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CEGL004199 Spartina spartinae - Sporobolus virginicus Tidal Salt Marsh
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Gulf Cordgrass - Seashore Dropseed Tidal Salt Marsh
Colloquial Name: Gulf Coast Irregularly Flooded Tidal Salt Marsh
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community occupies relatively irregularly tidally flooded situations along the Gulf of Mexico from Texas to the Florida Keys. Spartina spartinae is dominant. Other species present can include Sporobolus virginicus, Suaeda linearis, Batis maritima, Borrichia frutescens, Agalinis maritima, Spartina patens, Symphyotrichum tenuifolium, Limonium carolinianum, Cynanchum angustifolium, Distichlis spicata, and Sabatia stellaris within its range. Some examples may be codominated by Sporobolus virginicus. In the Florida Keys, these sites are affected only by highest non-storm tides, and have pore water salinities about 20 ppt. Soils are deep (greater than 30 cm), fine-textured mineral soils. On the panhandle Florida coast this community occurs in small stands, usually in lower areas behind a beach ridge on the bayshore side of barrier islands.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Range of the nominal species is along the Gulf of Mexico coast from eastern Mexico to the Florida Keys (Hitchcock and Chase 1971). Similar vegetation from the southern tip of Texas, characterized by some subtropical components, is classified as ~Spartina spartinae - Monanthochloe littoralis - Suaeda linearis Salt Marsh (CEGL004614)$$.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This association is usually dominated by Spartina spartinae. Other salt-tolerant herbs can include Sporobolus virginicus, Suaeda linearis, Batis maritima, Borrichia frutescens, Agalinis maritima, Spartina patens, Symphyotrichum tenuifolium (= Aster tenuifolius), Limonium carolinianum, Cynanchum angustifolium, Distichlis spicata, and Sabatia stellaris within its range. Some examples may be codominated by Sporobolus virginicus.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This association is infrequently tidally inundated and tends to develop somewhat hypersaline conditions. In the Florida Keys, this type is found in supratidal environments affected by only the highest non-storm tides; pore water salinities are consistently above 20 ppt, and soils are "deep (greater than 30 cm), fine-textured mineral soils" (Ross et al. 1992). This type is relatively uncommon in the Keys where it is apparently confined to the center of a few mud islands in Florida Bay, along two peninsulas extending into the Gulf, and in a narrow zone above supratidal scrub in the lower Keys.
Geographic Range: This association ranges around the northern Gulf of Mexico from Texas to the Florida Keys. It is known from the Gulf Coast of Panhandle Florida at Crooked and Shell islands (Bay County) and Alligator Point (Franklin County) (A. Johnson pers. obs.) and Point au Pins, Mobile County, Alabama.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AL, FL, MS, TX
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685083
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
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.5 Salt Marsh Formation | F035 | 2.C.5 |
| Division | 2.C.5.Nb North American Atlantic & Gulf Coastal Salt Marsh Division | D034 | 2.C.5.Nb |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.5.Nb.1 North American Atlantic & Gulf Coastal Salt Marsh Macrogroup | M079 | 2.C.5.Nb.1 |
| Group | 2.C.5.Nb.1.b Saltwort species - Swampfire species - Gulf Cordgrass Tidal Flat & Panne Group | G123 | 2.C.5.Nb.1.b |
| Alliance | A3957 Gulf Cordgrass - Seashore Dropseed - Shoregrass Intertidal Salt Marsh Alliance | A3957 | 2.C.5.Nb.1.b |
| Association | CEGL004199 Gulf Cordgrass - Seashore Dropseed Tidal Salt Marsh | CEGL004199 | 2.C.5.Nb.1.b |
Concept Lineage: merged
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = ESU 6--Cordgrass Saltmarsh (Ross et al. 1992)
- ALNHP [Alabama Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data on file. Alabama Natural Heritage Program, Auburn University.
- Diamond, D. D. 1993. Classification of the plant communities of Texas (series level). Unpublished document. Texas Natural Heritage Program, Austin. 25 pp.
- Hitchcock, A. S., and A. Chase. 1971. Manual of the grasses of the United States. Second edition. Dover Publications, New York. 2 volumes. 1051 pp.
- Johnson, Ann F. Personal communication. Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Tallahassee.
- MSNHP [Mississippi Natural Heritage Program]. 2006. Ecological communities of Mississippi. Museum of Natural Science, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Jackson, MS. 9 pp.
- Ross, M. S., J. J. O''Brien, and L. J. Flynn. 1992. Ecological site classification of Florida Keys terrestrial habitats. Biotropica 24:488-502.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.