NVCS

CEGL001189 Salix commutata / Carex scopulorum Wet Shrubland

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Undergreen Willow / Mountain Sedge Wet Shrubland

Colloquial Name: No Data Available

Hierarchy Level: Association

Type Concept: This association is restricted to high elevations along the crest of the Cascades in Oregon and Washington (mainly on the east side), the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon, and headwaters of tributary streams to the Middle Fork Salmon River in west-central Idaho. It possibly also occurs in California and British Columbia. Elevations range from about 1524 to 2377 m (5000-7800 feet) in the upper reaches of small streams or near lakeshores. Sites supporting this association vary from narrow to broad valleys with low to moderate gradients. Soils are poorly to very poorly drained (saturated for most of the growing season) and cold, with the water table at or near the surface all year. This association often forms small patches of shrub-carr in sloped, flow-through peatlands affiliated with seeps and springs emanating from lateral moraines or mountain slopes. Such sites are often at the margins of small intermediate to rich fens characterized by hummocks, undulations, and numerous rivulets. Soils at these sites are organic loam or peat (over 35 cm thick) with poorly decomposed large woody debris incorporated. Occasionally, stands form on floodplains or streambanks with fine-textured mineral loamy soils. Salix commutata is the dominant shrub, forming an open stand of scattered individuals to a dense overstory (15-95% cover) only 0.20 m to 1.1 m tall on average. Salix planifolia ssp. planifolia and Lonicera caerulea are occasionally abundant shrubs, but their constancy is not high. Carex scopulorum is typically the most abundant and highly constant understory species, often with high cover. Calamagrostis canadensis has high constancy in this association, with cover averaging about 10%. Other mesic graminoids are often present, and occasionally locally abundant, such as Carex cusickii, Carex nigricans, Carex spectabilis (in Washington stands), Carex utriculata, and Eleocharis quinqueflora. Numerous forbs are also usually present and occasionally locally abundant. The most characteristic include Caltha leptosepala ssp. howellii, Dodecatheon jeffreyi, Equisetum arvense, Pedicularis groenlandica, Polemonium occidentale, Potentilla flabellifolia, Saxifraga spp., Packera streptanthifolia, and Viola spp. Moss cover can be very high, with mats sometimes covering nearly all of the soil surface. Sphagnum spp. are occasional.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Hitchcock and Cronquist (1973) did not include Salix eastwoodiae in their flora of the Pacific Northwest. Specimens of Salix eastwoodiae key to Salix commutata in that flora. Although Salix commutata is a distinct species, readily identified in the field, some specimens of Salix eastwoodiae approach Salix commutata in the nature of pubescence; they may represent hybrids with intergrading characteristics (Brunsfeld and Johnson 1985). Moreover, some Salix eastwoodiae / Carex scopulorum stands develop on very similar sloped wetlands with organic soils as Salix commutata / Carex scopulorum stands (although most Salix eastwoodiae stands occur on mineral soils in central Idaho, while Salix commutata mostly occurs on organic soils) (Mutz and Queiroz 1983). It is possible that some stands of Salix eastwoodiae may be confused with Salix commutata, thus the actual number of Salix commutata / Carex scopulorum stands may be overestimated (possible in Tuhy and Jensen 1982). The potential confusion caused by willow identification may be the reason why Crowe et al. (2004) included Salix eastwoodiae in the name of Salix commutata - Salix eastwoodiae / Carex scopulorum even though only one of their plots had Salix eastwoodiae. Most known Idaho stands with Carex scopulorum understories are dominated by either Salix commutata or Salix eastwoodiae; these willows rarely form mixed stands (Mutz and Queiroz 1983). Christy''s (2004) Salix commutata association from west of the Cascade crest in northwestern Oregon includes one stand with moderately high cover (25%) of Carex scopulorum but differs in species composition and in having higher cover of Carex nigricans.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available

Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: Salix commutata is the dominant shrub, forming an open stand of scattered individuals to a dense overstory (15-95% cover) only 0.20 m to 1.1 m tall on average. Salix planifolia ssp. planifolia (= Salix planifolia var. monica) and Lonicera caerulea are occasionally abundant shrubs, but their constancy is not high. Carex scopulorum is typically the most abundant and highly constant understory species, often with high cover. Calamagrostis canadensis has high constancy in this association, with cover averaging about 10%. Other mesic graminoids are often present, and occasionally locally abundant, such as Carex cusickii, Carex nigricans, Carex spectabilis (in Washington stands), Carex utriculata, and Eleocharis quinqueflora. Numerous forbs are also usually present and occasionally locally abundant. The most characteristic include Caltha leptosepala ssp. howellii (= Caltha biflora), Dodecatheon jeffreyi, Equisetum arvense, Pedicularis groenlandica, Polemonium occidentale, Potentilla flabellifolia, Saxifraga spp., Packera streptanthifolia (= Senecio cymbalarioides), and Viola spp. Moss cover can be very high, with mats sometimes covering nearly all of the soil surface. Sphagnum spp. are occasional.

Dynamics: No Data Available

Environmental Description: Elevations range from about 1524 to 2377 m (5000-7800 feet) in the upper reaches of small streams or near lakeshores. Sites supporting this association vary from narrow to broad valleys with low to moderate gradients. Soils are poorly to very poorly drained (saturated for most of the growing season) and cold, with the water table at or near the surface all year. This association often forms small patches of shrub-carr in sloped, flow-through peatlands affiliated with seeps and springs emanating from lateral moraines or mountain slopes. Such sites are often at the margins of small intermediate to rich fens characterized by hummocks, undulations, and numerous rivulets. Soils at these sites are organic loam or peat (over 35 cm thick) with poorly decomposed large woody debris incorporated. Occasionally, stands form on floodplains or streambanks with fine-textured mineral loamy soils.

Geographic Range: This association is restricted to high elevations along the crest of the Cascades in Oregon and Washington, the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon, and headwaters of tributary streams to the Middle Fork Salmon River in west-central Idaho. It possibly also occurs in California and at Steens Mountain in southeastern Oregon. Both Salix commutata and Carex scopulorum are widespread in western Montana, but stands dominated by Salix commutata are not documented from there.

Nations: US

States/Provinces: CA, ID, OR, WA

Plot Analysis Summary: http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684537

Confidence Level: Low

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available

Grank: G3

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.Nb Western North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division	D031	2.C.4.Nb
Macrogroup	2.C.4.Nb.5 Sitka Alder - Booth''s Willow / Northwest Territory Sedge Montane Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Macrogroup	M893	2.C.4.Nb.5
Group	2.C.4.Nb.5.d Willow species - Alder species - Water Birch Riparian & Seep Shrubland Group	G527	2.C.4.Nb.5.d
Alliance	A1003 Undergreen Willow Wet Shrubland Alliance	A1003	2.C.4.Nb.5.d
Association	CEGL001189 Undergreen Willow / Mountain Sedge Wet Shrubland	CEGL001189	2.C.4.Nb.5.d

Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available

Synonomy: = Salix commutata - Salix eastwoodiae / Carex scopulorum Association (Crowe et al. 2004)
>< Salix commutata / Carex scopulorum var. bracteosa - Carex spectabilis Association (Kovalchik 2001)
= Salix commutata / Carex scopulorum (Crowe and Clausnitzer 1997)
= Salix commutata / Carex scopulorum Community Type (Tuhy and Jensen 1982)
= Salix commutata / Carex scopulorum Wet Shrubland (DiPaolo et al. 2018)
>< Salix commutata (McCain and Christy 2005) [4 plots]
>< Salix commutata Association (Christy 2004) [differs from this association because it contains more Carex nigricans than Carex scopulorum, but in other ways the two associations are probably similar.]
>< Salix eastwoodiae / Carex scopulorum Community Type (Mutz and Queiroz 1983)
? Eastwood willow - undergreen willow / Holm''s sedge association (Kovalchik 1987) [(p.137)]

Concept Author(s): Western Ecology Group

Author of Description: C. Murphy and G. Kittel

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 09-28-04

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Christy, J. A. 2004. Native freshwater wetland plant associations of northwestern Oregon. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Oregon State University, Portland, OR.
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IDCDC [Idaho Conservation Data Center]. 2005. Wetland and riparian plant associations in Idaho. Idaho Conservation Data Center, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Boise. [http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/tech/CDC/ecology/wetland_riparian_assoc.cfm] (accessed 14 June 2005).
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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.