

For an analysis of the economic feasibility of prescribed fire in tobosagrass-honey mesquite communities on the Rolling Plains, see Ethridge and others [42].

Soils: Prescribed fire may increase run-off and soil loss in some communities. However, March prescribed fire had little effect on rainfall infiltration of honey mesquite-tobosagrass communities in clay soils in northern Texas. In addition, most of the soil physical properties that affect infiltration on these soils were not altered significantly by burning. Prescribed fire in these communities had little influence on sediment load in run-off from slopes of less than 1%. Although sediment loss in overland flow increased following the fire, total soil loss was not significant, and within 2 to 3 years the sediment load stabilized. The authors suggested that potential sediment loss may be minimized by burning when soils are relatively moist [169].

Litter: Sharrow and Wright [142] noted that litter and standing old growth often play an important role in regulating the productivity of grassland communities. Together, they form an insulating layer which can effectively reduce the rates of spring soil warm up, delay fall soil cooling, reduce evaporative water loss from the soil surface, and protect the soil surface from erosion. In addition, they may serve as an important nitrogen reserve which can become available for plant growth through the processes of organic decay, nitrogen mineralization, and nitrification [142]. Too frequent burning in tobosagrass grasslands may deplete soil nitrogen reserves and thus reduce plant growth. For more information on this topic, see Fire frequency.

Wildlife: Prescribed fires in tobosagrass grasslands that occur prior to the nesting season of rangeland birds may benefit some birds by reducing cover of old, matted, and dense stands of tobosagrass (e.g., lark sparrow; see Cover value) [129]. However, fire in tobosagrass communities with trees and shrubs may reduce important cover for other bird species, such as bobwhite quail [130]. Renwald and Wright [130] suggested that firelines be bulldozed to protect clumps of lotebushes and stands of large mesquite trees from fire to provide cover for bobwhite quail. For more information on fire management considerations for wildlife species in tobosagrass communities, see FEIS reviews.

Livestock grazing after fire: Several studies reported increased use of tobosagrass by livestock after fire [32,61,62]. Near Post, Texas, cattle grazed tobosagrass on plots from 15 April to 15 June after a late March prescribed fire, consuming 1,852 pounds/acre of tobosagrass in the burned area and only 122 pounds/acre on an unburned control. However, during summer when tobosagrass was dry, cattle avoided tobosagrass on both burned and unburned areas. Cattle returned to burned tobosagrass stands in fall when new growth appeared. They avoided tobosagrass again in winter when it was dormant. For more information on this study, see this Research Project Summary [61,62]. According to Wright [181], cattle typically eat very little tobosagrass the 2nd postfire spring unless it was grazed heavily the 1st postfire year. For a review of livestock response to prescribed fire in tobosagrass rangelands, see Britton and others [15]. For information on postfire changes in tobosagrass palatability and nutrition see Postfire palatability and nutrition.

Other plants: Prescribed fire may be detrimental to other plant species in communities with tobosagrass. At the John Cargile Ranch near San Angelo, Texas, tobosagrass production was 65% greater on burned mesquite savanna during the 1st postfire growing season than on unburned savanna [32]. However, Texas wintergrass (Nassella leucatricha) production was 76% less and buffalograss production was 52% less on burned areas than unburned areas. Some burned and unburned areas were herbicide-sprayed 4 years prior to the study [32]. For more information on fire management considerations for other plant species, see FEIS reviews.

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

• FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS
• OTHER STATUS
• IMPORTANCE TO WILDLIFE AND LIVESTOCK
• VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES
• OTHER USES
• OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS:
None

OTHER STATUS:
Information on state-level protection status of plants in the United States is available at NatureServe.

IMPORTANCE TO WILDLIFE AND LIVESTOCK:
Tobosagrass is a productive species across rangelands that cover large areas of the southwestern and south-central United States and northern Mexico [26,125,163]. For example, on bottomland sites where tobosagrass occurs in nearly pure stands it may produce >3,700 pounds/acre (4,200 kg/ha) in a year (see Stand and age class structure). Thus, tobosagrass is an important forage resource for many wildlife species and livestock in the Southwest [26,125,163]. Numerous mammals, including coyotes, white-tailed deer, pronghorn, prairie dogs, jackrabbits, and kangaroo rats [9,21,96,99,102,104,144], tortoises [108,170], and probably birds eat the seeds, leaves, and stems of tobosagrass. Forage collected by ants in tobosagrass grasslands in the Chihuahuan Desert consisted of 70% tobosagrass seeds [177].

