Columbia Brome

More info for the terms: cover, forest, frequency, prescribed fire, presence, shrub, underburn

Several studies of the effects of logging and burning include
information on Columbia brome response.

In a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest in northern Idaho, Columbia
brome decreased after fire [3].  See FIRE CASE STUDY.

In seral shrub communities in the cedar-hemlock (Thuja-Tsuga spp.) zone
of northern Idaho, Columbia brome was significantly more frequent in
unburned stands than in broadcast burned stands.  Presence of Columbia
brome in stands with different disturbance histories was as follows [31]:

                                      Percent Frequency

     Closed stand, no disturbance            47
     Logged, no Burn                         38
     Logged, piled and burned                32
     Single broadcast burn                   16
     Multiple broadcast burns                21

Columbia brome was considered neutral with respect to fire in mixed
forests of Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir, grand fir, and western redcedar
(Thuja plicata) on the Priest River Experimental Forest in northern
Idaho.  Columbia brome was present in plots that had been logged and
then given treatments of no fire, a moist fuels underburn in June 1989,
or a dry fuels underburn in September 1989.  Pretreatment cover
estimates were made during the summer before logging began.
Posttreatment cover estimates were made for both fire and no fire units
in the summer of the year after the fires.  Columbia brome was present
with the following percent cover [38]:

                           Moist Fuels           Dry Fuels
          No Fire             Fire                 Fire

       pre-    post-       pre-    post-        pre-    post-
     logging   fire      logging   fire       logging   fire

       1.9     0.2         1.7     0.2          1.5     0.1

Vegetation in plots on burned slash piles in the Mission Mountains in
northwestern Montana was compared with vegetation in plots adjacent to
the slash piles which had not burned.  Each logging site had 40 burned
and 40 unburned quadrats.  The slash piles had been burned 2 to 15 years
(average 8.8 years) before evaluation.  Average frequency of Columbia
brome was 5.6 percent higher on burned plots than on unburned plots, but
this change was not statistically significant; Columbia brome was
considered neutral with respect to fire [44].

Columbia brome in the Swan Valley of northwestern Montana was apparently
favored in mixed coniferous stands which had been logged, logged and
burned, or burned only.  Columbia brome occurred in undisturbed forests
with presence of 36 percent and cover of 2 percent.  In treated plots
(all treatments considered together), Columbia brome had presence of 46
percent and cover of 3 percent.  Percent presence and average percent
cover were based on plots of occurrence [12].

Columbia brome was also favored by disturbance in grand fir/pachistima
and grand fir/twinflower (Linnaea borealis) forests in the Blue
Mountains of northeastern Oregon.  Stands were logged and broadcast
burned to reduce slash.  Columbia brome germination and establishment
was enhanced in those areas with deeply churned soils and heavily burned
spots [9].

For further information on Columbia brome response to fire in a ponderosa
pine community, see Fire Case Studies. From the same Fire Study, the Research
Project Summary Understory recovery after low- and high-intensity fires in northern
Idaho ponderosa pine forests provides information on prescribed fire and
postfire response of Columbia brome and other ponderosa pine plant community
associates.

Columbia brome
narrow-flowered brome

More info for the terms: caryopsis, fruit

Columbia brome is a native perennial bunchgrass [8,18,41].  Culms are
slender, hollow, and 18 to 47 inches [45-120 cm) tall [20,21,36].  Leaf
blades are flat [18].  The inflorescence is an open panicle [20];
branches are slender and spreading to drooping [22].  Spikelets are
five- to seven-flowered.  Lemma are awned [20,32].  The fruit is a
caryopsis [18].

Columbia brome occurs from British Columbia south to the San Francisco
Bay area and the central Sierra Nevada in California [20]; its range
extends east to southwestern Alberta, western Montana, Wyoming, and Utah
[8,18,21,27].

More info for the terms: culm, fire regime

Columbia brome has basal culm buds which may sprout after aerial
portions are burned [18,41].  If thick tufts form, they may protect the
basal buds from fire damage.

FIRE REGIMES :
Find 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".

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More info for the term: hemicryptophyte

  
   Hemicryptophyte

More info for the terms: frequency, presence, shrub

Columbia brome is found on open or forested sites from sea level to
lower subalpine mountain habitats [18,27] in moist to dry conditions
[8,42].  It grows in shaded or open woods, on moist or dry streambanks
[22], in seepage areas [2], rocky ravines [32], and on dry rocky slopes
[22].

