Little Bluestem

This widespread North American species is clearly an accidental introduction to Pakistan, although how and when this happened is not known.

Perennial; culms slender to robust, 50-150 cm high, erect, freely branched above. Leaf-blades up to 30 cm long, 3-6 mm wide, acute. Racemes 3-6 cm long, fragile, on long exserted peduncles which are gathered into loose false panicles: internodes and pedicels narrowly clavate, ciliate to densely vinous; spatheoles convolute. Sessile spikelet narrowly lanceolate, 6-8 mm long; lower glume keeled above but merely inflexed below, convex, flat or shallowly concave on the back, glabrous: upper lemma bifid to about the middle; awn 8-15 mm long, the column slightly exserted from the glumes. Pedicelled spikelet reduced, shortly awned. usually spreading on a curved, slender pedicel.

Distribution: Pakistan (Sind, introduced): Quebec and Maine to Alberta and south to Florida and Arizona.

Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) is a medium-sized prairie grass native to North America between southern Canada and central Mexico.Originally, this grass only occurred east of the Rocky Mountains.More recently it has colonized open, disturbed areas in almost every state in the US, and is now one of the most widely distributed of the native grasses in North America.It is recognized as the state grass of both Kansas and Nebraska.

Little bluestem is called “little” because it grows to a mature size of about 4 ft (1.3 m) tall, whereas its relative, big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), grows to 8 feet.A warm season grass, little bluestem is dormant in the winter.When it starts its annual growth in late spring its shoots are a blue-purple color. The shoots grow upright and thin green blades, up to 12 inches (30 cm) long, grow off the shoots.

Preferring well-drained, sandy, usually infertile soils, little bluestem most often grows alongside side-oats grama and porcupine grass in upland prairies.Its dense root system can grow 5-8 ft (1.6-2.6 m) deep, accessing water even in drought.However, little bluestem can grow heartily in a diversity of soil types.Wetter, lowland areas formerly occupied by big bluestem and Indian grass now also host little bluestem.

Under dry conditions, the shoots of little bluestem grow in distinct clumps and its leaves turn orange or red.In wet soils it spreads out from short underground rhizomes (runners) in more of a mat-type growth with bright green leaves.Some varieties have blue tinged leaves.In the fall, little bluestem produces large, fluffy, silver-white seedheads.The seeds depend mostly on wind for dispersal, but do not travel farther than about 6 ft (2 m) from their parent.

Little bluestem attracts significant wildlife.Its large, well-defined bunches make good shelter for small mammals. They also provide ideal nesting and roosting conditions for ground nesting birds.Farmlands planted with a border of little bluestem attract populations of ground-nesting meadowlarks, a declining species dependent on prairie ecosystems.Little bluestem produces large numbers of seeds providing high-quality food for a diversity of birds. These include game birds, rosy finches, juncos, and multiple types of sparrows songbirds.Insects also feed on little bluestem, especially eating the inner shoots.This grass hosts the caterpillars of several species of skipper butterfly and the common wood-nymph butterfly, and various beetle species.In turn, these are good food for animal and birds that shelter in bluestem clumps.

Wild ungulates such as bison, deer and elk forage on little bluestem leaves.Cattle and horses too, eat little bluestem, although sheep and goats find it too rough.Farmers cultivate it for hay.Plains Indians had various traditional purposes for little bluestem, including starting fires and using as mattress padding.Some cultures twisted the grass into a switch (like a whip) for to men to hit themselves with during sweathouse ceremonies.This was thought to drive out bad spirits and lessen aches and pains.The Lakota Indians were known to work bluestem shoots and leaves until they were soft and then use them for insulation in moccasins.

Since little bluestem is hardy and adaptable to various growing conditions, it is frequently planted to re-vegetate disturbed and eroded areas.Many popular ornamental varieties of little bluestem are now available to buy from nurseries.

(Harms, no date given; Jordan 2008; Kansas Native Plant Society, 2007-15; Tober and Jensen 2013; USDA NRCS 2002)

More info for the terms: herbaceous, prescribed fire, seed

The extent to which seed contributes to revegetating postburn
stands is unknown, but Ehrenreich and Aikman [104] reported seeds
from burned stands have higher germination percentages than seeds from
nearby unburned stands. Although some ecotypes have small
inconspicuous rhizomes, information concerning sprouting via rhizomes
following fire is lacking.

These Research or Management Project Summaries provide information on prescribed fire and postfire response of plant community species
including little bluestem:

Vegetation change in grasslands and heathlands following multiple spring, summer, and fall prescription fires in Massachusetts
Early postfire effects of a prescribed fire in the southern Appalachians of North Carolina
Response of herbaceous vegetation to winter burning in Texas oak savanna
Fire effects on 3 subtropical invasive plants in Florida and the Caribbean—Natal grass, common bamboo, and white leadtree

little bluestem 

broom bluestem 

broom beardgrass 

creeping bluestem 

More info for the terms: caespitose, phenology, seed, warm-season, xeric

Little bluestem is an erect, native, warm-season, perennial,
solid-stemmed grass that exhibits both a caespitose and a sod-forming habit
[10,127,155,283,284,287].
Little bluestem is generally nonrhizomatous [94], but occasionally
on wet sites it may form an open or loose sod with short rhizomes connecting small tufts
[292]. Under dry conditions little bluestem grows erect in distinct
clumps, usually 4 to 10 inches (10-25 cm) in diameter and 5 to 10
inches (13-25 cm) apart [10,284,288]. Even in
nearly pure stands on upland
sites, little bluestem maintains the caespitose form with bare ground between plants
[155]. 

Culms are solid and 1.6 to 6.6 feet (0.5-2 m) tall, depending on soil fertility and
water availability [94,127,292]. In Nebraska, plants commonly have 100 to 300
stems crowded into a 4-inch (10 cm) diameter bunch [287]. The flat,
slender leaves are 8 to 14 inches long (20-36 cm) at maturity and
spread to twice the area of the base.
Leaf height depends on
soil fertility and available water. Leaves may reach a height of 20
inches (51 cm) on south-facing wet sites, but only 3 to 5 inches (8-13
cm) on south-facing xeric sites [149,284]. The leaves are light green during
spring and summer, but at maturity both leaves and stems turn a purplish- or reddish-brown
[10,288,292]. The Flora of North America [111] provides a morphological description
and identification key for little bluestem. 

Little bluestem's root system is deep and fibrous [273]; individual
roots are relatively fine with diameters ranging from 0.004 to 0.04 inch (0.1-1 mm).
Most roots grow almost vertically downwards to depths of 4.5 to 5.5 feet (1.3-1.75 m), but some extend laterally from the bunches [284,287]. Little bluestem hosts arbuscular mycorrhizae
which seem to be most important with water stress [19]. Mycorrhizal colonization increases with declining water availability [65].

Little bluestem is widely distributed and has much ecotypic differentiation with
respect to height, bunch size, leaf length, and phenology [19,192,275]. Plants grown from seed collected from 2 nearby sites
in Illinois showed variation in height, length of leaves, time of
flowering, and clump diameter as a result of seed source, and higher
productivity plants came from same-site seed [19]. A study of nonstructural
carbohydrate concentration (carbohydrates available for growth after dormancy or
defoliation) found significant differences (p<0.05) between 4 selections of
little bluestem. Among the selections, aboveground nonstructural carbohydrate concentration at the beginning of winter ranged
from 15 to 37% and root concentration ranged from 10 to 22% [275].

Little bluestem's range extends from Maine and Nova Scotia south to Florida,
west to Arizona, north to Montana and Alberta and east across most of southern
Canada. It also grows in much of central Mexico [273]. Little bluestem is
now found in every one of the lower 48 states except Nevada [160]. It
is most prominent in the Great Plains and in open canopy areas in the eastern
United States. Historically little bluestem did not grow in
California, Idaho, Washington, or British Colombia but it has become
naturalized on disturbed sites in this region [273]. 

The typical
variety (S. s. var. scoparium) grows in all states except Alaska and Nevada; it is
rare in British Columbia but present in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, and
Nova Scotia. Pinehill bluestem (S. s. var. divergens) currently grows in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama,
Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky,
Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
Creeping bluestem (S. s. var. stoloniferum) is found in Florida, Mississippi, South
Carolina, and North Carolina; it is currently rare in Alabama and Georgia [160].

More info for the terms: association, competition, cover, crown fire, density, fire exclusion, fire frequency, fire intensity, fire interval, fire regime, fire suppression, fire-free interval, forbs, forest, frequency, fuel, fuel loading, grassland, hardwood, herbaceous, mean fire interval, mesic, mixed-severity fire, natural, peat, prescribed fire, restoration, seed, severity, shrub, shrubs, succession, surface fire, tree, understory fire, woodland, xeric

Fire adaptations: Following fire, increased soil temperature, light penetration, and available
nutrients increase growth rates of little bluestem both above- and belowground [88,146]. There has been
some disagreement about the relative importance of each of these factors but it
appears that each is important to some degree [88,247]. As a warm season grass,
little bluestem is well adapted to spring and fall fires; at these times of year sufficient carbohydrate
stores exist. Lightning-caused fire in summer was historically common in the
bluestem prairie, but fire during the growing season is more detrimental to this
species [26,42,107]. The ratio of  warm season to cool season
grasses is usually altered by fire, most likely because of
phenological differences between the groups rather than microclimate
amelioration [247]. Root growth of little bluestem is increased 19 to 24% by
fire depending on frequency [88]. 

FIRE REGIMES: Little bluestem is
present in many ecosystems that experience frequent fire including xeric, open pine
(Pinus spp.) and oak stands, tallgrass, mixed-grass, bluestem, and coastal prairies. FIRE REGIMES for plant communities and ecosystems in which
little bluestem occurs are discussed below by region. Habitat descriptions begin
with the Northeast and continue clockwise south to Florida, west to the
southwestern states and Mexico, and north through the Ozark Mountains and Great
Plains to the Great Lakes area, southern Canada, North and South Dakota,
Montana, and Wyoming. A table provided below
the text provides further information
on these plant communities; the text is generally more
location-specific than the table. For further information regarding
FIRE REGIMES and fire ecology of these ecosystems, see the 'Fire Ecology and
Adaptation' section of the FEIS species summary for the plant community or
ecosystem dominants described below.

Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut: On the Atlantic coast from Cape Cod
to Long Island,
coastal sandplain grasslands include little bluestem, yellow sedge (Carex
pennsylvanica),
and poverty oatgrass (Danthonia spicata) with some inclusions of
bear oak (Q. ilicifolia) and pitch pine.
Sandplain grasslands were maintained by fire, grazing, and salt spray [99,100]. Prairie patches on Long Island maintained by
Native American intentional burning and later by settlers' clearing support little bluestem, big
bluestem, broomsedge bluestem (A. virginicus), switchgrass, indiangrass,
Greene's rush (Juncus greenei), goldenrods, asters, and sedges (Carex spp.) [157]. 

Inland in the oak-hickory (Carya spp.) forest type of southern New England, little bluestem grows with pin cherry (P.
pensylvanica), goldenrod, and redtop (Agrostis gigantea) in fire-maintained
openings [178,204]. Some
of these communities were established by fire at approximately 10-year-intervals
during the 1600s; others are present because of  agricultural clearing and
abandonment or low nutrient content and soil acidity. After a single fire,
black cherry (P. serotina) invades and openings are lost to
ingrowth of northern red oak (Q. rubra), white oak, black
oak, and scarlet oak (Q. coccinea), hickories, sweet
birch (B. lenta), red maple (A. rubrum); eastern hemlock (Tsuga

canadensis) and American beech (Fagus grandifolia) are present on sites with fire absent
longest [205]. Relatively frequent fire (less than 10-year intervals) is required to suppress black
cherry, sweet birch, and red maple in favor of little bluestem-dominated
openings [178]. Prescribed annual spring
fire has been used to maintain openings where they still exist [205]. 

New Jersey: Little bluestem is an important understory species in pitch pine
barrens of New Jersey. These communities burned at 10- to 15-year
intervals through the 1600s [179], though some areas were burned annually by Native Americans
[205]. Prescribed burning in the 1900s
in the New Jersey pine stands has taken place at 4- to 5-year intervals depending on fuel
reduction needs. Fire excluded stands support more oaks than
were historically present; prescribed burning has sought to increase forage
production and recreate historic pine stands by killing oaks and/or allowing better pine
establishment on mineral soil [55]. Indirect evidence
suggests that fires were frequent in the pitch pine barrens of New Jersey: after
fire, pitch
pine sprouts at the base and is able to produce seed within 3
years. Sprouts of most of the associates are not able
to produce
seed for about 20 years. Thus fire at 8- to 12-year-intervals over a long
period of time would presumably have created nearly pure stands of pitch pine
[178].

