Print Report
CEGL001188 Salix candida / Carex utriculata Shrub Fen
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Sageleaf Willow / Northwest Territory Sedge Shrub Fen
Colloquial Name: Sageleaf Willow Shrub Fen
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This is a rare association that occurs between 1476 to 2348 m (4840-7700 feet) elevation in mountains and basins of western Montana, as well as at scattered localities in eastern Idaho, the Black Hills of South Dakota, and northwestern Wyoming. This association is restricted to continuously wet, anaerobic histosolic soils of peatlands. Stands often form on anchored floating mats along montane lake margins and sometimes occur in spring-fed rich-fens in intermountain basins. The association is characterized by widely scattered clumps of 1- to 1.5-m tall Salix candida, with lesser amounts of other low Salix species (e.g., Salix planifolia, Salix exigua, Salix bebbiana, Salix serissima, or Salix wolfii), Betula glandulosa, and/or Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda. The open shrub layer (up to 30% cover) occurs within a sward of Carex utriculata, often mixed with Carex aquatilis, which sometimes includes other graminoid species such as Carex simulata, Carex nebrascensis, Deschampsia cespitosa, Calamagrostis canadensis, Glyceria striata, and Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis. Total forb cover is generally low to moderate, mostly composed of Gentianopsis thermalis, Menyanthes trifoliata, Packera streptanthifolia, Symphyotrichum foliaceum, Triglochin maritima, and various rare and/or endemic fen species.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association has been quantitatively described from 24 stands in Montana (Hansen et al. 1995) and 1 stand in Wyoming (Walford et al. 2001). The association is loosely defined, and some stands classified by Hansen et al. (1995) as this type were dominated by Betula nana or Salix glauca, or had understories dominated by Carex aquatilis, Carex simulata, or Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis (MTNHP 2002a). Salix candida / Carex lasiocarpa and Salix candida / Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis stands have also been sampled in Montana (MTNHP 2002a). Salix candida is known from only 16 sites in Idaho, but at only two sites is it a common shrub species within Carex utriculata meadow. Nevertheless, stands clearly characterized by Salix candida and Carex utriculata dominance have been sampled from throughout the range of the association in Montana and Wyoming.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Overall shrub cover is in the 25-60% range. Herbaceous cover is 60-100%. Stands consist of small patches of Salix candida, Salix serissima, Salix exigua, Salix bebbiana, and Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda (= Pentaphylloides floribunda). Any of these shrubs may be locally dominant. Common herbaceous species include Carex rostrata, Carex nebrascensis, Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis (= Juncus balticus), Calamagrostis canadensis, and wetland forbs (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000).
In the Black Hills, the wet meadow complex at McIntosh Fen includes state and regionally rare species. Salix candida occurs nowhere else in the Black Hills; Salix serissima and Eriophorum angustifolium ssp. angustifolium (= Eriophorum polystachion) are rare. All three are rare in South Dakota. The fen also was the only known Black Hills site for Menyanthes trifoliata and Carex viridula. These boreal species were reported by McIntosh (1930), but have since been extirpated (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000).
In the Black Hills, the wet meadow complex at McIntosh Fen includes state and regionally rare species. Salix candida occurs nowhere else in the Black Hills; Salix serissima and Eriophorum angustifolium ssp. angustifolium (= Eriophorum polystachion) are rare. All three are rare in South Dakota. The fen also was the only known Black Hills site for Menyanthes trifoliata and Carex viridula. These boreal species were reported by McIntosh (1930), but have since been extirpated (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000).
Dynamics: With persistent heavy browsing, sage willow is likely to be eliminated from stands of this type, leading to dominance by beaked sedge and other wetland graminoids (Hansen et al. 1995). The impact on other willows probably would be similar. In contrast, shrubby-cinquefoil often increases with heavy utilization.
