The diameter of a plant plays an important role in finding the utilization of plants. A plant that is 25 centimeters high with a 10-centimeter diameter does not have the same utilization as a plant that is 25 centimeters high with a diameter of two centimeters. The Bureau of Land Management states that 50 percent utilization of a plant allows it to re-grow after it is grazed. If height and diameter are both used, the accuracy of 50 percent utilization will increase, which will improve the rangeland. The Indian ricegrass is the most common vegetation that domestic animals in Arizona graze.
Indian ricegrass is found throughout the western states.
They grow in a variety of places, from sandy to clay soil. Over the course of the twentieth century, Indian ricegrass began to disappear because of overgrazing. Elders told me that the land had a lot of vegetation. The grass would grow up to their knees and waists. When the wind blew, the land looked like a yellow ocean.