Maryland and Pennsylvania: Serpentine oak and pine barrens associated with
low fertility soils were maintained
by fires set by Native Americans to improve hunting through the early 1700s [269,282]. Grazing later became the
defoliation event maintaining these communities [269]. Since the
early 1900s, in the absence of either of these disturbances, conifers (eastern
redcedar and Virginia pine) and oaks are invading and/or increasing in density on these historically open
areas [270,282]. Since 1938 in Soldiers Delight Natural
Environmental Area, 80% of grassland and savanna communities have become more
closed-canopy conifer stands [270]. 

Virginia, North and South Carolina: On xeric sites in the southern
Appalachians
with open canopy oak and pine stands, little bluestem,
rosette grass (Dichanthelium spp.), and indiangrass are the most abundant
postfire grass
species, though their cover generally remains low [133]. In the upper Piedmont
and mountains, on xeric sites with rock outcrops and soils derived from mafic
materials, little bluestem occurs in the understory of open woodlands dominated
by eastern
redcedar, hickories, and chestnut oak (Q. prinus). Little is known about the disturbance and fire
history of these stands east of the Appalachians. In this region
fire exclusion does not allow extensive canopy development: Small and
Wentworth [240] state edaphic factors, rather than fire and disturbance
history, are likely the major determinants of
the distribution of this relatively unproductive community type. 

Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana: Little bluestem, slender
bluestem, and pinehill
bluestem have been important understory components in longleaf, loblolly, and
shortleaf pine savannas and the Florida dry prairie [141,181]. Longleaf pine ecosystems are
widely-distributed from the Piedmont and Coastal Plain in the southeastern United
States and in the mountains regions of
northwestern Georgia and northeastern Alabama on ridges and south slopes. Common
associates include shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, blackjack oak, and chestnut oak
[181]. Fire in longleaf pine stands was
frequent: before settlement understory fire occurred at 1-
to 4-year intervals with mixed-severity fire occurring at 5- to 10-year-intervals. Longleaf pine/scrub oak communities experienced surface
fire at 6- to 10-year intervals with
canopy fire occurring at 35 to more  than 200 year intervals [282].
There is evidence that these communities have evolved with frequent fire: there is a high lightning strike frequency; with fire exclusion
hardwood succession is rapid; and there are many fire-adapted species
including resprouting shrubs and longleaf pine [219]. Frequent fire in these ecosystems
prevents much fuel buildup, and fire intensity and severity are usually low; fuel loading in longleaf pine stands ranges from 300 to
1,000 pounds per acre (336-1,120 kg/ha) depending on how open the canopy is
[219,282]. Historically, fires were of variable scale with organic layers in peat bogs sometimes allowing spread
during dry periods. Fires
typically occurred in May or June; lightning is more frequent in July but precipitation
is more regular at this time [282]. Currently much prescribed fire takes
place in May and June but also in winter and fall [46,282]. Fire
exclusion for over 20 years allows canopy closure as loblolly pine, shortleaf
pine, southern red oak
(Q.
falcata), black cherry, black tupelo (Nyssa
sylvatica), sweetgum (Liquidambar
styraciflua) and flowering dogwood (Cornus
florida) increase [45,282]. Timber harvest and fire suppression have
reduced longleaf savannas in Georgia, while Alabama and Florida have more communities intact
[181]. 

Little
bluestem and pinehill bluestem are prominent in openings in the widespread
loblolly pine-hardwood forest type where fire has limited tree density [135].
Prior to settlement, shortleaf pine had
fire intervals of 2 to 6 years on
fertile sites and 6 to 15 years on less favorable sites with less fuel
accumulation. After settlement, annual burning was common in shortleaf pine
stands to increase forage production. Slash and pond pine (P. serotina) stands had 3- to 4-year fire intervals, and loblolly pine stands had 5- to 6-year fire intervals
[282].
Manipulation of fire frequency
(annual, biennial, or triennial) and season (March or May) on a slash pine
plantation in Louisiana showed that pinehill bluestem was well-adapted to these
short fire intervals. Pinehill bluestem was dominant except
on annually-burned sites where slender bluestem (with smaller leaves) was dominant [128]. Suppression efforts in the 1920s caused a
decline in fire frequency [282]. Historically fires burned the greatest area in late
spring, though lightning season is from May to September [145]. 

Remnants of the Florida
dry prairie are dominated by little bluestem, pineland threeawn (A. stricta), lopsided
indiangrass (S.
secundum)
and low shrubs. The Florida dry prairie was fire maintained, and
with urbanization, agricultural conversion, and decline in fire frequency, these
communities have been classified
by the Nature Conservancy as
"threatened." In the Myakka River State Park of southwestern Florida
15,000 to 17,500 acres (6000-7000 ha) of this community type remain. Historically the area was larger;
live oaks (Q. virginiana), laurel oaks (Q. laurifolia), saw-palmetto
(Serenoa repens), and to a lesser extent slash pines have invaded and/or increased with fire exclusion since the
1940s [145]. 

Texas:  In this geographic area, little bluestem is common in loblolly,
longleaf, slash, and shortleaf pine communities as described above as well as in
coastal, blackland, Fayette, and bluestem prairies, and savannas dominated
by Ashe juniper, honey mesquite, post oak (Q. stellata), and live oak. The coastal prairie is
dominated by little and sand bluestems, brownseed paspalum, Fendler threeawn (A.
purpurea var. longiseta), and indiangrass on
uplands; other areas are dominated by dune bluestem and gulf cordgrass (Spartina
spartinae) [49]. In the coastal prairie of Texas and Louisiana woody
species encroachment was historically limited by shrink-swell clays, fire (which
occurred at less than 10-year intervals), and lack of continuous heavy grazing
[242,282]. With livestock grazing, fire exclusion, and land conversion,
approximately 1% of the coastal prairie is intact [242]. Vertisol soils usually do not support an
oak component, but where soils are alfisols, post oak-blackjack or honey mesquite woodlands
develop [49]. Post oak-blackjack oak savannas
occurred in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and, to a lesser extent, Illinois and
Indiana; historic fire interval was about 10 years in Texas
[282]. Fire intervals may range from
less than 35 to about 100 years depending on canopy closure and fine fuel
quantity and moisture content [190,214]. With
increasing forest density, the probability of the site burning decreases. A study in eastern Texas (Tyler County) found that
where forest had
developed, surface fuels had a higher moisture holding capacity and burned much
less frequently [250].

The xeric, southern, mixed-grass prairie of central Texas consists of little bluestem,
buffalograss, sideoats grama, tussockgrass, gramas, tobosa (Pleuraphis
mutica), sand dropseed (S. cryptandrus), tridens (Tridens spp.), and
threeawns (Aristida spp.). The historic fire frequency and historic tree
density are not well known. This type is
frequently associated with live oak-Ashe juniper stands and honey mesquite savannas and woodlands. It is
generally assumed that prairie and low-density savanna burned at less than 10
year intervals while higher density honey mesquite woodlands burned less
frequently, at 35 to 100 year intervals [214]. Where Ashe juniper and
live oak are well developed, surface fire probably occurred at less than 35 year
intervals [56,214]. With fire exclusion, the area covered by Ashe juniper, live oak, and
prickly-pear has increased dramatically [56]. Primarily as a result of
overgrazing, broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia
sarothrae) has invaded and increased on some dry grasslands. There have been efforts to use prescribed fire to reduce
its cover, but grass production, which commonly ranges from 198 to 693 pounds per acre
(224-784 kg/ha), is generally too low for prescribed burning [117]. 

Blackland prairie occurs only in Texas. Little bluestem and Texas tussockgrass are dominant with associated grass species
including
rough dropseed (S. asper) and big bluestem. Fayette prairie, present in southern Texas, is dominated by little bluestem
and buffalo grass with lesser amounts of paintbrush bluestem (A. ternarius),
threeawns, and paspalum (Paspalum spp.). Both blackland and Fayette prairie types had
fire return intervals
of less than 10 years [214,282]. Fayette prairie often occurs in
association with (and in the understory of) oak-hickory woodlands and savannas
that include southern red oak, blackjack oak, post oak, and overcup oak (Q. lyrata). Woodland areas had a fire return interval of less than 35 years
[282]. 

Bluestem prairie is a widespread and well-known grassland type that
occurs from northern Texas and Oklahoma north to North Dakota and Minnesota. The
community dominants are big bluestem, little bluestem, switchgrass, and Indian
grass [94].
This community type is discussed in detail below in the Kansas, Nebraska, western Missouri, and
Iowa section. 

Mexico: In the understory of Madrean evergreen oak (Emory oak (Q. emoryi), Arizona white oak (Q.
arizonica), and gray oak (Q. grisea)) and pine woodlands, little bluestem grows with muhlys (Muhlenbergia
spp.), and cane bluestem
(Bothriochloa barbinodis). Little bluestem is more
prominent in the lower elevations of this type, occurring primarily in central
Mexico but also in southern Texas and Arizona [48]. These communities
generally experience surface fire at 20 to 70 year intervals [193,256].
One study in northern Mexico found that stands of this type had a mean fire return interval
of 70 years (between 1770 and 1940)
[193]. 

New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah: Little bluestem is present in
upland grasslands, shrubsteppes, and dry, open forests of pines, junipers and
oaks in this geographic area [292]. Common shrub associates of little
bluestem in ponderosa pine, Colorado pinyon (P. edulis) and Gambel oak (Q.
gambelii) habitat types include
wavyleaf oak (Q. undulata), snowberry (Symphoricarpos spp.), skunkbush sumac
(R. trilobata),
Rocky Mountain juniper (J. scopulorum), Emory's oak, gray oak,
and Arizona white oak. Other grasses include blue grama (B. gracilis), big bluestem, muttongrass (Poa fendleriana), and muhly grasses [91]. Ponderosa pine stands in Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico had regular surface fire in intervals of 2 to 10 years [93]. In Colorado, FIRE REGIMES in interior ponderosa forest types
below 8,200 feet (2,500 m) were historically likely mixed and variable with fires
historically larger than
3.6 square miles (10 km2) occurring 50 to 60 years apart [162]. Stands were not
even-aged on a landscape scale; crown fire was very localized and confined to younger stands.
When crown fire occurred it created openings in which blue grama, Indian
ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides), and little bluestem were important forage species [161].

Sand sage prairie is present in New
Mexico, northern Texas, and western Oklahoma and Kansas; leadplant (Amorpha

canescens), sand
sagebrush (A. filifolia), ephedra (Ephedra spp.), white ratany (Krameria grayi), honey
mesquite, sand shinnery oak (Q. havardii), and yuccas (Yucca spp.) are
dominant shrubs. Little bluestem is a
minor component, and dominant grasses include sand bluestem, purple threeawn, plains lovegrass (E.
intermedia),
dropseeds (Sporobolus spp.) and Indian ricegrass
[91]. Direct evidence of fire history in this community type is
lacking. Based on accounts of European-American settlers and analyses of rates
of honey mesquite increase following fire, McPherson [190] and Paysen and others [214] estimate that fires
historically occurred at 7- to 10-year intervals, as this frequency would
maintain the low-density savannas described by early European-American settlers.

Oklahoma: In the ecotone between eastern deciduous forest and Great Plains
grassland, little bluestem occurs in a mosaic of prairie, forest, and savanna
vegetation types that are commonly differentiated by
fire frequency. Savannas typically experienced fire at less than 10-year
intervals, and forests had mean fire return intervals of less than 35 years
[282]. With fire exclusion, post oak and blackjack oak
forests have developed in central Oklahoma where savannas were once more
prevalent [154]. More recently, selective and clearcut timber harvest
have been used for maintaining a more open habitat
mosaic useful for deer [185]. Little bluestem is also
prominent in mid-grass prairies associated with the sand shinnery oak community
type of the Texas panhandle, eastern New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Other common shrubs
include netleaf hackberry (C. reticulata), honey mesquite,
and yuccas; historic fire return interval
was less than 35 years [214].

