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CEGL001581 Pascopyrum smithii - Eleocharis spp. Wet Meadow
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Western Wheatgrass - Spikerush species Wet Meadow
Colloquial Name: Western Wheatgrass - Spikerush Mixedgrass Prairie
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association includes stands of herbaceous vegetation growing in periodically inundated, small playas on the northern Great Plains. The sites supporting this association are closed basins (playas) of <1 ha with fine-textured soils that impede drainage; consequently the playas are flooded periodically. The small basins supporting this association have standing water during "the wet seasons," presumably meaning mainly in the spring and also after heavy summer rains. Pascopyrum smithii and Eleocharis spp. (Eleocharis acicularis or Eleocharis palustris or both) dominate the vegetation, and Hordeum brachyantherum, Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis, and Alopecurus spp. often are present. Stands of this type typically include two zones, resulting from differences in the period of inundation. The lowest part of the stand, which is inundated most often and for the longest time, is dominated by Eleocharis acicularis, and may contain Hordeum brachyantherum, Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis, and Alopecurus aequalis or Alopecurus carolinianus, and bare soil accounts for about 75% of the ground surface; the higher part of the stand is dominated by Pascopyrum smithii and may contain substantial amounts of Carex douglasii and Vulpia octoflora. The species common in the surrounding vegetation are absent from stands of this type, or contribute little cover.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Species composition varies among stands of this type depending on the degree of inundation, but the degree of variation is unknown. More stand data might indicate that this association and ~Pascopyrum smithii - Hordeum jubatum Wet Meadow (CEGL001582)$$ should be combined as it also occupies small playas.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This type includes low herbaceous vegetation growing in closed basins. Pascopyrum smithii and Eleocharis acicularis generally dominate, and the plants common in the surrounding steppe generally are absent or contribute very little cover. Stands of this type typically include two zones, resulting from differences in the period of inundation. The following information is from two stands surveyed by Jones (1997d): the lowest part of the stand, which is inundated most often and for the longest time, is dominated by Eleocharis acicularis and may contain Hordeum brachyantherum, Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis (= Juncus balticus), and Alopecurus aequalis or Alopecurus carolinianus, and bare soil accounts for about 75% of the ground surface; the higher part of the stand is dominated by Pascopyrum smithii and may contain substantial amounts of Carex douglasii and Vulpia octoflora (= Festuca octoflora). According to Thilenius et al. (1995), Hordeum jubatum occurs on the margins of the stands.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: The small basins supporting this association have standing water during "the wet seasons" (Bergman and Marcus 1976), presumably meaning mainly in the spring and also after heavy summer rains. Standing water causes zonation: the lower part of the stand is dominated by Eleocharis acicularis and has little litter, and the higher part of the stand is dominated by Pascopyrum smithii and contains more litter. The A horizon is a friable, granular loam with an abrupt boundary with the clay-rich B horizon below. When the soil is dry, the B horizon forms angular blocks, water infiltrates rapidly, and the A horizon drains readily; but when the soil is wet, the B horizon is nearly impermeable and water ponds (Bergman and Marcus 1976).
Geographic Range: This association has been described from a small area (ca. 250 square miles) in northeastern Wyoming, mainly on the divide between the Belle Fourche River drainage and the Cheyenne River drainage. Two stands apparently have been described from the area of the Montana - South Dakota border as well (Hansen and Hoffman 1988, Table A-5, stands 61 and 136), suggesting that the range of the type may extend into eastern Montana and western South Dakota.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: CO, MT, SD, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684905
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1
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.5 Salt Marsh Formation | F035 | 2.C.5 |
| Division | 2.C.5.Na North American Great Plains Saline Marsh Division | D033 | 2.C.5.Na |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.5.Na.1 Great Plains Saline Wet Meadow & Marsh Macrogroup | M077 | 2.C.5.Na.1 |
| Group | 2.C.5.Na.1.a Saltgrass - Foxtail Barley - Western Wheatgrass Great Plains Saline Wet Meadow & Marsh Group | G324 | 2.C.5.Na.1.a |
| Alliance | A1354 Western Wheatgrass - Saltgrass - Foxtail Barley Wet Meadow Alliance | A1354 | 2.C.5.Na.1.a |
| Association | CEGL001581 Western Wheatgrass - Spikerush species Wet Meadow | CEGL001581 | 2.C.5.Na.1.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Agropyron smithii - Eleocharis acicularis vegetation type (Bergman and Marcus 1976) [See also Paris and Paris (1974); their stands (Table E-6, pp. IX-E-18 & 19) include Carex eleocharis.]
< Agropyron smithii / Carex filifolia Habitat Type (Hansen et al. 1984) [Hansen and Hoffman (1988) apparently include two stands of this association in their Agropyron smithii / Carex filifolia habitat type (Table A-5, pp. 42-43, stands 61 and 136) that contain only Pascopyrum smithii, Eleocharis acicularis, and Hordeum jubatum.]
< Agropyron smithii concentrations of sodium (Thilenius et al. 1995) [The description of the Agropyron smithii sodgrass steppe (Thilenius et al. 1995) suggests that it is the same association, but the summary table, which shows low constancy of Eleocharis and high constancy or coverage of Poa secunda, Hesperostipa comata, and Koeleria macrantha, suggests that Thilenius et al. (1995) included vegetation on drier sites in their sodgrass steppe type.]
= Pascopyrum smithii - Eleocharis spp. Herbaceous Vegetation (Cooper et al. 2001)
= Pascopyrum smithii - Eleocharis spp. Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
< Clayey overflow range site (Soil Conservation Service 1986a) [Stands of this association occur on the clayey overflow range site.]
? playa (Holpp 1977) [Holpp described vegetation from 10 playas in Campbell County, Wyoming, that seem very similar to the playas containing this association. His stands generally were dominated by Pascopyrum smithii and contained some wetland species (Juncus balticus, Alopecurus carolinianus), but they showed no consistency in species composition and none contained Eleocharis acicularis.]
< Agropyron smithii / Carex filifolia Habitat Type (Hansen et al. 1984) [Hansen and Hoffman (1988) apparently include two stands of this association in their Agropyron smithii / Carex filifolia habitat type (Table A-5, pp. 42-43, stands 61 and 136) that contain only Pascopyrum smithii, Eleocharis acicularis, and Hordeum jubatum.]
< Agropyron smithii concentrations of sodium (Thilenius et al. 1995) [The description of the Agropyron smithii sodgrass steppe (Thilenius et al. 1995) suggests that it is the same association, but the summary table, which shows low constancy of Eleocharis and high constancy or coverage of Poa secunda, Hesperostipa comata, and Koeleria macrantha, suggests that Thilenius et al. (1995) included vegetation on drier sites in their sodgrass steppe type.]
= Pascopyrum smithii - Eleocharis spp. Herbaceous Vegetation (Cooper et al. 2001)
= Pascopyrum smithii - Eleocharis spp. Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
< Clayey overflow range site (Soil Conservation Service 1986a) [Stands of this association occur on the clayey overflow range site.]
? playa (Holpp 1977) [Holpp described vegetation from 10 playas in Campbell County, Wyoming, that seem very similar to the playas containing this association. His stands generally were dominated by Pascopyrum smithii and contained some wetland species (Juncus balticus, Alopecurus carolinianus), but they showed no consistency in species composition and none contained Eleocharis acicularis.]
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