The Rimrock Report
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA,
SCHOOL OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT
January 2015
Volume 8, Issue 1
Microbes
These microscopic organisms form an entire world composed of
species, families and varieties whose history, which has barely
begun to be written, is already fertile in prospects and findings of
the highest importance. The names of these organisms are very
numerous and will have to be defined and in part discarded. The
word microbe which has the advantage of being shorter and
carrying a more general meaning, and of having been approved
by my illustrious friend, M. Littré, the most competent linguist in
France, is one we will adopt.
Louis Pasteur, March 1878
Most of us are aware of the word “pasteurization”. We drink pasteurized milk without a
second thought. For most of us it is probably just a word. Or, you may recall from
school that this is the process of heating milk to reduce the number of micro-organisms
such as bacteria, which cause spoilage and possibly disease, without adversely
affecting taste, as would result from complete sterilization. Do you also remember that
the name for the process comes from the 19th century French scientist Louis Pasteur?
He who is known in medical fields for his work in “germ theory” and is responsible for
anthrax and rabies vaccines, is also recognized for significant practical agriculturerelated discoveries. His pasteurization process was originally developed to prevent
wine from spoiling; an important application for an economically significant export in
his native country. Although he was not the first to experiment with heating food and
beverage products prior to storage (the Chinese knew about this in the 1100’s), he
linked the presence of micro-organisms to the problem, his process proved
commercially doable, and the rest as they say, is history. Quite the interdisciplinary and
translational scientist.
I found these excerpts from Pasteur’s biography on Encyclopedia.com interesting:
“To an extent, Pasteur’s interest in practical problems evolved naturally from his basic
research, especially that on fermentation, for the biological theory of fermentation contained
obvious implications for industry.”
Inside this issue:
Microbes
2-5
Chris’s Hot Topic of
Range: Biological
Soil Crust
6-8
Lisa’s Class is
Outside Today
9 - 12
Plant of the “Week”
13 - 15
The View From the
Rim
16
Just Me Talking
16
“...microorganisms
make up
about 60%
of the
biomass on
Earth...”
The Rimrock Report
Microbes...continued
“In December 1854 Pasteur was named professor of chemistry and dean of the newly established Faculty of Sciences
at Lille. Located at the center of the most flourishing industrial region in France, it was designed in part to bring science
to the service of local industry. While resisting any emphasis on applied subjects at the expense of basic science,
Pasteur strongly supported this goal and sought to link industry and the Faculty of Sciences in his own courses and
activities”
“...he went regularly to the beetroot alcohol factory of M. Bigo, seeking the cause of and remedies for recent
disappointments in the quality of that product”
So, he did basic science and applied what he discovered to solve practical problems? ... and spent time out of
the lab working with the public? ... and then incorporated this knowledge in the classroom? Brilliant... we
should try that. Ok, just a little rant there to plug land grant schools while on a side trail about one of my
scientific hero’s. But the purpose is to lead us to the topic at hand – microbes.
Let’s continue with what we have done in the past couple Rimrock Report articles and delve into the
scientific background on microbes to begin. Microbes (microscopic organisms) are just as their name
implies; very small living things that can only be seen with a microscope. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek of the
Netherlands and Englishman Robert Hooke were pioneers in microscope development in the 1600’s. Hooke
was the first to use the term “cell” in biology and van Leeuwenhoek was first accredited with observing
single-celled organisms. Microbes include several categories such as bacteria, fungi, protozoa, algae, and
viruses. Table 1 illustrates the taxonomy of a bacterium. We can also classify microbes in a number of
different ways. For instance, they may or may not have a nucleus; prokaryotes (Archaea and bacteria) are
microbes without a nucleus. Some microbes are eukaryotes, in which the cells’ genetic material is contained
Table 1. Taxonomic classification hierarchy for an example rumen bacteria.
Kingdom
Bacteria
Phylum
Firmicutes
Class
Clostridia
Order
Clostridiales
Family
Ruminococcacae
Genus
Ruminococcus
Species
Flavefaciens
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Volume 8, Issue 1
Microbes...continued
within a membrane. Another classification is based upon acquisition of nutrition; autotrophs make their own
food while heterotrophs consume other organisms. Some microbes require oxygen (obligate aerobes), others
use oxygen if available but do not require it (facultative anaerobes), and still others live in the absence of
oxygen (anaerobes). It is estimated that micro-organisms make up about 60% of the biomass on Earth. In fact
if you count them individually, there are more microbes on your hand (~7 billion) than there are people on the
entire planet. In a single teaspoon of soil there could be as many as 1 billion bacteria. And here is a
newsflash... most microbes do not make us sick. In fact it is quite the contrary. Keep reading.