Kansas, Nebraska, western Missouri, and Iowa: Estimates of presettlement fire return
intervals are based on anecdotal evidence or on studies of adjacent savannas
where fire scars are discernable [282]. It is assumed that fire
historically occurred in the bluestem prairie at less than 10-year-intervals
[169,214,282]. Many fire scar surveys at the prairie-forest boundary show fire return
intervals of 3 to 5 years. There are many reports of annual burning by Native
Americans in the Great Plains, and it is likely that in some areas fire scar studies at the forest
boundary have underestimated fire frequency within the prairie [282]. Though most prescribed burning now is in spring and, to a lesser
extent, fall, lightning-caused presettlement fires were generally (85% according to historical
records) in June, July, and August. Intentional burning by Native Americans took
place in all months but most frequently in fall [107]. Fuel loads
historically ranged from 1.1 to
3.4 tons per acre (2.5-7.6 t/ha). Given summer humidities and
temperatures, flame lengths of 12 feet (3.7 m) are
estimated based on these fuel loads [282]. Grazing by bison and elk was high intensity but sporadic in space and time leaving areas with abundant
fuels to support fire [43]. Road construction, expansion of towns, conversion to
agricultural use, fire suppression efforts, recommendations against intentional
burning, and grazing have reduced fire frequency in
the Great Plains. Generally, net primary production of the
prairie and of little bluestem increases after fire (see Fire Effects).

Nebraska sandhills prairie occurs on uplands as far north as southern South
Dakota; dominants include big, sand, and little bluestems, prairie sandreed, and
needle-and-thread grass (Hesperostipa comata). Fire historically occurred
at less than 10
year intervals [214].

Effects of fire and fire frequency have been well-studied in the Flint
Hills and Konza Prairie. The Flint Hills prairie is one of the larger intact true prairie
areas, covering about 4 million acres (1.6 million ha) in eastern Kansas and Nebraska south to
northern Okalahoma. Much of it is unsuitable for cultivation
because of steep topography and shallow soils [243]. Tree and shrub increase on little bluestem prairie in
the Kansas Flint Hills
between 1856 and 1969 was assessed using aerial surveys, field observations, and
land survey data. During this period, on a landscape scale, woody plant cover
increased only 8%, but on unburned sites between 1937 and 1969 cover increased
34% [43]. On the Konza Prairie in eastern Kansas, big and little bluestems and
indiangrass increase with increasing fire frequency; with decreasing fire
frequency eastern redcedar, American elm, honey-locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), and
common hackberry woodlands develop. Older forests of this type also include bur oak (Q. macrocarpa)
and eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) in ravine areas [3].
In this mixed-prairie less desirable grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass, slender wheatgrass (E.
trachycaulus), and smooth brome (Bromus inermis) are controlled by fire, and, in fire's absence, these
grasses increase with shrub and tree cover [26,238]. 

Little bluestem and tallgrass associates grow in the understory of bur oak,
boxelder (A. negundo), and green ash (F. pennsylvanica) "stringer" woodlands along streams throughout
the Midwest; these woodlands burned slightly less frequently than adjacent grasslands.
Prescribed fire is now used to regenerate these stands as dominant trees sprout when
top-killed; fire is also useful for reducing competition from Kentucky bluegrass
[238]. 

Eastern Missouri and Arkansas: Warm season grasses, primarily little
bluestem, are dominant in "cedar glades" (limestone and dolomite
hillsides with variable density of eastern redcedar). A study of fire scars on
eastern redcedar in a glade in southern Missouri showed a mean fire interval of 3.2 years between 1630 and 1870 (based on
occurrence of 1 scar). Two or more trees showed
fire scars at 8.75-year mean intervals (1730-1870); and 3 or more showed scars
at 20-year intervals (1730-1870). Fire frequency declined somewhat starting in about 1870 as overgrazing
reduced fuel loads and the Osage tribe was removed (the tribe had practiced
annual burning in many areas). Frequency declined further in the 1940s with fire suppression and
road building
[130]. As
a result of fire suppression there has been a large increase in eastern redcedar cover and
density [282]. Cutting and herbicides have been used to reduce eastern redcedar
density in the Great Plains; these have best results when done after prescribed fire
[210]. Little bluestem was
presumably more prominent in oak and hickory forests of the area when they
burned at 7- to 14-year-intervals. These forests have now only very infrequent surface fires that are generally human
caused, and little bluestem has only incidental cover in closed-canopy forests
[282]. 

Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia: Pine and oak savannas maintained by fire
were present in Tennessee and Kentucky. Burning was common practice of
Native
Americans prior to settlement by European-Americans and fires were intentionally set between about
1900 and 1940 when the Daniel Boone National Forest was established. Little bluestem is common in disturbed habitats in the
area. Campbell and others [62] comment that, even without direct evidence, it is reasonable to assume that
little bluestem was important
in the savanna understory. Lightning-caused fires are rare in
this area because precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year [85]. Frequent fire, most likely intentionally
set, would have been required to maintain openings. A study of annual, periodic (5-year
fire interval), and no prescribed burning in
an oak, sweetgum, and mockernut hickory (C. tomentosa) forest on the southeastern part of the Highland
Rim, Tennessee, found that without burning little bluestem was completely shaded
out in about 8 years [86]. 

Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio: Little bluestem
is dominant in Illinois and Ohio sand prairies and blackjack oak/black
oak savannas; decline in fire frequency has favored closed forests over savannas and increased
oaks and black hickory density [16,17,125,151]. Herbaceous
species in prairie, savanna, and, to a lesser extent, the forest understory
include little bluestem, big bluestem, sand lovegrass, prairie sandreed, and
prickly-pear [16,18,125]. Savanna overstories include blackjack oak, black
oak, and black hickory [16,125]. Later successional forests support, most prominently, black oak, but also
black hickory, sugar maple, pawpaw (Asimina triloba), white ash, white
oak, and American
elm [31]. Little bluestem growth under black oak canopies in
forests is
limited; this further decreases fire frequency and severity in closed canopy black
oak stands [17]. In oak/hickory savannas grasses are generally 3 to 5
feet (1-2 m) tall with estimated fine fuel loading of 2 to 5 tons/acre (4 to 11t/ha) [282].
In post oak/blackjack oak
savannas, fire at intervals
less than 10 years increased cover of
little bluestem and other warm season grasses and limited oak density
[151,282]. In black oak forests fire occurred at
approximately 35 year intervals; here it was less frequent because of less fine fuel
loading [282]. Restoration efforts have included prescribed
fire to maintain a mosaic of prairie, savanna, and forest [16]. As fire suppression has increased oak cover in
savannas, less fire-resistant tree species (including red maple, black tupelo, and sugar maple)
have increased as well [151]. 

Historically dry prairies and oak savannas were
present in the western and northern parts of Indiana. Where preserved, these
open scrub vegetation types are characterized by little bluestem, other
bluestems, and porcupine grass (H. spartea) in the understory and oaks, Virginia pine, and winged elm in the overstory [35]. Fire
at 10- to 35-year intervals has
maintained some of these communities but edaphic factors are generally thought have a
greater influence on their distribution [144,282]. Edaphic factors
that limit forest development include excessive
drainage because of coarse texture, nutrient deficiency, and substrates that
limit root penetration. Though fire is important in the maintenance of some
barrens in the eastern United States, it evidently is not the primary factor in
Indiana. For example, some barrens vegetation types persist on soils with
bedrock close to the surface even though fire has long been excluded [144].  

Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and southern Canada: In this area there were
oak savannas as described for Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, many of which have
become dominated by black oak to the near exclusion of prairie understory species.
Fire does not carry well where the canopy has become closed; logging has been
used to reduce stand density before prescribed fire. One site on the Leopold
Memorial Reserve had fire successfully reintroduced after the removal of approximately
70-year-old black oaks with positive results for prairie grasses (little
bluestem, prairie Junegrass) and forbs [143]. In the Great Lakes area,
little bluestem, big bluestem, sedges, quackgrass, and Kentucky bluegrass
occur in pine
barrens where jack pine and red pine grow with bur oak, northern pin oak (Q.
ellipsoidalis), and quaking
aspen (Populus tremuloides) [280]. Edaphic and topographic factors largely
determine the distribution of these communities; fire is of highly variable frequency
(10-300 year intervals) and less important than it is in more mesic savannas and prairies
[98,136,280]. Barrens have had little increase in tree cover even with 40 years of fire
exclusion, generally because of edaphic limitations [280]. On more
favorable sites canopies have closed and crown fire has maintained open patches with grassland species
[143]. 

Effects of fire frequency in northern pin oak/bur oak savannas and
forests in east-central Minnesota were studied by Peterson and Reich [216].
Study sites had had between 0 and 26 fires in the preceding 26
years. Frequent (more than 3 per decade) surface fire was required to
reduce sapling density to savanna levels. Between 1984 and 1995, for stands burned
more than 2 times, northern pin oak (50% mortality) was more susceptible to fire
than bur oak (8% mortality). Based on these findings, the authors
recommend a prescribed fire regime of 3 fires per decade to maintain open stands to balance sapling
control with the need for some oak recruitment. Occasional fire exclusion is
recommended. These findings are similar to the historic fire
frequencies reported for these communities (<10 year intervals for bur oak
types) [214,282]. In Minnesota, Kentucky bluegrass is prominent
in savannas and prairie where tallgrass warm season species were historically more abundant; this change came with heavy
grazing in the 1940s and is reversible with prescribed spring fire [257]. 

In Ontario and other parts of southern Canada there was historically a mosaic of
prairie and oak, eastern white pine, and American chestnut (Castanea dentata) savannas and woodlands similar to those described for the
Central and
Great Lakes states. Savannas and prairie cover in Ontario is estimated at 12,500
to 15,000 acres (5,000-6,000 ha) prior to settlement;
less than 1% of the original prairie
and savanna vegetation in the vicinity is present today. These communities were
correlated with well-drained sandy and/or gravelly soils on steep topography. Soil characteristics,
intentional burning by Native Americans, and interactions thereof determined the
extent of prairie and savanna [124].

North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming: Little bluestem occurs in
this geographic area in interior ponderosa pine stands, streamside woodlands of deciduous
trees, and open prairie. Riparian woodlands include green ash with lesser amounts of American elm, Rocky Mountain juniper,
boxelder,
bur oak, and quaking aspen. Other grasses present are western wheatgrass, blue and sideoats gramas, and plains muhly (M.
cuspidata). These
communities experience fire at 35- to 200-year intervals [282].
In the Red River
Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota tallgrass species (little and big bluestem,
and switchgrass) are dominant; historic fire frequency was probably less than
10 years [214]. Little bluestem is present in xeric ponderosa pine habitats
of South Dakota, eastern Montana, eastern Wyoming, and western Nebraska (minor
component in these communities in Nebraska) [50,218,264]. In the Black Hills ponderosa pine forests, south-facing slopes
support open pine with little bluestem and western wheatgrass in the
understory; cooler aspects have more shrub development and a closed canopy. These ponderosa pine stands had mean fire intervals of 16 years between 1388 and
1900 (when fire scars were only counted if present on more than 25% of trees,
mean fire interval was 20 years). There was a fire-free interval of 104 years between 1890 and
1994; this was the longest on record and was coincident with an increase in
ponderosa pine density in openings and savannas [50]. In this area
little bluestem was/is present in blue grama-needle-and-thread grass-western wheatgrass
prairies which burned at less than 35 year intervals as well as in the northern
extent of the sandhills prairie which was characterized by fire at less than 10
year intervals [214].

Fire return intervals for
plant communities and ecosystems in which little bluestem occurs are summarized
below. 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".

