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CEGL002383 Carex lasiocarpa - Calamagrostis spp. - (Eleocharis rostellata) Fen
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Woolly-fruit Sedge - Reedgrass species - (Beaked Spikerush) Fen
Colloquial Name: Prairie Transition Peat Rich Fen
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This rich graminoid fen community type is found in the midwestern prairie and prairie-forest border region of the United States. Stands are found on wet, saturated soils (but not seepage) with groundwater influence, or on lake margins and/or grounded or floating mats. Peat depths may be less than 0.5 m, and stands may be on shallow, highly decomposed sedge peat, or rarely on wet, mineral soil. Sphagnum spp. are typically absent. The graminoid layer is often dominated by Carex lasiocarpa, with associates of Carex aquatilis, Carex buxbaumii, Carex interior, Carex livida, Carex pellita, Carex sartwellii, Carex stricta, Decodon verticillatus, Dulichium arundinaceum, Eleocharis elliptica, Eleocharis palustris, Eriophorum angustifolium, Glyceria grandis, Schoenoplectus acutus, and Schoenoplectus subterminalis. Eleocharis rostellata and Cladium mariscoides occur less frequently. Grasses include Calamagrostis canadensis and Calamagrostis stricta. Prairie and other herbs are present, such as Cardamine pratensis, Comarum palustre, Euthamia graminifolia, Galium labradoricum, Impatiens capensis, Lobelia kalmii, Lycopus uniflorus, Lysimachia thyrsiflora, Menyanthes trifoliata, Pedicularis lanceolata, and Triadenum fraseri. Brown mosses may include Leptodictyum riparium, Calliergonella cuspidata, Campylium polygamum, Campylium stellatum, and Fissidens adianthoides. Shrub cover is variable, but rarely exceeds 25%. Betula pumila, Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda, Salix candida, Salix pedicellaris, and Spiraea tomentosa may be present.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type should perhaps be restricted to western Minnesota and the Dakotas because in Wisconsin and northern Illinois, it may overlap with ~Carex stricta - Valeriana edulis - Parnassia palustris Fen (CEGL005241)$$. This type differs from calcareous seepage prairie fens, ~Dasiphora fruticosa / Carex sterilis - Andropogon gerardii - Arnoglossum plantagineum Fen (CEGL005139)$$, by its occurrence on alkaline lake margins or floating and grounded peat mats. Absent from this type are the more boreal dwarf-shrubs such as Andromeda polifolia or Vaccinium oxycoccos. This type may or may not occur in the Prairie Coteau. If so, Carex lasiocarpa does not occur in North or South Dakota, or far western Minnesota. Carex pellita is probably its equivalent (R. Dana pers. comm. 1999). Compare this type to ~Betula pumila - Salix candida / Carex lasiocarpa - Symphyotrichum boreale Prairie Fen (CEGL002189)$$ and to more northern fens. The marl beach subtype in Indiana may be an early stage of fen development from beach to floating mat to grounded mat [see also Swinehart and Parker (2000) for an extended assessment of peatland succession in northern Indiana]. Further subdivision or rearrangement with other types may be needed, such as separating the western tallgrass prairie stands from those in Wisconsin and east.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The graminoid layer is often dominated by Carex lasiocarpa, with associates of Carex aquatilis, Carex buxbaumii, Carex interior, Carex livida, Carex pellita, Carex sartwellii, Carex stricta, Decodon verticillatus, Dulichium arundinaceum, Eleocharis elliptica, Eleocharis palustris (= Eleocharis smallii), Eriophorum angustifolium, Glyceria grandis, Schoenoplectus acutus (= Scirpus acutus), and Schoenoplectus subterminalis (= Scirpus subterminalis). Eleocharis rostellata and Cladium mariscoides occur less frequently. Grasses include Calamagrostis canadensis and Calamagrostis stricta. Prairie and other herbs are present, such as Cardamine pratensis, Comarum palustre (= Potentilla palustris), Euthamia graminifolia, Galium labradoricum, Impatiens capensis, Lobelia kalmii, Lycopus uniflorus, Lysimachia thyrsiflora, Menyanthes trifoliata, Pedicularis lanceolata, and Triadenum fraseri. Brown mosses, at least in Indiana, may include Leptodictyum riparium (= Amblystegium riparium), Calliergonella cuspidata, Campylium polygamum, Campylium stellatum, and Fissidens adianthoides (Swinehart and Parker 2000). Shrub cover is variable and may exceed 25%. Betula pumila, Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda (= Pentaphylloides floribunda), Salix candida, Salix pedicellaris, and Spiraea tomentosa may be present. Sphagnum spp. are typically absent (White and Madany 1978, MNNHP 1993, Wovcha et al. 1995). In parts of the range of this type, such as western Ohio, some of the