Micro-organisms get a lot of bad press. Due in large part to Pasteur’s work, we all know that germs cause
disease and that we should wash our hands before we eat, as well as sterilize surgical instruments, etc... Bad
actors such as Escherichia coli 0157:H7, generically known as “E. coli” can cause vomiting and bloody
diarrhea. This is one reason I prefer to eat hamburgers well done. I guess Dr. Vanderzant made an impression
on me in food microbiology class way back when. The fact that it was at 11am MWF probably helped. He also
had a lot of really “cool” pictures. It is a good thing we did not have “smell-a-vision”. But anyway...Yes, even
though E. coli is a naturally occurring bacteria in cattle, research tells us that good management and proper
food handling, including full cooking, basically removes the risk. But I am not here to “bad mouth” microbes,
rather I am going to do a little cheerleading for them. Agriculturally speaking, microbes are responsible for
helping us create products such as cheese, vinegar, yogurt, and sauerkraut. In fact, cheese making may have
been discovered accidentally around the time sheep were domesticated by storing milk in a container made
from the stomach. The rumen would probably have still contained a few bacteria which produce lactic acid via
fermentation of lactose, the abomasum would have rennet, an enzyme complex that coagulates caseinogen into
casein in the milk, resulting in curds and whey. Then you press the curds into a form and so on and end up
with cheese. By the way, did you know that Lactococcus lactis, a common lactic acid bacterium involved in
cheese making, was nominated as the state microbe of Wisconsin? Apparently it passed the house but did not
pass the senate. Now it looks like Oregon has become the first state to have an official microbe. What say you
Arizona?
Let’s get back on track now. Speaking of ruminants, let’s pick up on a statement I made in the previous issue
of the Rimrock Report. Specifically: “... when we go out to feed our livestock or manage foraging habitat for
wild herbivores, we are really feeding the microbes first.” We were talking about the symbiotic relationship
between rumen microbes and the host animal. Recall that mammals do not possess the enzyme cellulase which
breaks down fiber in plant material. Feed that enters the rumen is first exposed to chemical digestion from
bacteria, protozoa and fungi. Fermentation by these microbes releases volatile fatty acids (acetate, propionate,
butyrate) which provide a major source of energy to the host, absorbed directly through the rumen wall.
Depending on the ratio of sack lunches to box lunches, the rumen microbes will break down about 50 to 80%
of the digestible organic matter. In this process, the microbe populations grow and produce biomass. They then
pass on to the true stomach (abomassum) where they are digested to become food for the host. Nutritionists
refer to this as microbial protein. So, next time you are out in the snow pitching hay, enjoying the glamorous,
romantic cowboy life; instead of maybe dozens or hundreds of cows... just think of the billions and billions of
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The Rimrock Report
Microbes...continued
bacteria you are helping. It will give you a warm feeling in your gut.
And speaking of your gut; that is one of the places where microbes participate in our mammalian metabolic
and immune systems. To start, the lower gut microbes provide nutrition in the form of volatile fatty acids
again. Butyrate in particular is metabolized by cells lining the colon (i.e. the epithelium). Microbial action here
also provides vitamins B and K and assists in the absorption of minerals such as calcium and magnesium. But
it may surprise you to know that helpful gut microbes simply take up space and prevent harmful species from
colonizing or at least proliferating to significant numbers. They may also out-compete pathogenic bacteria for
nutrients and can lower the pH through fermentation and release of acid by-products. It turns out that many of
the harmful bacteria prefer a higher pH. Additionally, these helpful organisms promote development of
mucosal lymph tissue in the intestines and the expression of receptors that help discriminate between “good”
and “bad” bacteria. Both of these functions are essential to the hosts’ immune capabilities. So, more than
making us (or our animals) sick, microbes help keep us healthy. We could teach a whole graduate class on all
of this, but I think by now you are pretty well grounded on the subject.
Speaking of grounded; what about microbes in the soil? Glad you asked. They are important there too. Soil
microbes in general play a vital role in nutrient cycles, breaking down plant and animal material. There are
numerous other specific functions. Take the Mycorrhizae for instance. They are mutualistic fungi, forming a
relationship with plants in the rhizospere ( root system). Here, the fungi are provided with carbohydrates and
their mycelium (network of long fibers) greatly increase the absorptive capacity of the root for water and
minerals. Plants with mycorrhizae are more drought and disease tolerant than plants without the fungi.