Community or Ecosystem Dominant Species Fire Return Interval Range (years)
bluestem prairie Andropogon gerardii var. gerardii-Schizachyrium scoparium
Nebraska sandhills prairie Andropogon gerardii var. paucipilus-Schizachyrium scoparium
bluestem-Sacahuista prairie Andropogon littoralis-Spartina spartinae
desert grasslands Bouteloua eriopoda and/or Pleuraphis mutica 5-100 
plains grasslands Bouteloua spp.
blue grama-needle-and-thread grass-western wheatgrass Bouteloua gracilis-Hesperostipa comata-Pascopyrum smithii
blue grama-buffalo grass Bouteloua gracilis-Buchloe dactyloides
grama-galleta steppe Bouteloua gracilis-Pleuraphis jamesii
blue grama-tobosa prairie Bouteloua gracilis-Pleuraphis mutica 214]
sugarberry-America elm-green ash Celtis laevigata-Ulmus americana-Fraxinus pennsylvanica 282]
mountain-mahogany-Gambel oak scrub Cercocarpus ledifolius-Quercus gambelii 214]
Atlantic white-cedar Chamaecyparis thyoides 35 to > 200 [282]
northern cordgrass prairie Distichlis spicata-Spartina spp. 1-3 
juniper-oak savanna Juniperus ashei-Quercus virginiana
Ashe juniper Juniperus ashei
cedar glades Juniperus virginiana 3-7 
wheatgrass plains grasslands Pascopyrum smithii
pinyon-juniper Pinus-Juniperus spp. 214]
jack pine Pinus banksiana 98]
Mexican pinyon Pinus cembroides 20-70 [193,256]
shortleaf pine Pinus echinata 2-15 
shortleaf pine-oak Pinus echinata-Quercus spp. 282]
Colorado pinyon Pinus edulis 10-49 [214]
slash pine Pinus elliottii 3-8 
slash pine-hardwood Pinus elliottii-variable
sand pine Pinus elliottii var. elliottii 25-45 [282]
South Florida slash pine Pinus elliottii var. densa 1-5 
longleaf-slash pine Pinus palustris-P. elliottii 1-4 [198,282]
longleaf pine-scrub oak Pinus palustris-Quercus spp. 6-10 [282]
interior ponderosa pine* Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum 2-30 [25,27,174]
Arizona pine Pinus ponderosa var. arizonica 2-10 [25]
Table Mountain pine Pinus pungens 282]
red pine (Great Lakes region) Pinus resinosa 10-200 (10**) [98,113]
red-white-jack pine* Pinus resinosa-P. strobus-P. banksiana 10-300 [98,136]
pitch pine Pinus rigida 6-25 [53,139]
pond pine Pinus serotina 3-8 
loblolly pine Pinus taeda 3-8 
loblolly-shortleaf pine Pinus taeda-P. echinata 10 to
Virginia pine Pinus virginiana 10 to
Virginia pine-oak Pinus virginiana-Quercus spp. 10 to
sycamore-sweetgum-American elm Platanus occidentalis-Liquidambar styraciflua-Ulmus americana 282]
galleta-threeawn shrubsteppe Pleuraphis jamesii-Aristida purpurea 214]
mesquite Prosopis glandulosa 190,214]
mesquite-buffalo grass Prosopis glandulosa-Buchloe dactyloides
Texas savanna Prosopis glandulosa var. glandulosa 214]
oak-hickory Quercus-Carya spp. 282]
oak-juniper woodland (Southwest) Quercus-Juniperus spp. 214]
northeastern oak-pine Quercus-Pinus spp. 10 to
southeastern oak-pine Quercus-Pinus spp.
white oak-black oak-northern red oak Quercus alba-Q. velutina-Q. rubra
northern pin oak Quercus ellipsoidalis
bur oak Quercus macrocarpa 282]
oak savanna Quercus macrocarpa/Andropogon gerardii-Schizachyrium scoparium 2-14 [214,282]
shinnery Quercus mohriana 214]
chestnut oak Q. prinus 3-8 
northern red oak Quercus rubra 10 to
post oak-blackjack oak Quercus stellata-Q. marilandica
black oak Quercus velutina
live oak Quercus virginiana 10 to282]
interior live oak Quercus wislizenii 25]
cabbage palmetto-slash pine Sabal palmetto-Pinus elliottii 198,282]
blackland prairie Schizachyrium scoparium-Nassella leucotricha
Fayette prairie Schizachyrium scoparium-Buchloe dactyloides 282]
little bluestem-grama prairie Schizachyrium scoparium-Bouteloua spp.
southern cordgrass prairie Spartina alterniflora 1-3 [214]


*fire return interval varies widely; trends in variation are noted in the species summary

**mean

More info for the terms: cover, density, fire exclusion, fire frequency, fire interval, fire management, fire regime, forest, frequency, fuel, habitat type, litter, meristem, prescribed fire, restoration, shrubs, surface fire, tree

Fire is widely used in little bluestem communities to increase forage
production for domestic livestock and wildlife (see Management Considerations)
and for control of woody
species. Specific fire management considerations for different little bluestem
communities are provided below; for further information pertaining to historic
fire intervals and fire management see Fire Ecology.

In southern New England, prescribed annual spring
fire has been used to suppress sprouting shrubs such as black cherry, sweet birch, and red maple in favor of little bluestem-dominated
openings, though intervals up to 5 years will also control shrubs and trees
in this habitat type [178,255]. For New Jersey pitch pine barrens where little
bluestem is dominant and encroachment has not been very great, fire at 8- to 12-year intervals
over decades will probably maintain low density stands [178]. Fire management has sought to restore
pine savannas and forests in the Southeast where they
have been compromised by decline in fire frequency, urbanization, agricultural
use, and conversion to loblolly pine plantations [181]. Frequent fire is
generally required to maintain low tree
density in oak savannas of the central United States. A study of annual, periodic (5-year fire interval), and no prescribed burning in
an oak forest on the southeastern part of the Highland
Rim, Tennessee, found that without burning little bluestem was completely shaded
out in about 8 years [86]. Peterson and Reich [216] had similar findings in
a northern pin oak savanna restoration study in Minnesota. Based on their findings, the authors
recommended a prescribed fire regime of 3 fires per decade to maintain open
stands. To balance sapling
control with the need for limited oak recruitment, occasional fire exclusion is
recommended. 

Former savannas that now have extensive canopy development may be difficult
to restore with fire alone. If grass species cover has
declined during canopy closure, as is commonly the case, fine fuel amounts are not sufficient for
surface fire with enough heat to kill oaks. Bowles
and McBride [41] recommend experimenting with cutting or girdling of
subcanopy oaks for thinning and subsequent increase of grasses. These techniques
have been used to reduce the cover of eastern redcedar where it has expanded and
increased in prairies and savannas [210]. Though there have been
cases where eastern redcedar is completely eliminated by a single fire,
typically mortality is not widespread once extensive stands have developed
[20,210].

Fire has also been used to reduce brushy species like honey mesquite and Ashe
and redberry junipers (J. erythrocarpa) where they have encroached in dry grasslands. Where honey mesquite invades grasslands prescribed fire may be used to kill
seedlings and leave larger trees; abundant sprouting makes complete removal
unfeasible [214]. Ashe juniper invasion and increase on little bluestem grasslands in Texas
have been reduced with prescribed fire, but about 880 pounds per acre (1,000 kg/ha) of fuel is required to sustain fire in these communities.
Intensive methods like chaining or dozing are required for elimination of Ashe
and redberry junipers, but
these techniques result in a greater reduction of cover;
bare ground becomes more exposed and less desirable species are prominent for several years after fire.
Redberry juniper is killed by fire when young because the meristem is
aboveground, while older trees' sprouting buds are generally protected from fire
in 7 to 20 years by soil and plant litter accumulation. A 7- to 10-year fire interval has been recommended where soils are deep and litter accumulation
is rapid, and a 15- to 20-year
interval has been recommended on shallow soil sites. Little bluestem
regrowth is
critical to control of juniper; burning with high soil moisture allows optimal grass recovery in these
semiarid lands [290].

More info on this topic.

More info for the term: hemicryptophyte

RAUNKIAER [222] LIFE FORM:




Hemicryptophyte

More info for the terms: cover, mesic, peat, xeric

With a large geographic range, little bluestem occupies a wide variety of soil
types and landforms [10,13,75,96,97,236,263,285,295]. Common soil types and site
characteristics where little bluestem is dominant are listed below by region:

Location Soil characteristics Site characteristics Reference
eastern Kansas best growth on coarse soils wide range of sites
[236]
western Kansas poorly developed soils xeric uplands
Great Lakes area and Nebraska coarse, well-drained, nutrient deficient soils stabilized dunes [38,176]

northeastern Illinois, southeastern Wisconsin, southwestern Michigan,
Indiana, western Ohio, and Missouri  sapric peat soil prairie marshes  [211]
Indiana and Illinois coarse, well-drained, nutrient deficient soils sites with bedrock or clay layers near surface [144]
West Virginia thin soils steep slopes [249]
southern Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut, acidic, sandy soils wide range of sites [204]
Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Tennessee coarse, nutrient deficient soils wide range of sites, commonly with ultramafic parent
material [268]
eastern Montana alkaline steep slopes [194]
Texas and Louisiana vertisols and alfisols coastal plains [242]

Little bluestem can grow well with little available nitrogen and low soil
fertility. With nitrogen addition on plots of little bluestem, big bluestem, Kentucky
bluegrass (Poa pratensis), quackgrass (Elymus repens), and
ticklegrass (Agrostis scabra), little and big bluestem
were excluded by others on plots with highest available nitrogen. The authors
suggest
atmospheric nitrogen deposition may destabilize tallgrass prairie and favor less desirable species [289].

From southern New England to Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas, little
bluestem grows at low elevations in coastal prairie [301]. In the Southeast little bluestem occurs on xeric sites in the
mid-elevation Piedmont and in higher elevations in the Appalachian Mountains [240]. It grows in higher elevations in the western
United States, particularly in Arizona. Elevational ranges for several western states are presented
below [95,118,148,184,260,292]: 

Arizona

above 4,000 feet (1,219 m)
New Mexico 3,000 to 9,000 feet (914-2,743 m)
Utah 3,500 to 7,500 feet (1,067-2,286 m)
Colorado 3,500 to 9,500 feet (1,067-2,867 m)
Wyoming 3,400 to 7,400 feet (1,036-2,256 m)
South Dakota
below 5,475 feet (1,669 m)
Montana 2,100 to 4,800 feet (640-1,463 m)


Little bluestem is dominant in the true prairie of eastern Kansas where mean
annual precipitation averages 30 to 38 inches (762-965 mm) and the growing season is 170 to 190 days
long; it also grows in areas receiving 10 to 60 inches (250-1,500 mm) of mean annual precipitation
[243,260]. Longleaf pine/little
bluestem savannas on the Gulf coast receive 44 to 60 inches (1,100-1,600 mm)
mean annual precipitation; coarse soils and frequent fire maintain a xeric
appearance [46]. Interior ponderosa pine/little bluestem savannas in the Black Hills,
South Dakota, receive about 18 to 30 inches (457-762 mm) of precipitation each year [260]. Knapp [165] observed that little
bluestem experienced lower predawn and mid-day leaf osmotic potentials
than both switchgrass (a low elevation mesic grass) and big bluestem (a
low to mid-elevation mesic grass), indicating little bluestem is
able to remain physiologically active longer under low soil moisture
than either of the others. Extended periods of
drought, however, reduce little bluestem cover. Severe drought in the 1930s in
Kansas allowed the more drought resistant sideoats grama (B. curtipendula) to replace little bluestem in many areas [10].

Because of little bluestem seedling tolerance for drought and shade intolerance,
big bluestem is dominant or exclusive on more mesic sites [171].

More info on this topic.

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

More info for the term: cover

SAF COVER TYPES [108]:




1 Jack pine

5 Balsam fir

14 Northern pin oak

15 Red pine

16 Aspen

17 Pin cherry

18 Paper birch

20 White pine-northern red oak-red maple

21 Eastern white pine

26 Sugar maple-basswood

27 Sugar maple

37 Northern white-cedar

39 Black ash-American elm-red maple

40 Post oak-blackjack oak

42 Bur oak

44 Chestnut oak

45 Pitch pine

46 Eastern redcedar

51 White pine-chestnut oak

52 White oak-black oak-northern red oak

53 White oak

55 Northern red oak

64 Sassafras-persimmon

65 Pin oak-sweetgum

66 Ashe juniper-redberry (Pinchot) juniper

67 Mohrs (shin) oak

68 Mesquite

69 Sand pine

70 Longleaf pine

71 Longleaf pine-scrub oak

72 Southern scrub oak

73 Southern redcedar

74 Cabbage palmetto

75 Shortleaf pine

76 Shortleaf pine-oak

78 Virginia pine-oak

79 Virginia pine

80 Loblolly pine-shortleaf pine

81 Loblolly pine

82 Loblolly pine-hardwood

83 Longleaf pine-slash pine

84 Slash pine

85 Slash pine-hardwood

89 Live oak

109 Hawthorn

110 Black oak

111 South Florida slash pine

202 White spruce-paper birch

217 Aspen

220 Rocky Mountain juniper

236 Bur oak

237 Interior ponderosa pine

238 Western juniper

239 Pinyon-juniper

242 Mesquite
252 Paper birch

More info on this topic.

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):

More info for the term: shrub

ECOSYSTEMS [116]:




FRES10 White-red-jack pine

FRES11 Spruce-fir

FRES12 Longleaf-slash pine

FRES13 Loblolly-shortleaf pine

FRES14 Oak-pine

FRES15 Oak-hickory

FRES16 Oak-gum-cypress

FRES17 Elm-ash-cottonwood

FRES18 Maple-beech-birch

FRES19 Aspen-birch

FRES20 Douglas-fir

FRES21 Ponderosa pine

FRES28 Western hardwoods

FRES29 Sagebrush

FRES30 Desert shrub

FRES31 Shinnery

FRES32 Texas savanna

FRES33 Southwestern shrubsteppe

FRES35 Pinyon-juniper

FRES36 Mountain grasslands

FRES38 Plains grasslands

FRES39 Prairie

FRES40 Desert grasslands

FRES41 Wet grasslands

More info on this topic.

