What is the Sagebrush Steppe?

A vast portion of the Great Basin, Intermontane valleys and mountains between the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada-Cascade axis, and higher ranges in the Western U.S. are habitat for a diversity of sagebrush (Artemisia) species. This habitat is dominated by evergreen shrubs, such as various species of rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus and Ericameria spp.), Mormon tea (Ephedra spp.), bitterbrush (Purshia spp.), some cacti, and a variety of forbs and grasses.

Sagebrush species, subspecies, and ecotypes are diverse across a wide variety of soil types--from deep loamy soils to thin gravelley and rocky soils. Sagebrush types grow on plains, alluvial fans, valley bottoms, foothills, mountain slopes, and high montane ridges and peaks to over 11,000 feet elevation.

Winters are cold, with snow storms common, and springs are often rainy. Early summer can be dry (even hot and arid), yet most of the sagebrush habitats receive a fair amount of summer rains.

Sagebrush scrub habitats are found in and transition into meadows, saltbush scrub, ponderosa pine forests, pinyon-juniper woodlands, western juniper communities, lodgepole pine forests, limber pine and bristlecone pine forests, oak groves, and high-elevation alpine habitats.

Sagebrush plants may live to 50 years or longer, and after two years produce prolific seeds which are dispersed by animals and wind. Germination rates are high. 

The word steppe refers to an arid open grassland and shrub-grass habitats with temperate continental climates (cold winters and warm summers). Snow often remains on the ground for more than a month. Summer rain is common. Steppes occur in mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere where large land masses have reduced the ameliorating weather inffuence from oceans. Large areas of steppes occur in southern Eurasia and the interior of North America. Smaller steppe regions can be found in South American mountains, as well as in New Zealand and Australia. The word "steppe" originates from the Slavic for "flat grassy plain" or "extensive treeless plain."