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Sagebrush Steppe

Ecoregion on Great Plains in MT, WY, SD, ND

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The Sagebrush Steppe ecoregion is nearly level to rolling and is locally surmounted by eroded buttes. Heavy, alkali-rich, slowly permeable, erosion-prone soils are common and support a sparse cover of shortgrass prairie, big sagebrush, and Nuttall saltbush. Grazing is the common land use, but livestock carrying capacity is rather low compared to other Montana rangelands. Much of the area has been severely overgrazed, resulting in erosion. The region has low human population, minimal cultivation, and relatively high concentrations of wildlife. Compared with other nearby ecoregions, Ecoregion 43e has much less dryland farming than the Missouri Plateau (43a), is less dissected than either the River Breaks (43c) or the Montana Central Grasslands (43n), has different potential natural vegetation than the Pine Scoria Hills (43p) or the Montana Central Grasslands (43n), and generally lacks the mesic soils of the Semiarid Pierre Shale Plains (43g) or the Dense Clay Prairie (43k). Ecoregion 43e is also found in the Dakotas.

— EPA

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