Tobosagrass may be eaten by cattle, horses, and occasionally domestic sheep [48,74]. The forage value of tobosagrass for wildlife and livestock ranges from good during the growing season, when new growth is green and succulent, to poor at maturity when it is coarse and dry (e.g., [21,25,26,57,60,74,112,120,154,185]). Forage value during the growing season may be reduced if abundant old growth remains on plants [74].

In some areas, tobosagrass may be the most preferred forage species by wildlife and livestock. In Nuevo Leon, Mexico, when tobosagrass was actively growing it was the most preferred species by white-tailed deer and cattle on a shrub mixed-grass savanna [96]. In other areas, other grasses are preferred over tobosagrass [175]. On the Edwards Plateau, assessments based on expert opinion of year-round preference of cattle, domestic goats, and domestic sheep for 167 plant species found that tobosagrass ranked 56th for cattle, 113th for domestic goats, and 89th for domestic sheep [134]. Grazing may increase or decrease tobosagrass abundance. See Livestock grazing for more information.

Palatability: Tobosagrass is most palatable during the growing season when new growth is green and succulent (for about 90 days/year); it is relatively unpalatable at maturity when it is dry and coarse (e.g., [21,25,26,57,60,74,112,120,154,185]). Dormant plants are typically refused by livestock if other forage is available [26].

Large quantities of standing dead material accumulate on tobosagrass plants, decreasing their palatability. Tobosagrass palatability often increases the 1st growing season after disturbances that reduce litter and stimulate new growth. For example, in southwestern New Mexico, livestock only consumed tobosagrass near prairie dog colonies, where clipping by prairie dogs apparently increased tobosagrass palatability [102]. Burning tobosagrass may increase its palatability to livestock during the 1st growing season after fire. For more information on this topic, see the Postfire palatability and nutrition and Livestock grazing after fire sections.

Nutritional value: Nutritional value of tobosagrass is highest when it is young and decreases with maturity [2]. At the Jornada Experimental Range, tobosagrass crude protein content ranged from 7.9% to 10.2% in summer and fall but decreased to 4.8% in February (Table 5) [112]. In November, crude protein in tobosagrass old growth from previous growing seasons averaged 4.7% [2]. Another study at the Jornada Experimental Range reported low crude protein levels (5.9%) and high fiber content (80.7%) in August when plants were mature and contained considerable portions of dead material [85]. In another study in the Trans-Pecos, crude protein level of immature leaves and stems was 6.9%; that of mature leaves and stems was 4.8% [113]. Near Justiceburg in the Texas Rolling Plains, crude protein content in tobosagrass peaked around 1 May (range: 9.0%-10.5% during 3 years) and generally declined throughout the summer (range: 7.0%-8.3% during 3 years) [125]. Another study in the same location reported that crude protein content in current year's growth declined from 16% in April to 5% in July, while in vitro digestible organic matter declined from 55% to 35% [13]. For more information on this study, see Postfire palatability and nutrition. In contrast, in the Trans-Pecos, crude protein content of tobosagrass was similarly low in spring (4.5%), summer (4.5%), fall (3.9%), and winter (3.6%) [17].

Tobosagrass's nutritional composition is often below that required by livestock [17,44,112,114]. A review reported that the percentage of crude protein in tobosagrass during the growing season was less than the minimum protein requirement for cattle; phosphorus levels in tobosagrass met cattle requirements for only a short period at the peak of the growing season; and calcium levels were usually below cattle needs in winter and spring [120]. In the Trans-Pecos, crude protein was below that required by cattle year-round [17]. In northwestern Texas, tobosagrass protein was "fair" during the young stages of growth but deficient when mature; phosphorus was deficient in all stages [44]. At the Jornada Experimental Range, crude protein, calcium, and phosphorus in tobosagrass were adequate to meet the minimal nutritional requirements of livestock during all phenological stages except dormancy. In the dormant stage, protein and phosphorus were deficient [112,114]. For additional information on tobosagrass chemical composition, see the following studies: [72,76,112].

According to a review, most nutrients in tobosagrass can be increased by fertilization [114]. For example, at the Jornada Experimental Range, nitrogen fertilization increased crude protein in dormant tobosagrass during 4 of 5 years [65]. For more information about fertilizing tobosagrass grasslands, see Dwyer [40] and Herbel [65].

