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CEGL006331 Carex (interior, hystericina, flava) - Trichophorum alpinum / Campylium stellatum Fen
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: (Inland Sedge, Bottlebrush Sedge, Yellow Sedge) - Alpine Bulrush / Star Campylium Moss Fen
Colloquial Name: Northern Sloping Fen
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: These are rich, sedge-dominated fens of shallow slopes or small basins, scattered across New England. Most are in calcareous bedrock areas, or over calcium-bearing till where drainage is impeded. The soils remain saturated due to groundwater seepage, and the setting ranges from slightly sloping to flat. The substrate pH is usually 6.5-7.5. Settings include calcium-influenced catchment basins, headwater areas, and grazed pastures. Unlike fens developing in more extensive basin peatlands, these have only shallow peat (almost always <1 m, often <15 cm deep). The vegetation is strongly dominated by the well-developed herb layer. Trees are essentially absent (at some sites occasional small Thuja occidentalis are present), and shrubs are sparse. Bryophytes are extensive, in many cases forming the substrate for the vascular plants. Cornus sericea is the most frequent shrub, although it is rarely abundant; other characteristic shrubs include Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda, Rhamnus alnifolia, and Salix candida. The more ubiquitous Alnus incana, Salix discolor, and Salix lucida may also occur. The dominant sedge cover is composed of a variety of species, usually some combination of Carex aquatilis, Carex aurea, Carex castanea, Carex flava, Carex interior, Carex hystericina, Carex lasiocarpa, Carex leptalea, Carex prairea, Carex sterilis, Eleocharis tenuis, Eriophorum virginicum, Eriophorum viridicarinatum, Rhynchospora alba, and Trichophorum alpinum. Muhlenbergia glomerata is a characteristic grass. Other associated herbs include Cypripedium reginae, Drosera rotundifolia, Geum rivale, Lobelia kalmii, Packera aurea, Packera schweinitziana, Parnassia glauca, Platanthera dilatata, Platanthera hyperborea, Platanthera psycodes, Solidago uliginosa, Thalictrum pubescens, and Thelypteris palustris. Bryophytes are mostly non-sphagnous, with Campylium stellatum the most characteristic, and usually abundant, species. Others include Aulacomnium palustre, Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Calliergon giganteum, Calliergon trifarium, Meesia triquetra, Paludella squarrosa, Philonotis fontana, Scorpidium scorpioides, Sphagnum warnstorfii, and Tomentypnum nitens. This associations may be distinguished from rich fens of more southern or western regions by the presence of subboreal species such as Trichophorum alpinum and the absence of species such as Morella pensylvanica, Juniperus virginiana, and Cornus racemosa.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: No Data Available
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The vegetation is strongly dominated by the well-developed herb layer. Trees are essentially absent (at some sites occasional small Thuja occidentalis are present), and shrubs are sparse. Bryophytes are extensive, in many cases forming the substrate for the vascular plants. Cornus sericea is the most frequent shrub, although it is rarely abundant; other characteristic shrubs include Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda (= Pentaphylloides floribunda), Rhamnus alnifolia, and Salix candida. The more ubiquitous Alnus incana, Salix discolor, and Salix lucida may also occur. The dominant sedge cover is composed of a variety of species, usually some combination of Carex aquatilis, Carex aurea, Carex castanea, Carex flava, Carex interior, Carex hystericina, Carex lasiocarpa, Carex leptalea, Carex prairea, Carex sterilis, Eleocharis tenuis, Eriophorum virginicum, Eriophorum viridicarinatum, Rhynchospora alba, and Trichophorum alpinum. Muhlenbergia glomerata is a characteristic grass. Other associated herbs include Cypripedium reginae, Drosera rotundifolia, Geum rivale, Lobelia kalmii, Packera aurea (= Senecio aureus), Packera schweinitziana (= Senecio robbinsii), Parnassia glauca, Platanthera dilatata, Platanthera hyperborea, Platanthera psycodes, Solidago uliginosa, Thalictrum pubescens, and Thelypteris palustris. Bryophytes are mostly non-sphagnous, with Campylium stellatum the most characteristic, and usually abundant, species. Others include Aulacomnium palustre, Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Calliergon giganteum, Calliergon trifarium, Meesia triquetra, Paludella squarrosa, Philonotis fontana, Scorpidium scorpioides, Sphagnum warnstorfii, and Tomentypnum nitens.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: These are rich, sedge-dominated fens of shallow slopes or small basins, scattered across New England. Most are in calcareous bedrock areas, or over calcium-bearing till where drainage is impeded. The soils remain saturated due to groundwater seepage, and the setting ranges from slightly sloping to flat. The substrate pH is usually 6.5-7.5. Settings include calcium-influenced catchment basins, headwater areas, and grazed pastures. Unlike fens developing in more extensive basin peatlands, these have only shallow peat (almost always <1 m, often <15 cm deep).
Geographic Range: No Data Available
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: NH, NY, QC?, VT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.683904
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2G3
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.e Shrubby-cinquefoil - Woolly-fruit Sedge Eastern Boreal Alkaline Fen Group | G804 | 2.C.2.Na.2.e |
| Alliance | A4441 Bog Birch / <i>Carex lasiocarpa - Carex flava</i> Alkaline Fen Alliance | A4441 | 2.C.2.Na.2.e |
| Association | CEGL006331 (Inland Sedge, Bottlebrush Sedge, Yellow Sedge) - Alpine Bulrush / Star Campylium Moss Fen | CEGL006331 | 2.C.2.Na.2.e |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Mixed short-sedge seepage fen (NAP pers. comm. 1998)
- CDPNQ [Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec]. No date. Unpublished data. Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec, Québec.
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- Edinger, G. J., D. J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T. G. Howard, D. M. Hunt, and A. M. Olivero, editors. 2014a. Ecological communities of New York state. Second edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke''s ecological communities of New York state. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.
- NAP [Northern Appalachian-Boreal Forest Working Group]. 1998. Northern Appalachian-Boreal Working group discussions. The Nature Conservancy, Boston, MA.
- Olivero, A. M. 2001. Classification and mapping of New York''s calcareous fen communities. New York Natural Heritage Program. Report prepared for The Nature Conservancy - Central/Western New York Chapter, Albany, NY. June 2001. 28 pp. plus appendices.
- Sperduto, D. D., W. F. Nichols, and N. Cleavitt. 2000a. Bogs and fens of New Hampshire. New Hampshire Natural Heritage Inventory, Concord, NH.
- Sperduto, D. D., and W. F. Nichols. 2004. Natural communities of New Hampshire: A guide and classification. New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau, DRED Division of Forests and Lands, Concord. 242 pp.
- Thompson, E. H., and E. R. Sorenson. 2005. Wetland, woodland, wildland: A guide to the natural communities of Vermont. The Nature Conservancy and the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. University Press of New England, Hanover, NH. 456 pp.