 The black @-@ tailed jackrabbit occupies plant communities with a mixture of shrubs , grasses , and forbs . Shrubland @-@ herb mosaics are preferred over pure stands of shrubs or herbs . Black @-@ tailed jackrabbit populations are common in sagebrush ( Artemisia spp . ) , creosotebush ( Larrea tridentata ) , and other desert shrublands ; palouse , shortgrass , and mixed @-@ grass prairies ; desert grassland ; open @-@ canopy chaparral ; oak ( Quercus spp . ) , and pinyon @-@ juniper ( Pinus @-@ Juniperus spp . ) woodlands ; and early seral ( succeeding each other ) , low- to mid @-@ elevation coniferous forests . It is also common in and near croplands , especially alfalfa ( Medicago sativa ) fields . 
