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CEGL002313 Lake Mudflats Sparse Vegetation
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Lake Mudflats Sparse Vegetation
Colloquial Name: Lake Mudflats
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This lake mudflats community is found throughout the upper midwestern region of the United States and adjacent Canada, and probably more widely. Stands occur in shallow basins or lake margins that flood in the spring and draw down later in the season, exposing wet, muddy sediments on which plant species subsequently grow. Great Lakes shore mudflats are placed here as well. Substrates include silt and clay mixed with marl or sedimentary peats composed of plant and animal residues precipitated from standing water. Rooted aquatics may grow during the flood stages, leaving organic debris on the surface during drawdowns. The composition and structure of the vegetation are influenced by the flooding regime. In general, the vegetation is composed of dryland forms of aquatic plants and seedlings originating from seeds dormant in the sediment or washed in from other communities. These aquatics include Heteranthera spp., Nuphar spp., Nymphaea spp., Polygonum amphibium, and Potamogeton spp. As the vegetation matures over the summer and early fall, graminoids or forbs may become dominant, including species of Cyperus, Juncus, Polygonum, and Schoenoplectus.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This description is based on information from lake mudflats in Minnesota (MNNHP 1993) and needs rangewide review and better circumscription. This type represents both the open, sparsely vegetated mudflats as well as the more vegetated phases. As such, the type may overlap in concept with ~Polygonum amphibium Aquatic Vegetation (CEGL002002)$$, ~Polygonum spp. - Mixed Forbs Shoreline Wet Meadow (CEGL002430)$$, and other herbaceous mudflat communities that occur on similar substrates, but are not regularly flooded. Lake mudflats are currently separated from riverine mudflats, ~River Mudflats Sparse Vegetation (CEGL002314)$$. Lake mudflats on Great Lakes shorelines may be distinct from inland lakes (Minc and Albert 1998).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The composition and structure of the vegetation is influenced by the flooding regime. In general, the vegetation is composed of dryland forms of aquatic plants and seedlings originating from seeds dormant in the sediment or washed in from other communities. These aquatics include Heteranthera spp., Nuphar spp., Nymphaea spp., Polygonum amphibium, and Potamogeton spp. As the vegetation matures over the summer and early fall, graminoids or forbs may dominant, including species of Cyperus, Juncus, Polygonum, and Scirpus and/or Schoenoplectus (MNNHP 1993). Lake mudflats in the Great Lakes are exposed when high waters recede. They are often quickly colonized by Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani (= Scirpus tabernaemontani), Rorippa palustris, Bidens cernua, and Polygonum spp. Over time these colonizing species decline and are replaced by wet meadow species, such as Calamagrostis canadensis or Carex spp. (Minc and Albert 1998).
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Stands occur in shallow basins or lake margins that flood in the spring and draw down later in the season, exposing wet, muddy sediments on which plant species subsequently grow. Substrates include silt and clay mixed with marl or sedimentary peats composed of plant and animal residues precipitated from standing water (sometimes referred to as "gyttja") (MNNHP 1993).
Geographic Range: The lake mudflat community type is found throughout the upper midwestern region of the United States and adjacent Canada. It ranges from Minnesota and Manitoba east to Michigan and Ontario, and south to Indiana.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: IN, MB, MI, MN, NY, ON, QC?, WI
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684274
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
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.4 Temperate to Polar Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Formation | F013 | 2.C.4 |
| Division | 2.C.4.Nd Eastern North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division | D323 | 2.C.4.Nd |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.4.Nd.3 Eastern North American Wet Shoreline Vegetation Macrogroup | M880 | 2.C.4.Nd.3 |
| Group | 2.C.4.Nd.3.b Eastern North American Wet Shoreline Vegetation Group | G756 | 2.C.4.Nd.3.b |
| Alliance | A3696 Inland Mud Lakeshore Alliance | A3696 | 2.C.4.Nd.3.b |
| Association | CEGL002313 Lake Mudflats Sparse Vegetation | CEGL002313 | 2.C.4.Nd.3.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Lake Beach (Inland Section) Mud Subtype (MNNHP 1993)
= Lake Mud Flats Sparse Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001) [Lake Mud Flats]
= Lake Mud Flats Sparse Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001) [Lake Mud Flats]
- CDPNQ [Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec]. No date. Unpublished data. Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec, Québec.
- 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.
- 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.).
- Greenall, J. A. 1996. Manitoba''s terrestrial plant communities. MS Report 96-02. Manitoba Conservation Data Centre, Winnipeg.
- Hop, K., S. Menard, J. Drake, S. Lubinski, and J. Dieck. 2010c. National Park Service Vegetation Inventory Program: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan. Natural Resource Report NPS/GLKN/NRR-2010/201. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. 358 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.
- Minc, L. D., and D. A. Albert. 1998. Great Lakes coastal wetlands: Abiotic and floristic characterization. Great Lakes Wetlands 9(3):1-15.
- 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]. 2003. Field guide to the native plant communities of Minnesota: The Laurentian Mixed Forest Province. Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey, and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul.
- 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]