Glomalin is a glycoprotein (combination of sugar and protein) produced by arbuscular mycorrhizae. It is
sometimes called “soil glue”. Discovered in 1996 by USDA scientist Sara Wright, glomalin is a large portion
of soil organic matter, stores carbon and nitrogen, and contributes to aggregate stability. Legumes have a well
known symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria called Rhizobia. It is an interesting chain of events. When a
legume encounters low nitrogen conditions it releases compounds called flavinoids which attract rhizobia. The
bacteria produce a nodulation factor which causes deformed root hairs that the rhizobia use to gain access to
the root. There the nodule forms and as above, the microbes obtain carbohydrates while the plant is “fertilized”
with ammonia to be used for amino acid construction. We refer to this as “fixing” nitrogen.
We have even done a little research on soil microbe activity here at the V Bar V. We collected soil surface (~1
inch) samples from pinon-juniper and desert shrub sites, grazed versus rested, and from interspaces as well as
under shrub or grass canopies. Dr. Jean McLain at the University of Arizona ran some microbial substrate
usage assays for us as an indicator of concentration and activity. Briefly, pinon-juniper had greater substrate
use than desert shrub, rested was greater than grazed, and we observed higher microbial activity under plant
canopies than interspaces. Figure 1 illustrates preliminary results from the landscape position comparison. We
hope to continue such work in the future. Soil microbial functions are another of those subjects we could spend
a lot of time on. If you are interested in learning more, head to the Rangelands West website and search for
“soil microbial”. That should get you started.
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Volume 8, Issue 1
Microbes...continued
To
wrap things up; whether they are holding soil together, breaking down forage, processing animal source
protein into longer lasting and pretty tasty food, or fighting internal battles to keep a calf or a fawn healthy,
microbes are the unseen but critical rangeland flora and fauna. It may have seemed like a stretch to write about
microbial organisms in a range newsletter, but I hope if you did not have an appreciation for these littlest of
range critters before; that now you do.
Another good University of Arizona website to visit for more info about microbes and their contributions to
health, food, environment, etc... is:
http://learnaboutgerms.arizona.edu/index.htm
and especially:
http://learnaboutgerms.arizona.edu/good_microbes.htm
Article by Doug Tolleson
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The Rimrock Report
Chris's Hot Topic of Range…...Biological Soil Crust
While we are on the topic of microbes, it is a good time to talk
about Biological Soil Crust (BSC), also known as Cryptobiotic
soil. You may have encountered them on hikes in the desert,
typically as small black mounds on the soil surface between
shrubs and bunchgrasses (Fig 1). These are not just random
microbes located in the soil. They are communities of closely
associated organisms that, through their growth and activity,
bind surface soil particles; creating a living surface crust. This
crust is often only a few millimeters thick and can contain a
wide variety of cyanobacteria, algae, fungi, lichens, and
mosses (Fig 2). They might not look like much, but they can
have a major impact on the health and productivity of the
rangeland. A well developed crust can prevent wind and water Figure 1: Rugose Crust. Photo taken in the
Mojave Desert
erosion, create safe sites for seed germination, maintain soil
moisture, increase water infiltration, prevent invasion by non-native species, and can significantly add carbon
and nitrogen into the soil.
BSC can be found pretty much anywhere except the tropics,
often as the first colonizers after disturbance. BSC will
eventually be replaced when plants create closed canopies,
however, they will form old growth crusts in arid and semi-arid
landscapes where open gaps in vegetation are persistent. The
taxonomic classification of BSC can be difficult due to the
diversity of organisms involved, so many researchers use a
classification system based on the surface features of the crust.
This type of classification recognizes four types of crust; smooth,
rugose, pinnacled, and rolling crust.
Smooth crust is dominated by cyanobacteria and has little surface
texture. They are found in hyper-arid ecosystems with high
temperatures and no freezing, like the Atacama Desert in South
Figure 2: An artistic representation of 3mm of crust.
America. This crust is the only BSC found to inhibit native
Belnap and Lange 2001.
vegetation growth, though it is still important for nitrogen
production and redirecting precipitation to surrounding vegetation.
Rugose crust is also dominated by cyanobacteria, but includes sparse patches of mosses and lichens. Because
of this they tend to form small mounds rather than a smooth surface (Fig 1). They require higher moisture
than smooth crusts, but are still located in arid ecosystems with high temperatures and minimal freezing; such
as the Sonoran Desert.