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, woodland

KUCHLER [170] PLANT ASSOCIATIONS:




K005 Mixed conifer forest

K010 Ponderosa shrub forest

K011 Western ponderosa forest


K012 Douglas-fir forest


K016 Eastern ponderosa forest

K017 Black Hills pine forest

K018 Pine-Douglas-fir forest
K019 Arizona pine forest

K023 Juniper-pinyon woodland

K024 Juniper steppe woodland

K027 Mesquite bosques

K031 Oak-juniper woodland

K032 Transition between K031 and K037

K037 Mountain-mahogany-oak scrub

K053 Grama-galleta steppe

K054 Grama-tobosa prairie

K055 Sagebrush steppe

K057 Galleta-threeawn shrubsteppe

K058 Grama-tobosa shrubsteppe

K060 Mesquite savanna

K061 Mesquite-acacia savanna

K062 Mesquite-live oak savanna

K063 Foothills prairie

K064 Grama-needlegrass-wheatgrass

K065 Grama-buffalo grass

K066 Wheatgrass-needlegrass

K067 Wheatgrass-bluestem-needlegrass

K068 Wheatgrass-grama-buffalo grass

K069 Bluestem-grama prairie

K070 Sandsage-bluestem prairie

K071 Shinnery

K072 Sea oats prairie

K073 Northern cordgrass prairie

K074 Bluestem prairie

K075 Nebraska Sandhills prairie

K076 Blackland prairie

K077 Bluestem-sacahuista prairie

K079 Palmetto prairie

K081 Oak savanna

K082 Mosaic of K074 and K100

K083 Cedar glades

K084 Cross Timbers

K085 Mesquite-buffalo grass

K086 Juniper-oak savanna

K087 Mesquite-oak savanna

K088 Fayette prairie

K089 Black Belt

K090 Live oak-sea oats

K093 Great Lakes spruce-fir forest

K095 Great Lakes pine forest

K098 Northern floodplain forest

K099 Maple-basswood forest

K100 Oak-hickory forest

K101 Elm-ash forest

K102 Beech-maple forest

K103 Mixed mesophytic forest
K104 Appalachian oak forest

K106 Northern hardwoods

K107 Northern hardwoods-fir forest

K108 Northern hardwoods-spruce forest

K109 Transition between K104 and K106

K110 Northeastern oak-pine forest

K111 Oak-hickory-pine

K112 Southern mixed forest

K113 Southern floodplain forest

K114 Pocosin

K115 Sand pine scrub

K116 Subtropical pine forest

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in association with the following Rangeland Cover Types (as classified by the Society for Range Management, SRM):

More info for the terms: association, cover, hardwood, shrub, shrubland, woodland

SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES [237]:




109 Ponderosa pine shrubland

110 Ponderosa pine-grassland
310 Needle-and-thread-blue grama

401 Basin big sagebrush

402 Mountain big sagebrush

403 Wyoming big sagebrush

404 Threetip sagebrush

405 Black sagebrush

406 Low sagebrush

407 Stiff sagebrush

408 Other sagebrush types

411 Aspen woodland

412 Juniper-pinyon woodland

413 Gambel oak

502 Grama-galleta

504 Juniper-pinyon pine woodland

505 Grama-tobosa shrub

509 Transition between oak-juniper woodland and mahogany-oak association

601 Bluestem prairie

602 Bluestem-prairie sandreed

603 Prairie sandreed-needlegrass

604 Bluestem-grama prairie

605 Sandsage prairie

606 Wheatgrass-bluestem-needlegrass

607 Wheatgrass-needlegrass

608 Wheatgrass-grama-needlegrass

609 Wheatgrass-grama

611 Blue grama-buffalo grass

612 Sagebrush-grass

702 Black grama-alkali sacaton

703 Black grama-sideoats grama

704 Blue grama-western wheatgrass

706 Blue grama-sideoats grama

707 Blue grama-sideoats grama-black grama

708 Bluestem-dropseed

709 Bluestem-grama

710 Bluestem prairie

711 Bluestem-sacahuista prairie

714 Grama-bluestem

715 Grama-buffalo grass

716 Grama-feathergrass

717 Little bluestem-Indiangrass-Texas wintergrass

718 Mesquite-grama

719 Mesquite-liveoak-seacoast bluestem

720 Sand bluestem-little bluestem (dunes)

721 Sand bluestem-little bluestem (plains)

722 Sand sagebrush-mixed prairie

724 Sideoats grama-New Mexico feathergrass-winterfat

727 Mesquite-buffalo grass

729 Mesquite

730 Sand shinnery oak

731 Cross timbers-Oklahoma

732 Cross timbers-Texas (little bluestem-post oak)

733 Juniper-oak

734 Mesquite-oak

735 Sideoats grama-sumac-juniper

801 Savanna

802 Missouri prairie

803 Missouri glades

804 Tall fescue

808 Sand pine scrub

809 Mixed hardwood and pine

810 Longleaf pine-turkey oak hills

811 South Florida flatwoods

812 North Florida flatwoods

813 Cutthroat seeps

814 Cabbage palm flatwoods

815 Upland hardwood hammocks

816 Cabbage palm hammocks

817 Oak hammocks

820 Everglades flatwoods

More info for the terms: frequency, litter, top-kill

Fire removes litter, standing dead plant material, and living leaves and culms
from little bluestem. Fire generally top-kills little bluestem and may kill it
if fire occurs in hot and/or dry summer whether. Generally, however, little
bluestem growth after top-kill equals or exceeds prefire levels [146,299,300].
Fire effects research for little bluestem has focused on effects of fire
seasonality and frequency on forage and flowerstalk production increases (or
decreases) in the growing seasons following fire rather than on immediate fire
effects.

More info for the terms: cover, forb, seed, tiller

Little bluestem provides food and cover for many important upland game
bird species. The lesser prairie chicken uses sand sage prairie and sand
shinnery oak communities [24]. Little bluestem seeds are of particular value to this species as
well as for songbirds and sharp-tailed grouse
[156]. Northern bobwhites, ring-necked pheasants, and scaled quail use less wooded areas (<25% cover) on
the High and Rolling Plains of Texas where sideoats grama and little bluestem are
important sources of food [52]. Little bluestem savannas of the central United
States are important to the red-headed woodpecker, Baltimore oriole, eastern kingbird,
vesper sparrow, field sparrow, lark sparrow, brown thrasher, American goldfinch,
and brown-headed cowbird [84].

Little bluestem communities in the Great Plains
are used by bison (where bison have been reintroduced), particularly prairies
that are moderately grazed by prairie dogs or frequently burned. On Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, bison use
of bluestem prairie that was burned increased 12-fold. Bison's preference for
burned areas and moderately grazed areas appears to be a response to quality of forage rather than quantity [72].
In the same area prairie dog grazing reduces
dominance of little bluestem and increases forb and grass diversity; these grazed
communities are preferred by bison when unburned [73]. Fire reduced bison use of prairie
dog-grazed areas
30 to 63% [74]. A study of the Konza Prairie found bison preferred
burned areas, particularly those burned at more frequent intervals (1-year,
2-year, 4-year, and 20-year fire intervals were examined). During
spring (April 1 to June 30) the preference was greatest: use was 3 times greater
on burned areas compared to unburned areas [278]. 

Little bluestem is an important source of forage for domestic livestock. Little
bluestem yields are generally lower
than those of associated grasses, but forage production remains
constant, showing little or no decline from year to year except under severe drought conditions [121,221,294].
Little bluestem is an important component of upland hay, which is of good
quality if cut early [152,239].
In the Great Plains tallgrass prairie, estimated forage production historically ranged from 1.1 to
3.4 tons per acre (2.5-7.6 t/ha) [282]. More recent measurements of
forage production fall within this range; some reports of forage production
across little bluestem's range are reported below: 

site forage production
Tallgrass Prairie Preserve (Oklahoma) 1,858 pounds per acre on savannas with shallow loam to
4,600 pounds per acre on
deeper soils  
Niobrara Valley Preserve (Nebraska) 1,410 to 2,300 pounds per acre [38]
Minnesota and North Dakota (Red River Valley) 4,210 pounds per acre to 3,355 pounds per acre
Manitoba  (Red River Valley) 2,197 pounds per acre [221]
Limestone Prairie of Texas ("good" condition
range) 2,500 to 3,300 pounds per acre
Limestone Prairie of Texas ("excellent" condition
range with more little bluestem cover) 3,500 to
4,000 pounds per acre [224] 

Palatability/nutritional value:
Little bluestem is highly palatable to most livestock during
the plant's early growth period. Seed stalks, which appear by mid-summer, are in most areas avoided by livestock, but heavy use of immature
inflorescences has been reported for Texas [101]. Animals continue to
graze basal leaves until plants reach maturity [140,194,251]. During the fall and winter months plants
are grazed only after more palatable species have been utilized
[118,148]. In southern latitudes, utilization may not be limited
by season. Dyksterhuis [101] reported cattle consume little
bluestem year-round in Texas. The mild climate allows the plant to
remain active throughout the year. In December and January, some bluish-green new
shoots occur around the edges of little bluestem bunches and in the interior where they are protected by standing
dead culms. As the season advances, cattle selectively consume only
the green leaves from the dense interior. 

Stage of maturity greatly
influences the nutritive value of little bluestem. During spring and
summer, this grass provides medium- to high-quality forage, but as the
season advances, protein and phosphorus levels drop and
become inadequate for livestock by mid-summer [129,233,294]. In the Ozarks, protein content peaks in May at about 11% (of dry weight) and
declines to under 5% over the summer; calcium content ranges from 0.3% to 0.6%, peaking in
September and October. Phosphorus ranges from about 0.05% to 0.4% with a peak in
May and June; fiber content is variable around 30%. Burnt plots in the
Ozarks had
slightly higher nutrient (protein, calcium, phosphorus) contents except fiber was slightly lower
[61]; increases in these nutrients as a result of burning have also been observed
in longleaf pine stands [141,167]. In vitro dry matter digestion (IVDMD) is low by
mid-summer, with
levels between 52% and 58% often reported [58,150,202,294].

Little bluestem hay is best if cut in early to mid-summer before
nutritive quality decreases (July 1 to July 15 in Kansas) [152,212].
Changes in physical traits and chemical composition of little bluestem during
the growing season in the Nebraska Sandhills have been summarized below (means and standard
errors); these data show the decline in IVDMD and protein as biomass peaks in
October [206]:

  June July August October
tiller length (cm) 18 (1) 20 (1) 23 (3) 26 (2)
tiller weight (g) 0.1 (0.01) 0.2 (0.02) 0.2 (0.02) 0.3 (0.04)
protein (%) 9.8 (0.4) 8.1 (0.8) 6.9 (0.9) 3.6 (0.6)
in vitro dry-matter digestibility 62 (2) 53 (3) 46 (4) 32 (3)
cell wall (%) 68 (2) 68 (1) 69 (1) 68 (1)
hemicellulose (%) 30 (1) 29 (2) 28 (1) 23 (1)
acid detergent fiber (%) 38 (1) 39 (1) 41 (0.6) 45 (0.4)
ash (%) 3.1 (0.3) 3.4 (0.3) 4.4 (0.2) 6.1 (0.2)
lignin (%) 4.3 (0.1) 4.2 (0.3) 4.6 (0.3) 5.7 (0.1)
total nonstructural carbohydrates (mg/g) 94 (4) 96 (5) 95 (4) 94 (19)
chlorophyll (mg/g) 1.8 (0.3) 1.7 (0.2) 1.6 (0.2) 1.1 (0.4)




Little bluestem is not as nutritious as associated species such as sand
bluestem, crested wheatgrass, prairie sandreed, side-oats grama, and blue grama [150,202,294]. Protein content of little bluestem
is only about one-half that of blue grama at the same stage of growth
[148].  