Environmental Description: This association is restricted to continuously wet, anaerobic histosolic soils of peatlands. Sites with these soils, such as anchored floating mats along montane lake margins and in rich-fens, are naturally rare across the landscape and difficult to restore when disturbed (Jankovsky-Jones 1999). In the Black Hills, the single stand at McIntosh Fen is on the eastern edge of the Limestone Plateau at 1830 m (6000 feet) elevation. It occurs in a broad drainage bottom underlain by metamorphic rocks and traversed by Castle Creek. Water issuing from springs in the limestone strata on the sides of the drainage contribute to the alkalinity of the wetland (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000).
Geographic Range: This is a rare association restricted to wet, histosolic soils of peatlands in mountains and basins of the Northern Rockies in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, and also occurs in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Because Salix candida is a widespread boreal species, stands of this association are expected to occur in adjacent Canada, but they have not yet been reported.
Nations: CA?,US
States/Provinces: BC?, ID, MT, SD, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.683328
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class | C02 | 2 |
| Subclass | 2.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass | S44 | 2.C |
| Formation | 2.C.2 Temperate to Polar Bog & Fen Formation | F016 | 2.C.2 |
| Division | 2.C.2.Na North American Bog & Fen Division | D029 | 2.C.2.Na |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.2.Na.2 Shrubby cinquefoil - Woolly-fruit Sedge / Star Campylium Moss Alkaline Fen Macrogroup | M877 | 2.C.2.Na.2 |
| Group | 2.C.2.Na.2.c Bellardi Bog Sedge - Buxbaum''s Sedge Alkaline Fen Group | G516 | 2.C.2.Na.2.c |
| Alliance | A3434 Dwarf Birch Alkaline Shrub Fen Alliance | A3434 | 2.C.2.Na.2.c |
| Association | CEGL001188 Sageleaf Willow / Northwest Territory Sedge Shrub Fen | CEGL001188 | 2.C.2.Na.2.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Salix candida / Carex rostrata Shrubland (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Salix candida / Carex utriculata (Jankovsky-Jones 1999)
= Salix candida / Carex utriculata Habitat Type (Hansen et al. 1995)
= Salix candida / Carex utriculata (Jankovsky-Jones 1999)
= Salix candida / Carex utriculata Habitat Type (Hansen et al. 1995)
- BHCI [Black Hills Community Inventory]. 1999. Unpublished element occurrence and plot data collected during the Black Hills Community Inventory. Available upon request from the South Dakota Natural Heritage Program, Pierre, and Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, Laramie.
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- Faber-Langendoen, D., editor. 2001. Plant communities of the Midwest: Classification in an ecological context. Association for Biodiversity Information, Arlington, VA. 61 pp. plus appendix (705 pp.).
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- IDCDC [Idaho Conservation Data Center]. 2002. Unpublished riparian and wetland association occurrence and plot data on file at the Idaho Conservation Data Center, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Boise, ID.
- Jankovsky-Jones, M. 1996. Conservation strategy for Henry''s Fork basin wetlands. Idaho Conservation Data Center, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Boise, ID. 30 pp. plus appendices.
- Jankovsky-Jones, M. 1999. Conservation strategy for wetlands in east-central Idaho. Idaho Conservation Data Center, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Boise, ID. 26 pp. plus appendices.
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- MTNHP [Montana Natural Heritage Program]. 2002a. Unpublished riparian and wetland association occurrence and plot data on file at the Montana Natural Heritage Program, Montana State Library, Helena, MT.
- MTNHP [Montana Natural Heritage Program]. 2002b. List of ecological communities for Montana. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Montana State Library, Helena, MT.
- Marriott, H. J., D. Faber-Langendoen, A. McAdams, D. Stutzman, and B. Burkhart. 1999. The Black Hills Community Inventory: Final report. The Nature Conservancy, Midwest Conservation Science Center, Minneapolis, MN.
- Marriott, H. J., and D. Faber-Langendoen. 2000. The Black Hills community inventory. Volume 2: Plant community descriptions. The Nature Conservancy, Midwest Conservation Science Center and Association for Biodiversity Information, Minneapolis, MN. 326 pp.
- McIntosh, A. C. 1930. Botanical features of the northern Black Hills. Black Hills Engineer 18:79-101.
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- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.