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Volume 7, Issue 4
Chris's Hot Topic of Range…...continued
Pinnacled crust is high in biological diversity and has a large
population of mosses and lichens. They exist in arid ecosystems that
experience periodic freezing; such as the Great Basin Desert. The
freeze/thaw cycle uplifts the soil and lichen prefer the NorthNorthwest slope of the uplifted soil. The preferential growth on that
slope alters the rate of soil erosion, creating pinnacles of crust that
can be up to 15cm high (Fig 3).
Rolling Crusts are dominated by lichen and mosses and are located in
cold arid ecosystems such as the Northern Great Basin. The crust is
relatively thick and mat like, which prevents the formation of
pinnacles and instead creates more of a “rolling hills” formation.
Figure 3: Pinnacled Crust located in Arches
National Park.
In Arizona we are dominated by Rugose Crust in the Sonoran and
Mojave deserts, with
Pinnacled Crust located at higher elevations such as along the Arizona
Strip. These crusts are all relatively fragile and can be destroyed by a
single footstep. Cyanobacteria can recolonize a disturbed site within
a few years, but it may take decades to centuries to re-establish old
growth crusts with a diverse population of lichens and mosses. The
destruction of crust can represent a significant loss of nitrogen
production which can decrease plant production and overall
ecosystem health. Lower nitrogen also reduces the nutritional content
of forage, potentially reducing the carrying capacity of herbivores.
Because of this many Rangeland managers have been working hard to
prevent crust destruction with public awareness campaigns, complete
with catchy slogans Figure 4: National Park Sticker promoting the
such as "Don't Bust awareness of Biological Soil Crust
the Crust," "Tiptoe
on the Crypto," and "Don't hurt the Dirt" (Fig 4).
Figure 5: The vulnerability of Biological Soil Crust on different
soil types and moisture regimes. Belnap and Lange 2001.
The fragile nature of BSC can make livestock management
difficult. The scientific literature suggests that BSC can be
maintained with light grazing while heavy grazing is
particularly destructive. Additional management options
include minimizing concentrated impacts by spreading out
pasture use with strategic placement of water and minerals.
Also, the vulnerability of BSC is influenced by soil moisture
and soil texture (Fig 5). Soils in general are least vulnerable
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The Rimrock Report
Chris's Hot Topic of Range…...continued
when frozen or covered in snow. Silt soils are also resistant to disturbance when wet and clay soils are
resistant to disturbance when dry. Thus careful planning can minimize the impact to BSC.
There is a school of thought that BSC can inhibit desired vegetation and that high intensity/short duration
grazing can be useful in busting the crust to increase the amount of desired vegetation. This strategy aims to
mimic the high intensity/short duration grazing regimes historically found in some ecosystems, such as on the
Great Plains and the Serengeti. This strategy may work in those specific areas; however, it is unclear if the
strategy to bust the crust is applicable in ecosystems that did not have large roaming herds of herbivores.
More research is needed on BSC’s impact on the germination of specific species. The few studies that have
been conducted found that, with the exception of Smooth Crust, BSC has no impact or a positive impact on
the germination of native vegetation.
In general the scientific literature is dominated with reports on the positive impacts of BSC and the need to
preserve it. This community of cyanobacteria, algae, lichens, and moss can be invaluable to many of our
rangelands and the condition of this crust can be an indicator of overall rangeland health. So the next time
you are out hiking look closely to the ground. They may not look like much at times, but there’s a whole
world down there worth exploring.
Figure 6: Pinnacled Crust in Southwestern Utah. Photo by Jason Hollinger
References:
Belnap J., and O. L. Lange (eds.). 2001. Biological Soil Crusts: Structure, Function, and Management.
Ecological Studies, Vol. 150.
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Volume 8, Issue 1
Lisa’s Class is Outside Today
Hi y’all! My name is Lisa Page and I am excited to join the
University of Arizona extension family as the new Range
Rocks! Program Coordinator. Before I get started on my main
article, allow me to tip my Stetson your way and tell you a bit
about myself.
I grew up in what I would describe as a rural city, by Southern
California standards that is; I lived a few miles away from the
largest concentration of dairy farms in the valley, my town still
had some horse property, and what was left of the large ranch
where the town was built still had longhorn cattle grazing the
hillsides. I managed to find my way into FFA during high
school and was always involved with horses. While in college I
managed the sheep unit, worked on the school farm and
worked for various horse trainers in the area. After earning an
associate’s degree in Livestock Management from Mount San Antonio College, I moved to Northern Arizona
in 2004. It took year or so for me to realize I wasn’t satisfied loading hay and feed bags into customer’s
waiting trucks, and decided shortly thereafter to continue my education at New Mexico State University and
earned a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Extension and Education. The next few years would find me as an
agriculture teacher, FFA Adviser, and equine riding program manager in Arizona and New Mexico. Most
recently, I worked in Montana with a national nonprofit organization providing research based technical
assistance to farmers and ranchers across the United States. This position allowed me to learn more about
sustainable agriculture and natural resource management practices as well as helped me understand common
challenges American producers are facing. In my free time I enjoy riding horses and quads, looking for elk
sheds, fishing, camping, photography, curling (a sport I picked up while in Montana, and my Canadian
grandparents are thrilled) and trying to not be outsmarted by my Catahoula, Mavis.
