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CEGL003433 Carex aquatilis var. dives - Comarum palustre Fen
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Sitka Sedge - Purple Marshlocks Fen
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This herbaceous association occurs on flooded peat encroaching as floating mats on shores of lakes, and in low-gradient drainages where water is ponded or moving very slowly by sheet flow or percolation through the peat. It ranges from Oregon to British Columbia. The surface usually has several inches of standing water and the vegetation is typically very wet or flooded. It may occur on floating mats of peat on what was previously open water, and is a transitional vegetation type between aquatic bed vegetation and open mire or shrub swamp. Trees are rarely present and may include Pinus contorta or sapling Picea sitchensis. Shrubs are present in about half the plots at very low cover and may include Ledum glandulosum, Vaccinium uliginosum, Spiraea douglasii, Lonicera involucrata, or Salix hookeriana. The herb layer is diverse, dominated by Carex aquatilis var. dives and Comarum palustre, with lesser amounts of Nuphar polysepala, Athyrium filix-femina, Hypericum anagalloides, Carex exsiccata, Equisetum fluviatile, Oenanthe sarmentosa, and Lycopus uniflorus. Carex obnupta occurred only in trace amounts in the plots sampled, but may be more abundant in some sites. Sphagnum and other mosses are often present but not dominant.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Kunze (1994) lists a Carex sitchensis - Potentilla palustris variant that occurs around the shore of Lake Ozette, Clallam County. She also mentions Comarum palustre (= Potentilla palustris) as a codominant along some pond margins of the Carex sitchensis community type on the western Olympic Peninsula, probably part of this association. It is not recognized from elsewhere in Washington.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This is a transitional vegetation type between aquatic bed vegetation and open mire or shrub swamp. Trees are rarely present and may include Pinus contorta or sapling Picea sitchensis. Shrubs are present in about half the plots at very low cover and may include Ledum glandulosum, Vaccinium uliginosum, Spiraea douglasii, Lonicera involucrata, or Salix hookeriana. The herb layer is diverse, dominated by Carex aquatilis var. dives and Comarum palustre (= Potentilla palustris), with lesser amounts of Nuphar polysepala (= Nuphar lutea ssp. polysepala), Athyrium filix-femina, Hypericum anagalloides, Carex exsiccata, Equisetum fluviatile, Oenanthe sarmentosa, and Lycopus uniflorus. Carex obnupta occurred only in trace amounts in the plots sampled, but may be more abundant in some sites. Sphagnum and other mosses are often present but not dominant.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This herbaceous association occurs on flooded peat encroaching as floating mats on shores of lakes, and in low-gradient drainages where water is ponded or moving very slowly by sheet flow or percolation through the peat. The surface usually has several inches of standing water and the vegetation is typically very wet or flooded. It may occur on floating mats of peat on what was previously open water, and is a transitional vegetation type between aquatic bed vegetation and open mire or shrub swamp.
Geographic Range: This association extends from the central coast of Oregon north to Washington, and possibly to coastal British Columbia and southeastern Alaska (Christy 2004).
Nations: CA?,US
States/Provinces: AK?, BC?, OR, WA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684135
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.3 Beach Pine / Bog Labrador-tea / Cusick''s Sedge North Pacific Bog & Fen Macrogroup | M063 | 2.C.2.Na.3 |
| Group | 2.C.2.Na.3.b North Pacific Acidic Open Bog & Fen Group | G284 | 2.C.2.Na.3.b |
| Alliance | A3584 Water Sedge - Peatmoss species - Beaksedge species Acidic Fen Alliance | A3584 | 2.C.2.Na.3.b |
| Association | CEGL003433 Sitka Sedge - Purple Marshlocks Fen | CEGL003433 | 2.C.2.Na.3.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Carex aquatilis var. dives - Comarum palustre (McCain and Christy 2005) [54 plots]
= Carex aquatilis var. dives - Comarum palustre Association (Christy 2004)
= Carex sitchensis - Potentilla palustris variant (Kunze 1994)
= Carex aquatilis var. dives - Comarum palustre Association (Christy 2004)
= Carex sitchensis - Potentilla palustris variant (Kunze 1994)
- Christy, J. A. 2001a. Low-elevation Sphagnum wetlands in western Oregon. Report to Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10. Oregon Natural Heritage Program, Portland. 90 pp.
- Christy, J. A. 2004. Native freshwater wetland plant associations of northwestern Oregon. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Oregon State University, Portland, OR.
- Christy, J. A., and L. Brophy. 2002. Vegetation of Neskowin Marsh Unit, Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tillamook County, Oregon. Report to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center and Green Point Consulting. 26 pp.
- Howarth, J. 1995. Gearhart Bog Preserve: Plant community mapping and background information. The Nature Conservancy, Oregon Field Office, Portland. 36 pp. plus appendices.
- Kagan, J. S., J. A. Christy, M. P. Murray, and J. A. Titus. 2004. Classification of native vegetation of Oregon. January 2004. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Portland. 52 pp.
- Kunze, L. M. 1994. Preliminary classification of native, low elevation, freshwater wetland vegetation in western Washington. Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program. 120 pp.
- McCain, C., and J. A. Christy. 2005. Field guide to riparian plant communities in northwestern Oregon. Technical Paper R6-NR-ECOL-TP-01-05. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland. 357 pp.
- WNHP [Washington Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data files. Washington Natural Heritage Program, Department of Natural Resources, Olympia, WA.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.