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CEGL002228 Typha spp. - Schoenoplectus spp. - Mixed Herbs Great Plains Marsh

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Cattail species - Bulrush species - Mixed Herbs Great Plains Marsh

Colloquial Name: Northern Great Plains Cattail - Bulrush Marsh

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This community ranges broadly over the northern Great Plains of the United States. It is found in basin-like depressions, backwater areas of floodplains and margins of lakes or ponds where depths range from less than 15 cm to greater than 1 m over most or all of the growing season. Vegetation varies from zones dominated by tall emergents 1-2 m tall to those with floating or submerged aquatics in the deeper margins to perennial forbs <1 m tall in the shallower margins. In the tall emergent zone, Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani, Bolboschoenus fluviatilis, Schoenoplectus acutus, Typha angustifolia, and Typha latifolia may dominate, mixed with a variety of other herbaceous species, such as Leersia oryzoides, Eleocharis palustris, Juncus spp. and Sparganium spp. in the shallower parts of the marsh. Floating-leaved and submerged aquatics are sometimes present, including Azolla caroliniana, Lemna spp., Spirodela polyrrhiza, and Potamogeton spp.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This is a very broadly defined type that can be difficult to separate from pure cattail marshes, ~Typha spp. Great Plains Marsh (CEGL002389)$$. Sandhills mixed emergent marshes are treated in ~Schoenoplectus acutus - Typha latifolia - (Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani) Sandhills Marsh (CEGL002030)$$. Pure bulrush marshes would also be placed in this type, at least at present (but see Montana and Wyoming). There is no shallow marsh equivalent in the northern Great Plains, comparable to the shallow marshes of the Midwest (~Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani - Typha spp. - (Sparganium spp., Juncus spp.) Marsh (CEGL002026)$$, as the range of marsh depths is probably not as important as farther east (or west?). Shaw and Fredine (1971) (in Eggers and Reed 1987) define deep marsh as having water depths ranging from 15 cm to greater than 1 m over most or all of the growing season, and shallow marshes as having less than 15 cm with seasonal drawdowns to at or near the surface. Both may apply to this Great Plains type. Dominant and characteristic plants should always be described from stands to allow for adequate characterization. In Nebraska, the state type "pond marsh" may be a distinct type. Distribution of this type in Montana and Wyoming needs review.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: Vegetation varies from zones dominated by tall emergents 1-2 m tall to those with floating-leaved or submerged aquatics in the deeper margins and perennial forbs <1 m tall in the shallower margins. In the tall emergent zone, Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani (= Scirpus tabernaemontani), Bolboschoenus fluviatilis (= Scirpus fluviatilis), Schoenoplectus acutus (= Scirpus acutus), Typha angustifolia, and Typha latifolia may dominate, mixed with a variety of other herbaceous species, such as Leersia oryzoides, Eleocharis palustris, Juncus spp., and Sparganium spp. Floating-leaved and submerged aquatics are sometimes present, including Azolla caroliniana, Lemna spp., Spirodela polyrrhiza, and Potamogeton spp. (Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003).

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  Stands occur in basin-like depressions, backwater areas of floodplains and shallow margins of lakes or ponds. Hydrology varies from seasonally flooded to semipermanently flooded.
Geographic Range: This community ranges broadly over the northern Great Plains of the United States, and into adjacent Canada, from Nebraska to Manitoba.

Nations: CA,US

States/Provinces:  MB, ND, NE, SD


Confidence Level: Low

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4G5

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.5 Prairie Cordgrass - Cattail species - Bulrush species Great Plains Marsh, Wet Meadow, Shrubland & Playa Macrogroup M071 2.C.4.Nd.5
Group 2.C.4.Nd.5.a Cattail species - Chairmaker''s Bulrush - Common Rivergrass Great Plains Freshwater Marsh Group G325 2.C.4.Nd.5.a
Alliance A3487 Narrowleaf Cattail - Broadleaf Cattail - Bulrush species Marsh Alliance A3487 2.C.4.Nd.5.a
Association CEGL002228 Cattail species - Bulrush species - Mixed Herbs Great Plains Marsh CEGL002228 2.C.4.Nd.5.a
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Typha spp. - Schoenoplectus spp. - Mixed Herbs Great Plains Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
Concept Author(s): D. Faber-Langendoen (2001)

Author of Description: D. Faber-Langendoen

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 03-02-99
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