As you can see, my background is reminiscent of a grade mare’s pedigree at an auction, that is, a little bit of
this and a little of that, but I am a firm believer in being well rounded and truly believe experience is the best
teacher. I am thankful for the opportunities and experiences that have led me to where I am today. I’m happy
to be back in Arizona and look forward to working with our talented youth and dedicated educators to
facilitate quality learning opportunities and promote sustainable practices throughout the west.
Enough about me! Onto my actual article….
Who has two thumbs and has had to teach a lesson she knew very little about? This gal! If you are anything
like me in my “newbie” teaching days, I would have given my left arm for quality teaching resources;
something….anything…. that helped me stay a step ahead of my kiddos!
I’d like to spend the next few minutes discussing the new presentation technology available to educators
(move over, Power Point) and how these new and interactive presentations can help incorporate the use of
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The Rimrock Report
Lisa’s Class is Outside Today...continued
technology in the classroom and be a valuable teaching resource.
A creative and hardworking team of University
of Arizona personnel have recently produced
three interactive presentations detailing the
history, science, and applications of Near InfraRed Spectroscopy (NIRS), a state of the art
technology which can be incorporated into a
variety of curricula, especially lessons
following the STEM model encouraging study
in the areas of Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math. These presentations
were developed as part of the curriculum for
RangeRocks!, an integrated outdoor
experiential extension education program
designed to provide technical and field
Making the Prezi. From left to right: Cody Sheehy, Alan Davis,
experience for students attracted to rangeland
Doug Tolleson
ecology and management, developed by Dr.
Doug Tolleson, Rangeland Specialist with the
University of Arizona. University of Arizona video masterminds Cody Sheehy and Alan Davis did an
exceptional job of editing these presentations and making them user friendly.
I would venture to say most teachers can relate to the aforementioned predicament. Nothing can rattle a new
teacher’s cage like scrambling to prepare a Powerpoint or searching the internet for a pre-made lesson or
activity and hoping the Google God’s are in your favor. I’ll admit (if any of my college education professors
are reading this, please skip the next sentence) that I tended to teach the bare bones lesson plan version on
topics I was unfamiliar with, because honestly, I was afraid my kids would ask me a question I couldn’t
answer. I was the teacher, I had to be all knowing, right? I realized that I went into greater depth on topics I
had more experiential knowledge in and where supplemental resources were available to me. Initially, I found
myself relying heavily on PowerPoint presentations as a somewhat fail safe way to present new information
to my students. It does have several benefits, I’ll admit; it allowed my visual learners to see the information,
my audio learners to hear it, and it gave me, a new teacher, a sense of confidence knowing that my “script”
for the most part, was there for my reference. However, times they are a changing and as my students would
say “Miss Page, that is soooooo three years ago!”
Move over, Powerpoint, here comes The Prezi! For those of you not yet familiar with this new presentation
software, allow me to briefly explain the concept. According to the Prezi website, “people remember
experiences, not slides.” Prezi allows teachers to provide a more engaging, interactive presentation format to
their students by “creating cinematic presentations.” I can hear the groans of discontent among my fellow
Powerpoint users but let me assure you, it’s pretty neat! As I admitted to earlier, I used PowerPoint quite a bit
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Volume 8, Issue 1
Lisa’s Class is Outside Today...continued
in my classroom, however, I was always cognizant of the “don’t Powerpoint your students into boredom” rule.
Despite my best efforts to add colorful graphics and sounds, it was still just a slide, and would now pale in
comparison to the Prezi. As one Prezi customer noted “[it] allows us to tell a story in a dynamic way.” I sure
wish I knew about this format when I was in the classroom and maybe I would have had less drool to clean off
the desks! So why am I going on and on about the benefits of the new Prezi format? Because we have taken
the Prezi format, mixed it with the knowledge of our experienced range staff and talented video editors and
VOILA, have created three engaging teaching
resources to add to your bag of tricks!