Cover value:
Little bluestem provides nesting habitat and cover for bobwhite quail, northern
bobwhites, lesser prairie chickens, Montezuma quail, sharp-tailed grouse,
and other upland game birds [68,121,156,208,229,239]. In open pine stands in the
Southeast, bobwhite quail use bluestem grasses for nesting,
particularly sites burned within a year [134]. In western Oklahoma,
northern bobwhites use grasslands dominated by little bluestem [267]. In
Missouri, little bluestem, due to its bunch-type growth habit, provides optimum
shelter for nesting prairie chickens [68]. Reductions in cover of bluestems and dropseeds that occur with
drought have caused populations to decline as nesting cover is reduced [24]. In Oklahoma and Nebraska, little bluestem is one of the
principal grasses in which prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse nest
[156,239]. The Montezuma quail depends
on the cover of little bluestem (as well as threeawns and sideoats grama)
on the Edwards Plateau of Texas, particularly on grazed sites [8]. Little bluestem is an important
nesting cover for sharp-tailed grouse in the Great Plains [239]. The
degree to which little bluestem provides environmental protection for
other wildlife species has been rated as follows [52,95,156,182]: 

  Kansas Montana North Dakota Oklahoma Texas Utah Wyoming
small mammals --- fair good --- --- good fair
small nongame birds good fair good --- --- fair fair
upland game birds good good good good good fair fair
waterfowl --- fair fair --- --- poor poor

Little bluestem is a dominant understory species occurring in open-growing pine stands
including interior ponderosa pine (Pinus
ponderosa var. scopulorum) in the western United States and
longleaf pine (P. palustris), pitch pine (P. rigida), loblolly pine (P. taeda),
slash pine (P. elliottii), shortleaf pine (P. echinata), and Virginia pine
(P. virginiana) in the eastern and central parts of the country. Little
bluestem is also important in tallgrass, mixed-grass, coastal, and bluestem
prairies. Prairie communities often occur in a mosaic with oak (Quercus spp.) savannas and
forests and eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) glades. The species is most
well-known where it occurs in the prairie of Kansas and Nebraska. In these areas
it is 1 of the most prominent species of intermediate height. For a description of plant
associations related to specific FIRE REGIMES see Fire Ecology.

Classification systems describing plant
communities in which little bluestem is a dominant species are listed below:

Arizona: [253]
Colorado: [12,28,87]
Florida: [1]

Indiana: [144,277]
Kansas: [173]
Kentucky: [241]

Maryland: [269,270]
Massachusetts: [100]
Michigan: 
Minnesota: [9]
Montana:
[62,218]
New Mexico: [87,253]
New York: [225]
North Carolina: [240]
North Dakota: [132,191,295]

Ohio: [125]
South Carolina: [200]
South Dakota:
[53]
Tennessee: [241]

Texas: [89,259]
Utah: [253]
Virginia
West Virginia: [241]
Wisconsin:
[9,78]
Wyoming:
[9,261]

More info for the term: graminoid

Graminoid

AL AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI
ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA
MI MN MS MO MT NE NH NJ NM NY
NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN
TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY DC

AB BC MB NS ON PQ SK


MEXICO

More info for the term: forbs

Little bluestem and other native grasses and forbs have been used to
develop small prairie plantings for use in residential landscaping [92].

More info on this topic.

More info for the terms: cool-season, phenology

Little bluestem is a warm season grass [39]. It starts growth in the spring with
only a few leaves but then fills out rapidly. Using stored carbohydrates, new shoots develop from axillary buds below
the ground surface.

Little bluestem begins growth in late spring after cool-season grasses
have already developed. In Oklahoma, little bluestem begins growth about
20 days earlier than big bluestem [7]. Little bluestem begins growth in
early April in the southern part of its range and in May in the northern part of
its range [36,37,123,155,236]. 

Miller [192] observed that little
bluestem phenology follows a well-defined pattern, in which the date of
anthesis and the period of active growth are directly related to the
length of the growing season. This pattern was also noted by McMillan
[187,188], who found that plants of northern and western origin flowered
earliest (usually July), while plants of southern and eastern origin
flowered later (around October). Plants from northern origins
mature under long-day lengths and a short frost-free period. Plants
from southern origin are adapted to shorter day lengths and a long
frost-free period. Flowering is stimulated by and may occur earlier as the result of fire,
particularly when it occurs in late spring (see Plant Response to Fire) [138].

Little bluestem shows considerable ecotypic variation in relation to the
time of flowering [148,163,187,188]. Time of flowering in
several states is [7,10,95,123,155,226,245,263]: 

State Beginning of flowering End of flowering
Kansas August September
Montana July  August
North Dakota early August September
Nebraska August September
Oklahoma August September
South Dakota August September
Texas August December
Wyoming August September




Severe frost ends the growing season and causes dormancy [10].
Leaves are red and brown at maturity and red in fall or winter [273]. However,
in southern latitudes plants may not go completely dormant. In Texas,
Dyksterhuis [101] observed that although plants appeared dormant, new
shoots continued to originate at the base from October to December, and
portions of the plant remained green throughout winter. During fall
and winter, a portion of total nitrogen is translocated belowground.
Adams and Wallace [6] found that at time of flowering, aboveground
plant parts had 55.6% nitrogen compared with 44.4% in
belowground organs. After the growing season, these values changed to
35.6% in aboveground parts and 64.4% in belowground organs.
In the northern part of its range, little bluestem loses some leaves during
flowering (approximately August) but resumes growth after flowering and becomes
dormant with frost in October [123,183]. In the southern part of its range,
flowering takes place as late as November; dormancy is shortly thereafter and
may be incomplete [101,115].

More info for the terms: basal area, competition, cover, density, fire frequency, forb, forbs, frequency, fuel, fuel loading, grassland, litter, mesic, natural, prescribed burn, prescribed fire, shrub, shrubs, succession, woodland, xeric

Fall, winter, and spring burning of
little bluestem usually increases productivity; in these phenological stages
carbohydrates are stored belowground and little is consumed by fire. Conversely,
fire during the growing season is generally detrimental as dry conditions allow
hotter fire that burns the crowns more easily, injuring basal buds
that are below the soil surface and apical meristems that are located about 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the soil
surface [43] and therefore exposed to the fire's flames and heat [300].
Fall, winter, and spring burning are generally beneficial because of increased
light penetration to stem and leaf bases, increased soil temperature, and
increased availability of nitrogen and minerals [146]. In some cases fall,
winter, and spring burning have not increased little bluestem productivity;
these examples are usually in xeric habitats or dry years or pertain to late
spring fires [299]. 

Fire seasonality: Most prescribed fire in little bluestem habitats is in spring and, to a lesser extent, fall
because of the favorable response of little bluestem. Numerous authors have reported increases in flowerstalk abundance (up to 1,200%) following spring burning in tallgrass prairie
[79,105,146,168,215].
Late spring fires generally increase flowering the most [138]. These increases are attributed to increased nitrogen
availability and to removal of the litter layer around the growing
points, which increase the amount of solar radiation received [146,209].
Increases in flowerstalk and
herbage production are short-lived if fire is not repeated. Following spring burning in Iowa,
flowerstalk production increased dramatically the 1st growing season
but returned to normal by the 3rd growing season [105].
In open areas in Minnesota, on a wide range of sites (xeric to mesic, severely disturbed to
undisturbed), prescribed burning in early May significantly (p<0.05) increased
little bluestem flower production [215]. 

Aboveground biomass generally increases as a result of spring fire, but
timing of burning (early or late spring) and soil moisture status thereafter
also influence postfire response. Yield increases greater than 100% have been observed the
1st year following late spring burns in North Dakota [164], Minnesota
[254], Missouri [168], and Iowa [104]. On several accidentally-burned (April and early May) little bluestem fields
in south-central New York, forb biomass decreased 35% and grasses increased 32%
in average biomass; most of the increase was from little bluestem [255]. In a Black
Hills, South Dakota, ponderosa pine stand with bluestems, western wheatgrass, and bluegrasses (Poa
spp.) in
the understory, little bluestem
responded favorably to spring fire; cover on spring-burned sites was 86%
compared to 66% on unburned sites though the difference was not statistically significant
(p>0.05). On a site in eastern
North Dakota little bluestem responded favorably to early May fire. Production
on unburned sites was 387 pounds per acre (439 kg/ha); on burned sites it was
1,124 pounds per acre (1,276 kg/ha) [131]. In the Black Hills a late spring burn (May 27)
increased little bluestem yields by 31% [235]. 

Burning later in the spring (just prior to emergence of green shoots)
generally increases herbage production. Soil is
exposed for the least amount of time following late spring fires; therefore soil
moisture levels over the growing season are
reduced less after late spring burns than after winter, early spring, or
mid-spring burns [12,189]. In the bluestem prairie of the Kansas Flint Hills, a study of the effects of annual burning
(for 10
years) in early (March 20), mid- (April 20), and late (May 1) spring found that
late spring burning caused the largest increases in little bluestem forage [14]. This
was most
likely an indirect effect of soil moisture depletion by fire when it occurs in
early spring [12]. Similarly burning during dry
years sometimes does not allow prompt recovery, particularly in the drier part of
little bluestem's range. In western Texas, in the southern mixed-grass prairie, little bluestem productivity decreased up
to 42% when burned in dry years and increased up to 81% when burned in wet years.
After wet-year burns increases are noticeable for 1 to 2 years [299]. 

One
study, after 10 years of annual burning in different seasons in a well-preserved prairie remnant in south-central
Wisconsin prairie, found that early spring burning benefited little bluestem
more than late-season burning. Compared to unburned control plots, little bluestem
herbage increased 40% on
late fall burned sites and 125% on sites burned in early spring, but decreased 36% on sites burned in late spring (all significantly different at p<0.01). This unusual
response may be in part due to the remarkable recovery of porcupine grass; this
species increased 2,200% on late fall-burned plots, 380% on early spring-burned plots,
and 800% on late spring-burned plots [137]. A study of long-term annual burning
at different dates in the
Kansas Flint Hills showed different species compositions arose as a result of season of annual
burning. On late-spring burned sites, big bluestem and indiangrass became more prominent; early spring-, and mid-spring-burned pastures were
dominated by little bluestem; and perennial forbs and sedges were favored by
early spring and winter burning [266].

Little bluestem in the Great Plains historically burned in summer when fire is
potentially most detrimental. Late summer fires in Oklahoma resulted in little bluestem suffering 58%
basal area reduction on plots with low fuel loading and 95% reduction on plots with high fuel loading. Within 2
months, regrowth, which was minimal, came from surviving tillers, and few
new tillers were initiated. [107]. For further information on this study, see Fire Case Studies. A September fire in Nebraska Sandhills prairie did not
significantly (p>0.05) reduce total herbage production, but little bluestem
was adversely affected. After 1 year little bluestem percent
composition was 8% on burned area compared to 47% on unburned; by the 3rd
growing season after fire little bluestem had recovered to 46% composition [281]. Late-growing-season (August and September) fire on a disturbed grassland in
south-central Oklahoma resulted in greatly reduced little bluestem biomass
production. On sites with no burning, little bluestem biomass was 968 pounds per
acre (1,110 kg/ha). On sites with 2 consecutive growing season fires, little bluestem was
eliminated; on sites with growing season fire
in only 1 of 2 years had production of 17.6 pounds per acre (20 kg/ha). Part
of little bluestem's negative response to summer fire might be due to
competition from forbs; growing season fires generally favor forbs over
perennial grass development [106].

Fall and winter burning effects on little bluestem are similar to those
described for spring burning. In South Carolina loblolly pine/shortleaf pine-bluestem
communities, 1
study found frequent fire in any season increased forage. Annual winter
burning had the most positive effect; little bluestem biomass was 23 times more than
on unburned sites
[175]. A winter prescribed burn in a flatwoods longleaf pine ecosystem was
used to reduced to shrub cover and increase grass cover; annual, biennial, and
triennial fires all increased the production of dropseeds, pineland threeawn (A.
stricta), and bluestems and decreased inkberry (I. glabra) cover.
Grass production was significantly increased by fire at any frequency [47].
Different dormant season treatments were applied to a mixed-grass (equal
parts of big bluestem, little bluestem, indiangrass, switchgrass, and sideoats
grama) prairie in Gage County, Nebraska. The burned site had complete dead material removal
by fire and the greatest regrowth after fire (averaged over 2 years, letters indicate
statistical significance at p<0.1) [234]:

treatment standing dead (kg/ha) litter (kg/ha) current-year growth (kg/ha)
shred 0b 2,610ab 2,820b
hay 20b 2,150bc 2,960b
graze October 10b 1,640c 3,190b
graze March 50b 1,610c 2,650b
control 430a 3,490a 2,520b
burn (late April) 0b 340d 4,230a

Secondary fire effects: Fire affects microclimate and soil nutrient status in
little bluestem communities; these changes and interactions between them are in
large part responsible for little bluestem's favorable response to fire. A multi-treatment experiment on Konza Prairie Research Natural Area showed
that increased biomass of little bluestem after fire was due to increased light penetration,
increased soil temperature, and increased nitrogen availability.
Burned plots had a 151% increase in biomass and 435% increase in flower stalk
production; artificially-warmed plots without burning showed a 34% increase in biomass and 78%
increase in flower stalks; and nitrogen addition increased biomass 41% and flower stalk production 168%. Increasing surface light
intensity by clipping without burning also had a small positive effect on
productivity [146]. Several researchers have compared mowing and burning effects
on little bluestem in an effort to separate causes of little bluestem's fire
response [90,120]. A mid-May burn in a mixed prairie in Wisconsin (warm season
grasses included big bluestem, little bluestem, sideoats grama, indiangrass, and switchgrass; cool season grasses included quackgrass, meadow
ryegrass (Lolium pratense) and Kentucky bluegrass) increased warm
season grass production by 42% as compared to a control. Plots
mowed at the same time increased warm season grass production 12%.
Cool season grass cover was reduced 78% by burning and 48% by mowing. Little bluestem responded favorably to both treatments
but more so to fire, possibly because mowing improves light penetration but does
not improve soil nutrient status as does fire [90]. 

