Antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) plants,at three topographic areas (valley bottom, upper slope, mountain terrace), in south-central Wyoming were mowed in May to 2-3-cm stubble height or treated with 2,4-D to suppress surrounding herbaceous vegetation. The area is grazed by cattle in summer and occasionally by mule deer and elk in winter. Generally, mowing did not decrease twig length on the less productive sites and greatly increased it on more productive sites. Sites, shrub management practices, and season do affect bitterbrush twig morphology, but habitat managers can use twig morphology, but habitat managers can use twig length-diameter-weight relations in this vegetation type to estimate utilization if the sampling is stratified along environmental gradients.
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