The first Prezi in the series, Introduction to
NIRS, is an excellent way to introduce students
to the history and theory behind NIRS
technology. (My introduction to NIRS, however,
came when I opened an oven baking polar bear
fecal samples waiting to be scanned. The smell
was un “bear”able….but I digress!) I think it’s
safe to say many educators agree providing
background information on a new topic will
enable students to better connect the history of
The introduction page of the NIRS lesson 1 Prezi
said topic to its current applications and uses, thus
enabling students to see how the lesson pertains to them, because, lets face it, that’s what students REALLY
want to know! This Prezi is detailed oriented, yet not overwhelming. It provides a basic, yet thorough
understanding of who Sir Frederick William Herschel was, how he discovered infrared light through his
experiment, and how infrared light is used by
animals and humans. Additionally, it includes
step by step instructions that allow students to
recreate Herschel’s experiment.
The second Prezi in the series, A pplications of
NIRS, builds upon the information learned in
the previous Introduction to NIRS Prezi by
reviewing the basic theory of NIRS technology
and goes on to demonstrate how it is used in the
field by evaluating different elements found in
soil and plant samples. Furthermore, it
NIRS Demonstration detailing the difference in soil.
discusses how the technology can detect minute
differences between samples that appear similar
to the naked eye, such as soil collected from under a shrub and soil collected on bare ground. The lesson is tied
together by explaining how the results can help to improve soil health and pasture management.
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The Rimrock Report
Lisa’s Class is Outside Today...continued
The third Prezi in the series, A nimal Nutrition and
NIRS, details the range science applications of NIRS
technology, particularly by applying NIRS to grazing
animal nutrition. It begins by discussing how
herbivores are classified by the way they digest food,
the differences in ruminant and non-ruminant digestion,
and locale of microbes in the digestive tract. It then
goes on to discuss factors that affect the nutritional
requirements of animals, nutritional values of different
plant types, and what makes some plants more
Prezi discussing Ruminants and non-ruminants
nutritious or palatable to livestock than others. The
brief mid lesson quiz is a great way to assess student learning thus far, and if necessary, go back and re-teach
any key points that were not grasped. The Prezi goes on to demonstrate how NIRS technology can detect what
an animal eats, determine if the diet is adequate, and demonstrates an analogy to help students understand why
some plants are easier to digest to others. It closes by discussing an overall summary of the main points
covered in the Prezi and includes a group activity which allows students to accomplish a range science task in
a real world environment.
Being a former teacher, I understand the struggles many educators face when it comes to finding and choosing
an interactive lesson plan, or an easy to replicate classroom activity, which made me appreciate these Prezi’s
even more. I enjoyed the clear objectives outlined in the beginning of each Prezi, the logical transitions from
one topic to another, and the review of key points found at the end. Near Infra Red Spectrometry (NIRS) is a
developing and incredibly useful diagnostic tool that has many applications and can be incorporated into a
variety of lesson plans including biology, technology, animal science and of course range management.
Cody Sheehy, Alan Davis, and Doug Tolleson
One of the main responsibilities in my new position is
to share range related extension programming with
local educators and assist them with incorporating that
programming into their curriculum. The technologies
used in range/environmental science cover a broad
area that can be incorporated into just about any
curricula. Our goal is to produce several more
environmental science related Prezi’s in the near
future so that teachers will have plenty of resources
available to assist them in opening up a new learning
experience where students can get outside and get
their hands dirty, all in the name of science! Stay
tuned, y’all!
At press time, URLs to Prezi’s not available. Will send email when available.
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The Rimrock Report
Plant of the “Week” by Mike McIntire
In the spring of 2013, I enrolled in Dr. Mitch Mcclaren’s rangeland plant communities class. This class really
opened my eyes to plant identification and the greatest plant to all range nerds, grass. Out of the many
different grasses that exist in the southwest, the grasses I have grown fond of are the Boutelouas. Yes
Boutelouas, not one specific Boutelouas, but all of them. I learned the basic Boutlouas, the ones that every
rangeland manager has to know which are sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula), black grama (Bouteloua
eriopoda), rothrock grama (Bouteloua rothrockii), blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), hairy grama (Bouteloua
hirsuta), and six weeks needle grama (Bouteloua aristidoides). However, there are more Boutelouas which
exist in the southwest from what is beyond my range of knowledge on wild land plants. After numerous field
trips, hours of researching for fun on the internet, and discussion with professionals, I have discovered these
Boutelouas that exist in Arizona. Some are common while others are rare. These species are slender grama
(Bouteloua repens), sprucetop grama (Bouteloua chondrosioides), six weeks grama (Bouteloua barbata), red
grama (Bouteloua trifida), purple grama (Bouteloua radicosa), and santa rita mountain grama (Bouteloua
eludens). These species I took persistence and passion in to find and see in person and discover what they are
about in Arizona’s vast area of rangelands. I would like to share my experiences with each of these boutelouas
and why I find them so fascinating.