Columbia brome grows in soils of many types.

In northern Idaho near the St. Joe River, Columbia brome occurs in soils
with volcanic ash surface and sandy loam subsurface [19].  In Latah
County, Idaho, it grows in deep, moderately well-drained loessal soil
[29].  In the Coast Ranges of west-central Oregon, Columbia brome is
found on soils of clay and silty clay loam; available moisture is high
[1].  In the Crater Lake area of Oregon it occurs on deep, well-drained
soils of volcanic origin with loam surface layers and clayey loam
subsoils [30].  In Linn County, Oregon, Columbia brome is found on gray
basalt soils from lava flows [35].  In the Blue Mountains of
northeastern Oregon occurs on soils which include volcanic ash and are
at least 53 inches (135 cm) deep [40].  Columbia brome in southwestern
British Columbia is found on acidic loamy sand to sandy loam.  The soil
nutrient regime is rich to very rich [25].

Columbia brome generally occurs in climates with cool, wet winters and
warm, dry summers [30].  Snowpack often insulates it from extreme cold
[35].

Columbia brome presence in seral shrub communities in northern Idaho was
evaluated for correlation with several environmental variables.
Frequency increased with elevation, from 16 percent at the lowest site
measured (3,000 feet [914 m]) to 38 percent at the highest site (4,600
feet [1,402 m]).  There was no significant correlation between frequency
and north or south exposure [31].  On the other hand Columbia brome was
an indicator of north slopes and increasing elevation in the Blue
Mountains of eastern Oregon and southeastern Washington [17].

Columbia brome is reported at the following elevations:

                           Feet           Meters

     California            0-6,234         0-1,900    [7,20,32]
     Idaho             2,500-5,500       762-1,675    [3,15,19,29,38]
     Montana           4,700-6,000     1,433-1,829    [8,44]
     Oregon                0-6,500         0-1,981    [1,17,30,40,41]
     Utah                  6,500           1,981      [8]
     Washington        1,815-6,140       550-1,870    [11]
     Wyoming               8,000           2,438      [8]
     British Columbia        689             210      [25]

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This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

   206  Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
   207  Red fir
   210  Interior Douglas-fir
   211  White fir
   212  Western larch
   213  Grand fir
   215  Western white pine
   218  Lodgepole pine
   221  Red alder
   224  Western hemlock
   225  Western hemlock - Sitka spruce
   226  Coastal true fir - hemlock
   227  Western redcedar - western hemlock
   229  Pacific Douglas-fir
   230  Douglas-fir - western hemlock
   232  Redwood
   233  Oregon white oak
   237  Interior ponderosa pine
   243  Sierra Nevada mixed conifer
   244  Pacific ponderosa pine - Douglas-fir
   245  Pacific ponderosa pine
   247  Jeffrey pine

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This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

   FRES20  Douglas-fir
   FRES21  Ponderosa pine
   FRES22  Western white pine
   FRES23  Fir - spruce
   FRES24  Hemlock - Sitka spruce
   FRES25  Larch
   FRES26  Lodgepole pine
   FRES27  Redwood
   FRES28  Western hardwoods
   FRES36  Mountain grasslands
   FRES37  Mountain meadows

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This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

More info for the terms: forest, shrub

   K002  Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
   K003  Silver fir - Douglas-fir forest
   K004  Fir - hemlock forest
   K005  Mixed conifer forest
   K006  Redwood forest
   K007  Red fir forest
   K008  Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
   K010  Ponderosa shrub forest
   K011  Western ponderosa forest
   K012  Douglas-fir forest
   K013  Cedar - hemlock - pine forest
   K014  Grand fir - Douglas-fir forest
   K015  Western spruce - fir forest
   K025  Alder - ash forest
   K026  Oregon oakwoods
   K028  Mosaic of K002 and K026
   K047  Fescue - oatgrass
   K063  Foothills prairie

Columbia brome culms are probably killed by fire.

More info for the terms: cover, forbs

In California, Columbia brome is valuable livestock forage on both
winter and summer ranges, particularly at higher elevations, although
the greatest Columbia brome herbage production is at intermediate
elevations.  It is almost always found in mixed stands with other
grasses and forbs [36].