Cover value: Many small mammals, including deer mice, pocket mice, harvest mice, grasshopper mice, voles, cotton rats, woodrats, kangaroo rats, ground squirrels, jack rabbits, and skunks, use tobosagrass communities as cover (e.g., [9,37,41,43,70,179]). White-sided jackrabbits in New Mexico were flushed only from tobosagrass stands and appeared to flee to other tobosagrass stands when disturbed, where they created shelter forms exclusively in tobosagrass [9]. In the Chihuahuan Desert in southern New Mexico, hispid cotton rats and western harvest mice apparently preferred tobosagrass and vine mesquite communities because of these communities' dense undergrowth and protective overstory [176]. Denyes [37] stated that many small mammals occurred in tobosagrass-mesquite associations in the Big Bend region of Texas but that small mammals were scarce in tobosagrass-burrograss associations near the Glass Mountains. Although there was a good ground cover in tobosagrass-burrograss associations, soils were hard and there was little variety of food [37]. Large mammals also use tobosagrass communities as cover. Tobosagrass was the 2nd most frequent plant providing cover around pronghorn fawn bed sites in the Trans-Pecos [160]

Many birds, particularly ground-nesting birds, use tobosagrass communities as cover. Tobosagrass and false grama (Cathestecum brevifolium) were considered essential components of optimum habitat for rufous-winged sparrows in the Southwest [100]. Mourning dove ground nests were only located in tobosagrass in a tobosagrass-honey mesquite community in western Texas where honey mesquite had sprouted after being top-killed by herbicide 6 years prior. Mourning doves always used dried tobosagrass litter for nest materials [150]. Gambel's quail [58], Montezuma quail [69], and bobwhite quail [130] commonly use tobosagrass stands as cover in the Southwest and Texas. In Mexico, tobosagrass communities provide important cover for Bolson tortoises [108]. Ant mounds are commonly found in tobosagrass communities [41], and ants commonly consume and disperse tobosagrass seeds [177].

Fire effects on wildlife in tobosagrass communities: Because tobosagrass cover is important for many wildlife species, wildlife may be affected by fire in communities with tobosagrass. Mourning dove nesting success increased following April prescribed fire in western Texas [150]. On the Rolling Plains, breeding densities of lark sparrows were highest in the most recently burned honey mesquite-tobosagrass communities and declined in older burns. The 1st growing season after a "cool" prescribed fire that occurred prior to the nesting season, cover of tobosagrass was 33% and appeared "ideal" for nesting and foraging lark sparrows because of the interspersion of burned and unburned areas after the fire. In a 6-year-old burn tobosagrass cover was 53% and was thick and matted down, with few openings available for foraging and too much cover for nesting [129]. Another study on the Rolling Plains found that bobwhite quail coveys were absent from burned tobosagrass grasslands, apparently because of lack of woody cover such as lotebush (Ziziphus obtusifolia), and because the dense stand lacked bare spaces for travel lanes and dusting sites. The authors suggested that prescribed fire in tobosagrass grasslands may benefit bobwhite quail if some lotebushes are protected from fire [131]. After >10 years of prescribed burning in semidesert grasslands, pronghorn populations in the Prescott National Forest, Arizona, increased because of the decreased tobosagrass litter, decreased shrub cover, and increased forb growth [94]. For more information on fire effects on wildlife species in tobosagrass communities, see FEIS reviews.

VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:
Because of its sod-forming growth habit, tobosagrass may be useful for revegetation of disturbed areas [175].

OTHER USES:
Tobosagrass has been cut for hay. The hay is eaten by cattle if it is cut when green, and cattle fed on it will remain in good condition throughout the winter [120].

OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
Status: Since about 1880 a combination of livestock grazing, fire exclusion, recurrent drought, and soil erosion have led to increased cover of trees and shrubs and decreased cover of grasses in grasslands of the Southwest [51,53,66,73,128,139,155,157]. In addition, large expanses of grasslands in the Southwest are now dominated by nonnative invasive plants, such as Lehmann lovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana) and red brome (Bromus rubens) [11,128]. A review stated that tobosagrass is one of the few native grasses that have competed well with nonnative grasses [18].