I would like start with sideoats grama. Sideoats grama is abundant everywhere
in Arizona as well as throughout the country. It is probably one of the easiest
Boutelouas to recognize because the seeds look like little oats. Sideoats grama
grows in areas that receive plenty of water, such as washes. In Gila country
sideoats grama can be found just about everywhere. It is a great forage grass
that cattle love to eat. It’s a very beautiful grass and I give this one, the best
representation of the Boutelouas.
Sideoats Grama
Photo from Yavapai County
Native & Naturalized Plants
Next there is rothrock grama, which is one of the shorter lived perennial
Boutelouas. It can be classified as a long lived annual because it has some of
the same characteristics as an annual. It produces many seeds and easily
establishes in areas of high disturbance or
shortly after an event of high disturbance. Even
though this rothrock grama may be short lived,
it is still a beautiful grass that provides forage
on our rangelands and plays a role in our desert
grassland.
Black grama is a grass that is preferred by
ranchers. This ice cream grass provides excellent forage value in which any
domesticated herbivore loves to consume. It grows on any limey soil and
forms dense sods that can cover a whole hill slope. It is a grassland key species
that is a must for any rangeland in Arizona. Unfortunately it doesn’t produce
enough viable seed to recruit and establish easily and solely relies on
stoloniferous reproduction. It is a key indicator grass species that gives an idea
how far into succession a desert grassland is after a disturbance. It is a climax
Black Grama
community species in which it roughly takes about 25 years for a desert
Photo from Yavapai County
grassland to recover from a disturbance.
Native & Naturalized Plants
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Volume 8, Issue 1
Plant of the “Week”...continued
Hairy grama is a Bouteloua that looks very similar to blue grama and rothrock
grama. Its most notable characteristic is the tail- like extension of the branches
of spikelets. The branches of spikelets look like thick, hairy eye brows, hence
the name hairy grama. This grass grows in the higher elevations of the desert
grassland, oak woodland, and chaparral systems. It makes for a great forage
grass and is very hardy in cold weather. It tends to stay green longer with
adequate moistures.
Blue grama is a grass that is a highly recognized
Boutelouas in the west. It is a symbolic grass of
rangeland management. Blue grama likes to be
in a higher elevation where temperatures are no
greater than the low 90’s in the summer. It can
easily thrive in hotter areas of lower elevation
because blue grama is in every seed mix that is
Hairy Grama
on the market. Any restoration project or
Photo from Yavapai County
reseeding always calls for blue grama. Blue
Native & Naturalized Plants
grama makes a great lawn sod if you are
looking for a native to replace your invasive Bermuda grass lawn.
Six weeks needle grama is probably the most common summer annual grass in
Arizona. This grass brings life to the desert during the monsoon season as it
blankets the desert floor with a sea of green lushness. Anyone can look at the
desert and can be awed to the beautiful six weeks needle grama provides to the
desert landscape. This grass will always thrive in Arizona and I have seen it up
growing up to elevations as high as 5000 ft. One thing needle grama is known
for is once it dries up, the seeds stick to your clothing and pokes into your skin.
Even though this grass can bring greenery to lands in the worst condition,
cattle do not favor to eat it.
Blue Grama Bouteloua gracilis
Photo by Howard F. Schwartz
Another annual Bouteloua in Arizona is six weeks grama. This grass is like a smaller version of rothrock
grama and is an annual. It is not as common as needle grama and is relatively easy to find growing during the
monsoon season. It grows in beautiful little stands, but does not blanket the desert like six weeks needle
grama.
Slender grama is a common Bouteloua that is a key indicator species on the health of a rangeland. It is a
Bouteloua that is not to get mixed up with purple grama, sprucetop grama, and santa rita mountain grama
because they are similar in appearance. This Bouteloua makes its debut during the middle stages of desert
grassland succession. It replaces rothrock grama and then its composition decreases when the climax
community is reached. Slender grama is a pretty grass and it does great with summer rains.
Sprucetop grama is a grass I have not really seen much of and I am trying to learn more about. It can be found
at wide ranges of elevations and amongst slender grama and purple grama populations. It is distinguished by
the little white hairs that cover the branches of spikelets on it. Sprucetop grama usually makes its appearance
within the desert grassland in the later succession stages after a disturbance and can be found within the
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The Rimrock Report
Plant of the “Week”...continued
climax community of the desert grassland.