more boreal species are nearly or completely absent, e.g., Carex aquatilis, Carex lasiocarpa, Carex livida, Eriophorum angustifolium, and Schoenoplectus subterminalis. Euthamia caroliniana (= Euthamia tenuifolia var. tenuifolia) may occur on sites near Lake Erie. Ohio sites have Carex stricta, Cladium mariscoides and Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda as common dominants (G. Schneider pers. comm. 2000). A more marly beach subtype is found in Indiana, and contains a combination of prairie and alkaline fen indicators, such as Agalinis paupercula, Calopogon tuberosus, Cladium mariscoides, Liatris spicata, Liparis loeselii, Rhynchospora capillacea, Selaginella eclipes, Scleria verticillata, and Sorghastrum nutans.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Stands are found in calcareous, gravelly moraines and occur on wet, saturated soils with groundwater influence, or on the edges of lake margins and on grounded or floating mats. Water levels may be near the surface throughout the growing season. The peat is typically sedge peat and lacks sphagnum, and may vary from deep to less than 0.5 m deep. Stands may also occur on shallow, highly decomposed peat, or, more rarely, on wet, mineral soil (White and Madany 1978, MNNHP 1993, Wovcha et al. 1995). The marly beach subtype in northeast Indiana occurs on firm muck, which in early spring may be flooded, but by mid-summer is moist but not saturated. Marl precipitation is evident (Homoya et al. 1988).
Geographic Range: The core range of this rich prairie graminoid fen community type is the northern prairie and prairie forest border region of western Minnesota, but its full range also includes northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, central Minnesota, and possibly South Dakota.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: IL, IN?, MN, SD, WI
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.683879
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3G4
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.b Shrubby-cinquefoil / Dioecious Sedge - Smooth Sawgrass Alkaline Fen Group | G183 | 2.C.2.Na.2.b |
| Alliance | A3704 Shrubby-cinquefoil / Riddell''s Goldenrod - Big Bluestem Graminoid Fen Alliance | A3704 | 2.C.2.Na.2.b |
| Association | CEGL002383 Woolly-fruit Sedge - Reedgrass species - (Beaked Spikerush) Fen | CEGL002383 | 2.C.2.Na.2.b |
Concept Lineage: Type is a regional variant of 2383, essentially synonymous.
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Carex lasiocarpa - Calamagrostis spp. - (Eleocharis rostellata) Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001) [Rich Fen Southern Subtype]
- 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.).
- MNNHP [Minnesota Natural Heritage Program]. 1993. Minnesota''s native vegetation: A key to natural communities. Version 1.5. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program, St. Paul, MN. 110 pp.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- Minnesota DNR [Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]. 2003-2005a. Field guide to the native plant communities of Minnesota. Three volumes: The Laurentian Mixed Forest Province (2003), The Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province (2005c), The Prairie Parkland and Tallgrass Aspen Parklands provinces (2005b). Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey, and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul.
- Minnesota DNR [Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]. 2005b. Field guide to the native plant communities of Minnesota: The Prairie Parkland and Tallgrass Aspen Parklands provinces. Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey, and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul.
- SDNHP [South Dakota Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data. South Dakota Natural Heritage Program, Pierre, SD.
- Swinehart, A. L., and G. R. Parker. 2000. Paleoecology and development of peatlands in Indiana. The American Midland Naturalist 143:267-297.
- WDNR [Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources]. 2015. The ecological landscapes of Wisconsin: An assessment of ecological resources and a guide to planning sustainable management. PUB-SS-1131 2015. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison. [http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/landscapes/Book.html]
- White, J., and M. Madany. 1978. Classification of natural communities in Illinois. Pages 311-405 in: Natural Areas Inventory technical report: Volume I, survey methods and results. Illinois Natural Areas Inventory, Urbana, IL.
- Wovcha, D. S., B. C. Delaney, and G. Nordquist. 1995. Minnesota''s St. Croix Valley and Anoka Sandplain: A guide to native habitats. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. 234 pp.