It has been speculated that higher nutrient levels following fire
alone caused
increased growth; Dhillion and others [88], however, note nutrient release
with fire is seldom as much as is needed to cause increased growth in
fertilization trials. It is now generally accepted that light
penetration to the base of culms,
increased soil temperature, stimulation of nitrogen fixation, and increased
nutrient availability together cause little bluestem's increase after fire
[204].
Following spring burning in native bluestem prairie in Missouri, soil
surface temperature on burned areas compared to unburned areas
averaged 7.1 degrees Fahrenheit (3.9 °C) warmer in April, 11.4
degrees Fahrenheit (6.3 °C) warmer in May, 8.3 degrees Fahrenheit
(4.6 °C) warmer in June, and 7.1 degrees Fahrenheit (3.9 °C)
warmer in July [168]. Increased soil temperatures promote earlier root
growth and activity, and, with increased light penetration, cause little
bluestem to start growth earlier in the spring and produce more herbage
than plants on nearby unburned areas [82,105,146,209]. Early resumption of spring growth
has been observed during the 1st growing season following late spring
burns in Iowa [103] and South Dakota [298], an early spring burn in
Missouri [168], and an October lightning-caused fire in Nebraska [195].
Earlier and increased growth is most often attributed to increased temperatures
caused by solar
radiation reaching the soil following removal of standing dead
material [82,105,146,209]. Little
bluestem's mycorrhizal symbiosis likely has a role in fire response; mycorrhizal
colonization has been found to be important in big bluestem's
growth response in the 1st month after fire [32]. 

Fire frequency effects: Succession of shrubs and trees or less fire-tolerant
grasses can exclude little bluestem in the absence of fire. Frequent fire aids
little bluestem by reducing competition from shrubs and trees and reducing
litter loading and density of standing dead material of grasses. In the Kansas
Flint Hills, Towne and Owensby [266] observed that on plots burned annually 48
out of 56 years before 1982, total herbage production of little bluestem was
greatest in 1981 (compared to the previous 56 years), indicating long-term
annual burning is beneficial to little bluestem. On the Konza Prairie Research
Natural Area little bluestem cover was 23.9% on annually burned plots, 6.6% on
plots burned at 4-year intervals, and 0.8% on unburned plots [70]. Another study
on the Konza Prairie Research Natural Area found no differences in little
bluestem flower stem height, density, or biomass on sites burned in late spring
at 1- and 2-year intervals. However, there were significant differences in
little bluestem flower stem height, density, and biomass between 2- and 6- year
interval late spring fires; total vegetative biomass was not significantly
different (p=.28) between 2- and 6-year intervals [147]. In northeastern Kansas
annual April fires for 6 years increased little bluestem cover on lowlands from
5.4% to 43.4% and on uplands from 8.7% to 24.0% [4]. On abandoned pastures in
Connecticut annually burned for 12 years, little bluestem cover was 12% higher
than before burning began; on unburned plots there was a 12% decline.
Frequency was 100% on burned areas and 20 to 68% on unburned areas. Shrub
species generally resprouted after fire but cover was higher on control plots
[204]. 

Frequent fire is perhaps most important for little bluestem when it grows in the
canopy of savannas or forests where succession can greatly reduce light
penetration to the understory. A study of fire in Illinois barrens (4 years of fire followed by 15 years of
monitoring without fire) found that fire reduced woody species dominance and
increased prairie species' (little and big bluestem, tall tickseed (Coreopsis

tripteris), sleepingplant (Chamaecrista fascicuata), and
indiangrass)
cover. After 15 years, however, prairie grasses had declined while Indian
woodoats (Chasmanthium
latifolium), hoary skullcap (Scutellaria incana), and common woodrush (Luzula
multiflora) increased.
Little bluestem decreased from 61% to 7% cover in 15 years after fire [20]. When
fire was returned to the site after 15 years of cessation,
little bluestem did not respond favorably (cover declined to 0%), most likely
because it is not an effective competitor with woodland species [21]. In the longleaf,
slash, and loblolly pine community types of the Southeast, frequent fire's
positive effects on little bluestem and total forage production are well-studied
[47,141,175]. In a
longleaf pine stand near McNeill, Mississippi, with an understory of little
bluestem and slender bluestem (S. tenerum), sites burned annually for 10 years had an
average green weight forage production
of 4,855 pounds per acre (5,517 kg/ha), compared to 2,214 pounds per acre
(2,515 kg/ha) on
unburned sites. Little bluestem declined without fire though not as much as slender bluestem
[141]. 

There have been reports of frequent fire not increasing little bluestem cover
or flowering. For example, in a study of clearing with and without burning
where conifers and oaks invaded Maryland serpentine grasslands and savannas,
little bluestem did not respond to either treatment. Burning was in consecutive
years in November, and long-term (only 1 postfire year studied) effects may
have been more positive with more burning to further reduce density of Virginia
pine [270]. It has been argued that annual burning for a prolonged period would
result in nitrogen deficiency and decreased productivity, but a 20 year study
on the Konza Prairie found no decline in productivity [282]. 

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

POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY [248]:




Tussock graminoid

Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)

More info for the terms: caryopsis, competition, mesic, perfect, seed, spikelet, stratification, tiller, xeric

Breeding system: Little bluestem spikelets grow in pairs; 1
is sessile and 1 pedicellate. The sessile spikelet is perfect and 2-flowered with the
upper flower fertile. Pedicellate spikelets are staminate or neuter [94].

Pollination: No entry.

Seed production: Little bluestem seed production is relatively
consistent, except during drought years when inflorescences may
fail to develop [44,263,288]. Branson
[44] reported that about 75% of little bluestem stems
produce flowers. Flowering appears to depend
on growing conditions. On Nebraska prairie sites under intense
competition from tall grasses, little bluestem flowered regularly only
during wet years. On uplands where competition was less severe,
little bluestem flowered more regularly [245]. Pure seed averages approximately 225,000 to 250,000 per pound
(496,000-551,000/kg) [80,114,236,283]. The Pastura cultivar, originating in New Mexico, has the highest seed yield among tested little
bluestem varieties; pure live seed production averages 100 pounds per
acre (113 kg/ha) [201]. 

Roos and Quinn [231] reported insect predation of
spikelets was high in New Jersey. Many fertile spikelets contained
insect larvae or were empty with no larvae or caryopsis. Much of this is due to
the larval stage of a cicidomylid midge that develops within the panicle. This species of midge has 3 generations per
season, and reports of seed
loss range from 30 to 60% for sand bluestem (A. gerardii var.

paucipilus) and big bluestem (A. g. var. gerardii)
[64,279]. 

Seed dispersal: Seed is generally wind-dispersed only short distances from the
parent plant [183]. A maximum dispersal of 5 to 6 feet (1.5-1.8 m) was
observed with wind speeds up to 18 miles per hour (30 km/h)
[285,286]. 
In some cases animals carry seeds farther, but little bluestem's short dispersal
is probably a factor in its slow recolonization of
disturbed sites [227].

Seed banking: Little bluestem seed is estimated to be of
intermediate longevity. In
Massachusetts, buried viable seeds have been found in
37-year-old pine plantations where no parent plants occurred [180].
In the Great Plains, however, few studies have documented viable seed buried in the soil
[2,177,220].
In a seed bank and seed rain study in Missouri, little bluestem was the 3rd most
abundant plant in seed rain (6.6% of total) but was absent from the soil seed
bank [220].  

Germination: Germination in the field
appears to be low, with seedlings widely spaced or absent [236]. Little bluestem seed requires light,
stratification, and daytime temperatures of 68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit (20-30
°C) for high germination rates. Among a number of temperature combinations
and durations tested, little bluestem germination rates were highest with 16
hours at 62 degrees Fahrenheit (16.5 °C) and 8 hours at 81 degrees Fahrenheit (27
°C)
[232].
Stratification generally requires 30 to 60 days of 41 degrees Fahrenheit (5 °C);
after this, germination initiates in 4 days if temperatures are 86 degrees
Fahrenheit (30 °C). With this stratification and temperature regime,
approximately 50% of little bluestem seed germinates within 6 days [102].

Seedling establishment/growth:   Compared to other
Great Plains grass species, little
bluestem is relatively tolerant of drought during seedling establishment [171,196].
Mueller and
Weaver [196] found seedlings of little bluestem were less
drought resistant than seedlings of grama grasses (Bouteloua spp.), but
more drought resistant than seedlings of big bluestem, switchgrass (Panicum
virgatum), indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans), prairie
Junegrass
(Koeleria macrantha), basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus),
and western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii).  Differential seedling response
to drought makes little bluestem
more prominent in xeric grasslands. While little bluestem grows and establishes
well on mesic lowland sites, it usually is not dominant because of competition
with big bluestem [171]. 

Asexual regeneration: Little bluestem commonly expands vegetatively
by tiller expansion and, less frequently, via short,
inconspicuous rhizomes [284].

More info on this topic.

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):

BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS [34]:




4 Sierra Mountains

5 Columbia Plateau

6 Upper Basin and Range

7 Lower Basin and Range

8 Northern Rocky Mountains

9 Middle Rocky Mountains

10 Wyoming Basin

11 Southern Rocky Mountains

12 Colorado Plateau

13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont

14 Great Plains

15 Black Hills Uplift

16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands

More info on this topic.

More info for the terms: competition, cover, density, fire exclusion, forbs, forest, grassland, shrub, shrubs, succession, tree, xeric

Little bluestem can be generally described as an early to mid-successional grassland species. Competition
trials with tickle grass, a common early successional species, showed that in low-nitrogen conditions typical of
early postdisturbance habitats, tickle grass displaced little bluestem and big
bluestem as well as another early successional grass, quackgrass. With
intermediate nitrogen availability little bluestem replaced tickle grass [262].
The paragraphs below describe succession in specific plant communities where
little bluestem occurs. For information on succession linked to historic
FIRE REGIMES see Fire Ecology.

Dunes: In Lake
Michigan area dune succession, 0 to 25 year-old dunes are dominated by American
beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata); little bluestem is an important species
from 55 years to 175 years after dune stabilization where it grows with
bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) and common juniper (J. communis). Gradually mixed
pine forest (eastern white pine (P. strobus), red pine (P. resinosa), white
spruce (Picea glauca), balsam fir (Abies balsamea), and paper
birch (Betula papyrifera)) develops [176]. Succession on dunes in
Nebraska is similar; more of these communities are in mid-seral condition now
because of fire exclusion and less intensive grazing on harsh sites [252]. 

Prairie/savanna/forest: Little bluestem is an early to mid-successional species in
prairie/savanna/forest mosaics of the Great Plains and eastern United States. In
Illinois Sand Prairie Scrub Oak Nature Preserve, frequent disturbance (fire and
bison grazing and trampling) established prairies of little bluestem with sand
lovegrass (Eragrostis trichodes) and prairie sandreed (Calamovilfa
longifolia) with areas of open blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica),
black oak (Q. velutina), and black hickory (Carya texana).
Without frequent disturbance that
is at least partially stand-clearing, closed-canopy black oak forests develop
[31]. Little
bluestem decreases with succession but often remains a minor or incidental
species in late-successional communities [31,166]. The increase
in oak density has been greatest on sites with deeper soils;
ridgetops and other areas with shallow clay loam soils have had little increase
[43]. 

