Print Report
CEGL006424 Trichophorum cespitosum - Carex scirpoidea - Carex bigelowii Alpine Snowbed
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Tufted Bulrush - Northern Single-spike Sedge - Bigelow''s Sedge Alpine Snowbed
Colloquial Name: Alpine Herbaceous Wet Meadow
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This herb-dominated alpine vegetation is found in moist and somewhat protected spots above 1430 m (4700 feet) elevation in the Northern Appalachians. Constant moisture is provided by nearby streams or late-melting snowbanks. Dwarf-shrubs such as Vaccinium uliginosum are often a component, but the differential species are the graminoids and forbs. Trichophorum cespitosum, Carex scirpoidea, and Carex bigelowii are the characteristic graminoids, and are usually locally dominant. Deschampsia flexuosa and Carex brunnescens are also typical although less abundant. Forbs include species also found at lower elevations, such as Veratrum viride, Solidago macrophylla, Platanthera dilatata, Clintonia borealis, and Campanula rotundifolia; as well as those restricted to higher elevations (at this latitude) such as Polygonum viviparum and Prenanthes boottii.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Description based on Sperduto and Cogbill (1999) alpine report without reference to the actual plot data.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Dwarf-shrubs such as Vaccinium uliginosum are often a component, but the differential species are the graminoids and forbs. Trichophorum cespitosum, Carex scirpoidea, and Carex bigelowii are the characteristic graminoids, and are usually locally dominant. Deschampsia flexuosa and Carex brunnescens are also typical although less abundant. Forbs include species also found at lower elevations, such as Veratrum viride, Solidago macrophylla, Platanthera dilatata, Clintonia borealis, and Campanula rotundifolia; as well as those restricted to higher elevations (at this latitude) such as Polygonum viviparum and Prenanthes boottii.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This association occurs in moist and somewhat protected spots above 1430 m (4700 feet) elevation in the Northern Appalachians. Constant moisture is provided by nearby streams or late-melting snowbanks. The streamside or snowbank setting has been used to distinguish two subtypes.
Geographic Range: Currently documented from a few locations in the Presidential Range of New Hampshire and Katahdin in Maine; may occur at suitable elevations in the Canadian portion of the Northern Appalachians (e.g., the Gaspe).
Nations: CA?,US
States/Provinces: ME, NH, NY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684174
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 4 Polar & High Montane Scrub, Grassland & Barrens Class | C04 | 4 |
| Subclass | 4.B Temperate to Polar Alpine & Tundra Vegetation Subclass | S12 | 4.B |
| Formation | 4.B.1 Temperate & Boreal Alpine Tundra Formation | F037 | 4.B.1 |
| Division | 4.B.1.Na Eastern North American Alpine Tundra Division | D042 | 4.B.1.Na |
| Macrogroup | 4.B.1.Na.1 Eastern North American Alpine Tundra Macrogroup | M131 | 4.B.1.Na.1 |
| Group | 4.B.1.Na.1.d <i>Vaccinium uliginosum - Diapensia lapponica - Carex bigelowii</i> Temperate Alpine Tundra Group | G909 | 4.B.1.Na.1.d |
| Alliance | A3287 Snowbed Willow / Tufted Bulrush - Bigelow''s Sedge Alpine Snowbed Alliance | A3287 | 4.B.1.Na.1.d |
| Association | CEGL006424 Tufted Bulrush - Northern Single-spike Sedge - Bigelow''s Sedge Alpine Snowbed | CEGL006424 | 4.B.1.Na.1.d |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: > Alpine herbaceous snowbank meadow (Sperduto and Cogbill 1999)
> Moist alpine herb-heath meadow (Sperduto and Cogbill 1999)
< Snowbank (Bliss 1963)
> Moist alpine herb-heath meadow (Sperduto and Cogbill 1999)
< Snowbank (Bliss 1963)
- Bliss, L. C. 1963. Alpine plant communities of the Presidential Range, New Hampshire. Ecology 44:678-697.
- 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.
- Gawler, S. C. 2002. Natural landscapes of Maine: A guide to vegetated natural communities and ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Department of Conservation, Augusta, ME.
- Gawler, S. C., and A. Cutko. 2010. Natural landscapes of Maine: A classification of vegetated natural communities and ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Department of Conservation, Augusta.
- Sperduto, D. D., and C. V. Cogbill. 1999. Alpine and subalpine vegetation of the White Mountains, New Hampshire. New Hampshire Natural Heritage Inventory, Concord, NH. 25 pp. plus figures.
- 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.