Red grama is a Bouteloua I never knew existed until last year. This is one of the more rare Boutelouas and
there is very little information about it. I have only seen it in two areas, near Globe and just outside of Tucson.
Red grama occurs in lower elevations in the plant community of the hot desert or in more technical terms,
upland Sonoran desert scrub. It likes to grow on limey soils, in high disturbance areas such as water flow
patterns and trails. It is a rhizominous growing grass and likes to grow in the shape of ring. Red grama is a
Bouteloua I am glad I have had the opportunity to see it in person.
Another rare Bouteloua I would like to mention is purple grama. It grows only in particular areas and
elevations down in southern Arizona. Purple grama grows
outside the desert grassland and is abundant throughout the
Arizona oak woodland. Purple grama has very short leaves
and tillers, which look like little knuckles, but has tall
flower stems with a typical wavy Bouteloua rachis. The
branches of spikelets are large and have purple markings
on them which gives it the name purple grama.
Santa rita mountain grama is the last grass of the
Bouteloua. This grass is common but has a small range
area where it can be found in southern Arizona, New
Mexico, and Northern Meixco. It looks very similar to
sprucetop grama, but it has bigger branches of spikelets
with less spikelets than sprucetop grama.
Red Grama Bouteloua trifida
Photo from Catnapin.com
Arizona has variety of Boutelouas that not many states in
the west have which makes Arizona very biodiverse. These are the grasses that make Arizona’s desert
grassland so beautiful and lush. I am glad that I have been persistent in learning about rangeland management
and the Bouteloua grasses that grow throughout our state.
See the Top Ten pictures for 2014
https://cals.arizona.edu/vbarv/rangeprogram/sites/
cals.arizona.edu.vbarv.rangeprogram/files/Top%20ten%20pictures%202014.pdf
Page 15
The view from the Rim
Words of wisdom for the new year from Benjamin Franklin:
Be at war with your vices, at peace with your
neighbors, and let every new year find you a
better man.
Phone: 928-554-8991
Fax: 928-554-8996
Cell: 928-821-3222
E-mail: dougt@cals.arizona.edu
Web: http://cals.arizona.edu/aes/vbarv/
Note: Please email me if you would like to be added to the
“mailing” list for this newsletter.
The University of Arizona
School of Natural Resources and the Environment
V Bar V Ranch
2830 N. Commonwealth Drive Suite 103
Camp Verde, AZ 86322
Just me talking...
“Take me home, country roads, to a place I belong…” Ok that is all I will say
about football this time. I am sure Larry Howery and Mike Hemovich are
rolling their eyes about now. Most of us in Arizona did not have a white
Christmas, but we did have a white New Year. Depending on which report you
looked at, we had 4-8 inches here in the Verde Valley and for the first time in 7
years, it stayed longer than a day. I wish now we had kept our rain gauge
comparison study going past the monsoon. It would have been interesting to see
how we captured the snow. But it is good to get the moisture on our pastures
and some snowpack for the water supply. Chris Bernau will present the data we
did collect on that study at the SRM meetings in Sacramento next month. That will be a busy meeting for us. We have
several presentations and are involved in both the Native Range and the K-12 Range Education symposia. I am looking
forward to working with our partner, Christine Griffin, principal at Oak Creek School on her presentation in the K-12
symposium. She will be talking about how the range profession can contribute to middle school STEM efforts. In just a
few days we have the Arizona SRM meetings in Tucson along with the first in our next round of drought management
workshops. New program coordinator, Lisa Page will be getting her first dose of workshop planning with that one. We
have been gathering up native forages to use in a sheep and goat feeding study in March. We will have a visiting PhD
student from Brazil with us in the spring. He will be helping with that study. He is part of a national project developing
near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) calibrations for small ruminants in his home country. I just finished the draft of a
paper where we used NIRS to determine fecal nitrogen and phosphorus in cattle, sheep, goats, bison, elk, and deer.
Hopefully we will get that one accepted and published this year. We are also working on papers for the Western Section,
American Society of Animal Science meetings this summer. One is from a NIRS study we did at Sonora Texas a few
years back and another from right here at the V Bar V deals with measuring changes in cattle brands as they age. That
last one is in response to a request from Arizona brand inspectors to help them with some law enforcement issues. Hope
you enjoyed the “top 10” pictures from this year. Maybe we learned a few things from the Arizona Highways folks at
the photo workshop this past summer.
Till next time,
Doug
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