Because tobosagrass is relatively tolerant of livestock grazing, it apparently did not suffer as large a reduction as many other native grasses in the Southwest, such as gramas [128,139]. Some authors suggest that tobosagrass has either remained unchanged [139] or increased since the introduction of livestock grazing [157]. According to Dick-Peddie [39], most tobosagrass grasslands have withstood historical livestock grazing so the composition and structure of their vegetation in the 1990s was "virtually as they were in presettlement times". On grazed sites across 6 counties in southwestern New Mexico, tobosagrass and other perennial grass cover was similar during 48 years [111]. In contrast, tobosagrass cover decreased at the Jornada Experimental Range during 80 years. In the 1910s, tobosagrass dominated an estimated 5,965 acres (2,414 ha) at the Jornada Experimental Range; 83 years later, tobosagrass covered only 215 acres (87 ha), a 72% decrease. The decrease was attributed to encroaching shrubs, particularly tarbush [50]. Humphrey [73] proposed that fires must at one time have been the primary factor that maintained tobosagrass communities as pure grassland rather than as a grassland with shrubs, noting that since the late 1800s and early 1900s the vegetation composition of many tobosagrass swales and tobosagrass flats had changed from one of pure grasses to grass-shrub mixtures. For more information on this topic, see Successional Status.

Livestock grazing: Communities with tobosagrass are commonly grazed by livestock. Canfield [26] described tobosagrass and black grama as the most important grasses in determining livestock grazing capacity in desert rangelands. A rotation developed in southern New Mexico utilizes tobosagrass during the summer and black grama during the winter [74].

Generally tobosagrass withstands grazing well and is considered an "increaser" [19,154,175]. Brown and Schuster [19] considered tobosagrass an increaser when grazed on the Texas High Plains because its density was higher in a grazed honey mesquite community (136 lbs/acre) than an ungrazed Pinchot juniper community (112 lbs/acre). On the Rolling Plains, tobosagrass production in livestock grazed tobosagrass-buffalograss grasslands was 717 pounds/acre higher than in grasslands where grazing was excluded for 27 years [137]. However, tobosagrass's response to grazing may depend on site characteristics or type of livestock. On the Edwards Plateau, tobosagrass density increased on bottomland sites that were heavily grazed by sheep and cattle, but its density decreased under sheep grazing on upland sites [159]. In southern New Mexico, cattle grazed a tobosagrass swale during 2 consecutive years, which reduced grass cover to small areas; however, grass cover increased substantially during postgrazing years 1 and 2 [176]. Other researchers reported that grazing had no affect on tobosagrass abundance. Tobosagrass frequency on rangeland in south-central New Mexico was similar on grazed sites and on sites where livestock and pronghorn were excluded for 38 years [103].

Experiments that used clipping to simulate grazing did not show consistent results. In a field experiment, a pure stand of tobosagrass clipped to 4 inches (10 cm) had a higher cumulative yield at weekly clippings than at less frequent clippings, even after 11 years of treatment. However, only 1 plot was clipped at each frequency, so there was no treatment replication [26]. In a common garden experiment, mean tobosagrass production in clipped plots (191 g/m²) was similar to that in control plots (243 g/m²) [157]. A review stated that studies of different grazing intensities on tobosagrass in southern New Mexico found that protected areas had the lowest basal area of 4 grazing intensities, while stands that were intermediately grazed had the highest basal area [120]. Campbell [23] concluded that 60% of tobosagrass herbage production may be utilized by cattle each summer without injury, whereas other researchers concluded that maximum utilization of tobosagrass during any year should probably not exceed 50% [185]. At the Jornada Experimental Range, tobosagrass maintained its greatest cover when 40% to 55% of its annual vegetation growth was grazed [119].

Mowing: Mowing may reduce tobosagrass litter and increase its production. On the Edwards Plateau, tobosagrass increased tillering from basal nodes after mowing in early spring. In July and September, the number of tillers produced by mowed tobosagrass plants was greater than that produced by unmowed plants. The average number of leaves per tiller was higher on mowed than unmowed plants in July, but the reverse was true in September. Apparently, the unmowed plants were not influenced as much by low moisture conditions during September as mowed plants. Mowing increased rhizome production in July and September; 22 new rhizomes were produced by mowed plants, whereas unmowed plants only produced 1 rhizome. This rhizome was longer than the rhizomes of mowed plants [83].

Water management: Practices that maintain or increase water spreading may increase tobosagrass distribution [64,74]. Gullies formed in tobosagrass flats drain off water and may reduce tobosagrass. Dams with spreader wings may increase the area flooded and thus promote tobosagrass growth [74]. The high grass and litter cover in tobosagrass grasslands may help promote water infiltration and reduce evaporation [128].

APPENDIX: FIRE REGIME TABLE

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