Southern prairies: Woody cover has also increased in the xeric southern mixed prairie of western
Texas; this has resulted from fire exclusion and, to a lesser extent, non-native
species introduction.
These communities consist of little bluestem, buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides), sideoats grama,
and Texas tussockgrass
(Nassella leucotricha); oaks, Ashe juniper (J. ashei), and
prickly-pear
(Opuntia spp.) are increasing as a
result of fire exclusion [56]. Fire exclusion
has been a major cause of increase in shrub and tree cover in little bluestem
prairie (see Fire Ecology), but the historical extent of grasslands and woody species were likely
also influenced by bison trampling, horning, and rubbing.
Bison damage to shrubs and trees was observed on a tallgrass prairie site in
Oklahoma; in a 2-year period 4% of shrubs and saplings were "severely"
damaged or killed and 13% had light or moderate injury [71]. In coastal prairie historically dominated by little bluestem with brownseed
paspalum (Paspalum plicatulum) and indiangrass, tallowtree (Sapium
sebiferum), a subtropical deciduous tree from China
and Japan, has invaded and increased in density. Tallowtree may be the first woody species to
increase on these habitats; after its development, common hackberry (Celtis
occidentalis), yaupon (Ilex
vomitoria), and American elm (Ulmus americana) are
facilitated [51]. Similarly, fire exclusion and grazing practices have allowed
increased density of the native honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) which has
also facilitated the establishment of the
above-mentioned shrubs [112,276]. 

Eastern redcedar "glades": In the Ozark Mountains, eastern redcedar cover and area
are increasing in the absence of fire. Succession in these "cedar glades"
(limestone/dolomite hillsides and
ridgetops with grasses and eastern redcedar) has been described in several
stages. First a grass dominated landscape of sideoats grama with Missouri orange coneflower (Rudbeckia

missouriensis), compass plant (Silphium laciniatum), big bluestem,
switchgrass, indiangrass, little bluestem, and puffsheath dropseed (Sporobolus
neglectus) develops. Secondly, shrubs and trees, including eastern redcedar,
fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica), and common persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)
become
more prominent and the understory becomes dominated by big bluestem, switchgrass, and little
bluestem. Rusty blackhaw (Viburnum rudfidulum), winged elm (U.
alata),
Carolina buckthorn (Frangula caroliniana), chinkapin oak (Q.
muehlenbergii), white ash (Fraxinus americana), sugar maple (Acer
saccharum), and white oak (Q. alba)
are later successional species [29]. Increase in cover of eastern
redcedar between 1970 and 2000 is estimated at 113% [282]. 

Eastern forests: In the eastern United States, little bluestem is often a component of
early to mid-seral stages of deciduous or pine-deciduous forests that occur along
the Gulf coast north to southern New England. In the Georgia Piedmont, a
200-year succession
model was derived by observing sites with different times since agricultural
abandonment. During the 1st 10 years, vegetation is dominated by perennial grasses, including little
bluestem, purple threeawn (Aristida purpurea), lovegrass (Eragrostis
spp.), and forbs (onions (Allium spp.), fleabane (Erigeron spp.),
slender scratchdaisy (Croptilon divarticatum), asters (Aster
spp.), and goldenrods (Solidago spp.)). Little
bluestem cover is highest between 10 and 20 years after disturbance. Shrub cover
(mostly Chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia) and blackberry (Rubus spp.)) increases dramatically
after 20 to 30 years; growth of seedlings of future overstory (loblolly and
shortleaf pines) and understory (persimmon, common hackberry,
flameleaf sumac (R. copallinum) components is facilitated by shrubs.
Pines remain dominant in the overstory until
approximately 100 years after disturbance; below the pine overstory grass
species persist that are characteristic of both early successional open
forests and later successional closed forests. Understory species
diversity and abundance is low after about
100 years as the canopy becomes more closed and hardwoods replace pines [203].

More info for the term: fern

The currently accepted scientific name of little bluestem is Schizachyrium
scoparium (Michx.) Nash. (Poaceae). Three currently
recognized
varieties are listed below [160]:

Schizachyrium
scoparium var. scoparium
Schizachyrium scoparium var.
stoloniferum (Nash) J.
Wipff 
Schizachyrium scoparium var. divergens (Hack.)
Gould 

Schizachyrium
scoparium
var. stoloniferum is called creeping bluestem, and S. s. var. divergens is referred to as pinehill
bluestem.
Frequent changes in taxonomy have resulted in a number of synonyms and taxa
that are no longer recognized. When little bluestem was included in the Andropogon
genus, many varieties were recognized. After its classification in the Schizachyrium
genus, many of the varieties continued being recognized. There was difficulty in
discerning varieties because of clinal variation and, subsequently,
many varieties were reorganized into the 3 currently recognized varieties
[127,160]. Additionally, some varieties became recognized as
separate species.

Subspecies and varieties now included in S. s. var. scoparium
include A. scoparium var. ducis Fern & Grisc., A.
s. var. frequens F.T. Hubbard, A. s. var. neomexicanus
(Nash) A.S. Hitchc. (later S. s. var. neomexicanum
(Nash) Gould), A. s. var. polycladus Scribn. & Ball (later S.
s. var. polycladum (Scribn. & Ball) C.F. Reed), A. s.
var. septentrionalis Fern & Grisc., and S. praematurum
(Fern.) C.F. Reed. A. scoparium
var. divergens Hack., A. s. var. virilis Shinners (later S.
s. var. virile (Shinners) Gould), and S. s. ssp. divergens
(Hack.) Gould are now classified as S. s. var. divergens (Hack.)
Gould. A. s. var. littoralis (Nash) Hitchc. (later
S. s. ssp. littorale (Nash) Gandhi & Smeins) has been
classified as a separate species, dune bluestem (S. littorale (Nash)
Bickn.) [160]. 

More info for the terms: reclamation, restoration, seed, selection

Little bluestem has been used extensively in prairie restoration
projects [15,239], to establish prairie vegetation along highways
[76,207], and to restore mine spoils [228]. In prairie restoration projects, little bluestem is often used in seed mixes
with big bluestem, indiangrass, little
bluestem, sideoats grama, and switchgrass [81].
Alternatively, sod cutters have been used for removal and transplanting of bluestem prairie
from sites that are to be developed [246]. Little bluestem cultivars available for use in revegetating disturbed
areas and for range seeding are described below [153,186,201,202]; further guidelines for
cultivar selection, seeding rates, and planting procedures are available
in the literature [90,223,291]. 

cultivar origin and uses
Aldous Originally from the Flint Hills of Kansas, it is recommended
for seeding in Kansas and Nebraska. Features include moderately late
maturity, leafiness, and rust resistance.
Blaze Originally from Nebraska, it is recommended for range
seeding, critical area stabilization, and native landscaping in Kansas and
Nebraska. This is a late-maturing cultivar.
Camper Originally from Nebraska and recommended for use there. It
is relatively late maturing.
Cimarron Originally from seed collected from western Kansas,
southeastern Colorado, northeastern New Mexico, and the Oklahoma panhandle.
Pastura Originally near Rowe and Pecos, New Mexico, it is adapted
for range plantings in light- to medium-textured soils in the foothills
and plains of central and eastern New Mexico and eastern Colorado.

Little bluestem has been used for reclamation (or, in some cases, to control
erosion) on mine spoils throughout its range [228,230]. It has been used successfully to reclaim mine
spoils in Montana. Organic matter content of the spoil was a key factor affecting
little bluestem establishment, with best performance when spoils were covered with 8 inches
(20 cm) of topsoil [228]. Good results for little bluestem establishment on mine
spoils have been obtained by amending soil with sewage sludge [230]. Establishing
test plots to see if plants will grow under local conditions is
recommended. 

Schizachyrium acuminatum Nash, in Small, Fl. SE
U. S. 59. 1903.
Stems tufted, 7-10 dm. tall, the branches in rs-3's; leaf-sheaths generally rough toward the summit, compressed, keeled; blades 2 dm. long or less, 5 mm. wide or less, rough; spikelike racemes finally exserted, 3-6 cm. long, the haurs of the internodes and pedicels grayishwhite; sessile spikelet 1 cm. long, about twice the length of the internode, the awn about 1.5 cm. long, geniculate; pedicellate spikelet consisting of 2 scales, the first 4-5 mm. long, strongly hispidulous and bearing an awn 2 mm. long or less, the pedicel about two thirds as long as the sessile spikelet.
Type locality : Starkville. Mississippi. Distribution : Known only from the type locality.

Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash, in Small, Fl. SE
U. S. 59. 1903.
Andropogon scoparius Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 1 : 57. 1803.
Andropogon purpurascens Muhl.; Willd. Sp. Pi. 4 : 913. 1806.
Andropogon Jlexilis Bosc ; Poir. in I^am. Encyc. Suppl. 1 : 583. 1810.

Schizachyrium littorale (Nash) Bicknell, Bull. Torrey
Club 35: 182. 1908.
Andropogon liitoralis Nash, in Britton, Man. 69. 1901. Andropogon scoparius liUoralis Hitchc. Rhodora 8 : 205. 1906.
A densely tufted perennial, the innovations with glaucous leaves with much compressed
F
sheaths. Stems 8-10 dm. tall, compressed, branched; leaf-sheaths rough, keeled, those on the innovations much compressed; blades up to 2 dm. long, 3-7 mm. wide, rough, acute, strongly keeled on the lower surface; racemes usually 3-4 cm. long, the rachis commonly straight, the internodes from one half to two thirds as long as the sessile spikelets, long-ciliate on the margins, the hairs at the apex 4-5 mm. long, the pedicels, which are usually recurved, longer than the internodes, long-ciliate; sessile spikelet 8-10 mm. long, linear-lanceolate, glabrous, the fourth scale shortly 2-toothed at the apex, ciliate, the awn 1-1.5 cm. long, the brown column tightly spiral, barely if at aU exserted from the scales, shorter than the subula; pedicellate spikelet a single awned scale.
Type locality : In sand along the seashore, New York.
Distribution : In sand along the coast, Nantucket, Massachusetts, to Virginia.

Perennials, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Rhizomes present, Rhizome short and compact, stems close, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Stems erect or ascending, Stems caespitose, tufted, or clustered, Stems terete, round in cross section, or polygonal, Stems branching above base or distally at nodes, Stem internodes solid or spongy, Stems with inflorescence less than 1 m tall, Stems with inflorescence 1-2 m tall, S tems, culms, or scapes exceeding basal leaves, Leaves mostly cauline, Leaves conspicuously 2-ranked, distichous, Leaves sheathing at base, Leaf sheath mostly open, or loose, Leaf sheath smooth, glabrous, Leaf sheath and blade differentiated, Leaf blades linear, Leaf blades 2-10 mm wide, Leaf blade margins folded, involute, or conduplicate, Leaf blades mostly glabrous, Leaf blades scabrous, roughened, or wrinkled, Leaf blades glaucous, blue-green, or grey, or with white glands, Ligule present, Ligule an unfringed eciliate membrane, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence lateral or axillary, Inflorescence with 2 or more spikes, fascicles, glomerules, heads, or clusters per culm, Inflorescence single raceme, fascicle or spike, Peduncle or rachis scabrous or pubescent, often with long hairs, Flowers bisexual, Spikelets pedicellate, Spikelets sessile or subsessile, Spikelets laterally compressed, Inflorescence or spikelets partially hidden in leaf sheaths, subtended by spatheole , Spikelet less than 3 mm wide, Spikelets with 1 fertile floret, Spikelets with 2 florets, Spikelets paired at rachis nodes, Spikelets in paired units, 1 sessile, 1 pedicellate, Spikelets bisexual, Spikelets disarticulating below the glumes, Spikelets falling with parts of disarticulating rachis or pedicel, Spikelets conspicuously hairy , Rachilla or pedicel glabrous, Glumes present, empty bracts, Glumes 2 clearly present, Glumes equal or subequal, Glumes equal to or longer than adjacent lemma, Glume equal to or longer than spikelet, Glumes keeled or winged, Lemmas thin, chartaceous, hyaline, cartilaginous, or membranous, Lemma 1 nerved, Lemma glabrous, Lemma apex dentate, 2-fid, Lemma distinctly awned, more than 2-3 mm, Lemma with 1 awn, Lemma awn less than 1 cm long, Lemma awn 1-2 cm long, Lemma awn from sinus of bifid apex, Lemma awn twisted, spirally coiled at base, like a corkscrew, Lemma awn once geniculate, bent once, Lemma margins thin, lying flat, Lemma straight, St amens 3, Styles 2-fid, deeply 2-branched, Stigmas 2, Fruit - caryopsis.

Schizachyrium scoparium, commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a species of North American prairie grass native to most of the contiguous United States (except California, Nevada, and Oregon) as well as a small area north of the Canada–US border and northern Mexico. It is most common in the Midwestern prairies and is one of the most abundant native plants in Texas grasslands.

Little bluestem is a perennial bunchgrass and is prominent in tallgrass prairie, along with big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi), indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). It is a warm-season species, meaning it employs the C4 photosynthetic pathway.