Elk grazed Columbia brome in clearcuts of western hemlock/pachistima
(Tsuga heterophylla/Pachistima myrsinites) and grand fir (Abies
grandis)/pachistima in the Idaho Panhandle National Forests.  Columbia
brome was only grazed in the spring; it had average relative cover of
4.5 percent, but was grazed at 4.9 percent average use.  Columbia brome
was not utilized in summer or fall, though it had average relative cover
of 4.4 percent and 4.6 percent in those seasons.  Use was not measured
in winter [23].

More info for the terms: swamp, vine

Columbia brome is listed as an understory dominant in the following
community classification:

The phytosociology of some vine maple communities in the Mary's Peak
  Watershed [1]

Columbia brome is listed as diagnostic for the western sword
fern-mycelis-salmonberry (Polystichum spp.-Mycelis [Lactuca] spp.-Rubus
spectabilis) subassociation in the following publication:

Relations between site index, salal, plant communities, and sites
  in coastal Douglas-fir ecosystems [25]

Besides those listed in the Kuchler Plant Associations, common
associates of Columbia brome include huckleberry (Vaccinium spp.),
willow (Salix spp.), manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.), honeysuckle
(Lonicera spp.), swamp currant (Ribes lacustre), sticky currant (Ribes
viscosissimum), prince's pine (Chimaphila umbellata), Saskatoon
serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) [14], western coneflower (Rudbeckia
occidentalis), bracted strawberrry (Fragaria vesca var. bracteata) [9],
sweetroot (Osmorhiza spp.), Hooker fairybells (Disporum hookeri), and
western goldthread (Coptis occidentalis) [42].

More info for the term: graminoid

Graminoid

More info for the terms: cover, forest, frequency

Bromus vulgaris is considered nonweedy [8].

Columbia brome can be controlled with glyphosate [19].

Columbia brome response to grazing was studied in Rocky Mountain
Douglas-fir/ninebark (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca/Physocarpus
malvaceus) habitat on the University of Idaho experimental forest in
northern Idaho.  Columbia brome production was 1.8 pounds per acre (2
kg/ha) in ungrazed areas and 0.9 pounds per acre (1 kg/ha) in grazed
areas.  However, Columbia brome cover and frequency were slightly higher
in grazed stands:  Average cover was 1.3 percent in grazed and 0.7
percent in ungrazed areas.  Average frequency was 24.0 percent in grazed
and 19.3 percent in ungrazed areas [45,46].

     CA  HI  ID  MT  OR  UT  WA  WY  AB  BC

In California, palatability of Columbia brome is ranked high for
livestock, being second only to California brome (Bromus carinatus) [36].

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More info for the term: phenology

Columbia brome phenology at Nash Crater lava flows in Linn County,
Oregon, was recorded from the middle of May to the last of September
1949.  Columbia brome began flowering the second week of June and
completed flowering the last week of June, when fruiting began; fruiting
continued through the first week of September [35].

In California, Columbia brome flowers and fruits from May to August
[32].  In western Oregon and southwestern Washington, it flowers and
fruits from June through August [18,41].

Columbia brome usually decreases [3] or is neutral [38,44] in response
to fire.  However, occasional increases occur [9,12].

More info for the terms: graminoid, ground residual colonizer, tussock

   Tussock graminoid
   Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)

More info for the terms: cover, forest, frequency, litter, seed

Columbia brome sprouts from perennating buds at the bases of culms [22].
It also reproduces by seed [36].

Columbia brome occurs in soil seedbanks but may not be plentiful.  In a
seedbank study in grand fir/pachistima habitat in the Blue Mountains of
northeastern Oregon, Columbia brome occurred in two of the three mixed
conifer stands investigated.  Forest floor core samples were taken to
test for seed germination.  Soil from a stand in which Columbia brome
occurred with 0.6 percent cover and 26 percent frequency produced no
Columbia brome seedlings from any soil layer.  Soil from a stand in
which Columbia brome occurred with cover of 5.1 percent and frequency of
54 percent produced two Columbia brome seedlings from the litter and
humus layer and none from mineral soil.  Soil samples from this stand
produced 338 seedlings of 30 species [40].

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This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

    1  Northern Pacific Border
    2  Cascade Mountains
    3  Southern Pacific Border
    4  Sierra Mountains
    5  Columbia Plateau
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
    9  Middle Rocky Mountains

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More info for the terms: constancy, cover, forest, frequency, graminoid, presence, seed, shrub

Facultative Seral Species

Columbia brome occurs in open or shaded habitats [27] in many
successional stages.  It is found on clearcuts [3,19], in seral
shrubfields [19,31], and in mature undisturbed shaded forests
[11,14,30,37].

