[1] It was introduced from Russia and Siberia to North America in the first half of the twentieth century, and widely used to reseed abandoned marginal cropland undergoing varying degrees of soil erosion and secondary succession.

Agropyron cristatum's high granivory indicates that animals feed on the seeds of the plant as their primary, or even exclusive, food source.

Although this raises concerns about the plant's continued ability to reproduce if its seeds are all being consumed, the high granivory of this species does indicate that Agropyron cristatum is an important food source.

It prefers from 23 to 38 cm of precipitation per year,[6] but can tolerate more moisture on favourable sites, extending its range into tundra and taiga conditions[7] and elevations up to 2000 m above sea level in the southern portions of its adapted area.

[14] It achieves this drought tolerance by starting growth very early in the season, then going dormant from seed set until fall when it will exhibit vegetative regrowth if moisture is sufficient.

Agropyron cristatum has been bred into many cultivars selected for attributes ranging from forage yield to drought tolerance to turf types that will exhibit more pronounced degrees of rhizomatous growth habit.

Agropyron cristatum's high granivory indicates that animals feed on the seeds of the plant as their primary, or even exclusive, food source.

Although this raises concerns about the plant's continued ability to reproduce if its seeds are all being consumed, the high granivory of this species does indicate that Agropyron cristatum is an important food source.

[15] It has been used to cross-breed with other species of grass and wheat to transfer a greater disease resistance to them, as well as enhance their properties as a food source.

[10] Under non-irrigated conditions in low precipitation areas, Crested Wheatgrasses are consistently some of, if not the, highest yielding and persistent of domestic forage grasses.

[19] It also has a resistance to barley yellow dwarf, wheat streak mosaic viruses, and leaf rust disease as well as containing high protein content.

[19] Agropyron cristatum is a highly competitive and persistent plant in drier areas, and has a moderate ability to spread by seed.

Recent studies highlight the importance of A. cristatum in future agricultural development because it exhibits several desirable traits for the improvement of domesticated wheat.

The importance of this knowledge is that researchers can use this genetic information regarding stress resistance genes to introduce new desirable traits in other domesticated wheat species that aid their growth in harsh environments.

Recent studies show how root development contributes to the competitiveness of A. cristatum by testing its ability to flourish over other forms of vegetation in grassland environments.

[24] In addition to this data, new research implies that whatever genes are enabling the roots to beat out the competition are homogeneous in nature (therefore more easily passed down through generations) and is the reason the species is as dominant.

The results from a 2013 study displays the effects of introducing translocations between those desirable traits from A. cristatum to modern wheat species.