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SOIL DEPTH (inches)
Fig. 7.6. Big sagebrush and silver sagebrush are easily distin-
guished by examining leaf shape. the longer leaves on big
sagebrush are ephemeral, dropping off early in the summer,
whereas the shorter leaves remain on the shrub for a full year.
Both species are evergreen. Drawing by Judy Knight.
Fig. 7.7. the distribution of grasslands (1), black sagebrush
steppe ( l ), and big sagebrush steppe ( ) in relation to soil
depth and elevation. note how big sagebrush occurs on
deeper soils. Data from the Bighorn Basin.
Fig. 7.8. Wyoming big sagebrush in
the lowlands of northern Yellowstone
national Park. nivation hollows form
where drifted snow persists on leeward
slopes until late June, creating a
meadow, because big sagebrush cannot
survive where the soils are wet during
much of the early summer. elevation
7,4 0 0 f e e t .
 
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