Columbia brome occurs on seasonally disturbed gravel bars in the
Flathead River, northwestern Montana [28].

Columbia brome occurs with red alder (Alnus rubra) in the Alsea River
drainage of the Oregon Coast Ranges.  Red alder is a pioneer species
whose establishment within the study area requires disturbance [6].

Columbia brome occurred in grand fir/wild ginger (Asarum caudatum)
habitat in northern Idaho with 20 percent cover 0 to 30 years after a
low soil displacement clearcut which was seeded with grass.  Some seed
used on the site probably contained Columbia brome [47].  Columbia brome
occurred with 1 to 3 percent cover in other clearcuts of low and high
soil displacement where grasses were not seeded [15,24].

Columbia brome in seral shrub communities in northern Idaho reached
highest frequencies under conditions of partial shading [31].

Columbia brome in grand fir/pachistima habitat in the Clearwater
Mountains of north-central Idaho was studied for possible correlation
between presence and overstory structure.  Graminoid production was not
significantly correlated with any of the measured overstory parameters.
In undisturbed forest, Columbia brome had a constancy of 90 percent,
canopy coverage of 7 percent, and frequency of 25 percent; it
contributed more to understory production than any other graminoid.
Soil nutrient status was probably the major factor determining growth
response of Columbia brome under these shaded conditions [33].

The currently accepted scientific name of Columbia brome is Bromus
vulgaris (Hook.) Shear [4,21,22,32]. It is in the family Poaceae.

The following varieties are accepted:
Bromus vulgaris var. vulgaris [22]
Bromus vulgaris var. eximius Shear [21,22]
Bromus vulgaris var. robustus Shear [21]

Perennials, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Stems erect or ascending, Stems caespitose, tufted, or clustered, Stems terete, round in cross section , or polygonal, Stem nodes bearded or hairy, Stem internodes hollow, Stems with inflorescence less than 1 m tall, Stems, culms, or scapes exceeding basal leaves, Leaves mostly cauline, Leaves conspicuously 2-ranked, distichous, Leaves sheathing at base, Leaf sheath mostly closed, Leaf sheath hairy, hispid or prickly, Leaf sheath and blade differentiated, Leaf blades linear, Leaf blades 2-10 mm wide, Leaf blades mostly flat, Leaf blades mostly glabrous, Leaf blades more or less hairy, Ligule present, Ligule an unfringed eciliate membrane, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence an open panicle, openly paniculate, branches spreading, Inflorescence solitary, with 1 spike, fascicle, glomerule, head, or cluster per stem or culm, Inflorescence lax, widely spreading, branches drooping, pendulous, Inflorescence branches more than 10 to numerous, Flowers bisexual, Spikelets laterally compressed, Spikelets with 3-7 florets, Spikelets solitary at rachis nodes, Spikelets all alike and fe rtille, Spikelets bisexual, Spikelets disarticulating above the glumes, glumes persistent, Spikelets disarticulating beneath or between the florets, Rachilla or pedicel glabrous, Glumes present, empty bracts, Glumes 2 clearly present, Glumes equal or subequal, Glumes distinctly unequal, Glumes shorter than adjacent lemma, Glumes 1 nerved, Glumes 3 nerved, Lemmas thin, chartaceous, hyaline, cartilaginous, or membranous, Lemma 5-7 nerved, Lemma glabrous, Lemma apex acute or acuminate, Lemma mucronate, very shortly beaked or awned, less than 1-2 mm, Lemma distinctly awned, more than 2-3 mm, Lemma with 1 awn, Lemma awn less than 1 cm long, Lemma awned from tip, Lemma awn from sinus of bifid apex, Lemma margins thin, lying flat, Lemma straight, Palea present, well developed, Palea membranous, hyaline, Palea shorter than lemma, Palea longer than lemma, Palea 2 nerved or 2 keeled, Palea keels winged, scabrous, or ciliate, Stamens 3, Styles 2-fid, deeply 2-branched, Stigmas 2, Fruit - caryopsis, Caryopsis ellipsoid, longitudinally grooved, hilum long-linear, Caryopsis hairy at apex.

Bromus vulgaris is a species of brome grass known by the common name Columbia brome.