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CEGL006232 Hudsonia tomentosa - Paronychia argyrocoma Riverscour Dwarf-shrubland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Woolly Beach-heather - Silvery Nailwort Riverscour Dwarf-shrubland
Colloquial Name: Beach-heather Riverwash Barrens
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This riverwash sand or gravel barren community, characterized by Hudsonia tomentosa var. intermedia, occurs along a limited extent of the Saco River on the border of New Hampshire and Maine. It is unusual in that the major process structuring this vegetation is irregular alluvial flooding as opposed the to wind-driven sand deposition that drives nearly all other known vegetation dominated by Hudsonia tomentosa. The Saco River originates in the White Mountains and flows through thick sand and gravel, which is deposited on point bars during early spring floods. The sand deposits are often extensive, resulting in some secondary eolian dune formation. As a result, the community is highly unusual in its species composition, supporting species of coastal sands such as Lechea maritima and Polygonella articulata, species typical of the cooler climates of the White Mountains, such as Solidago simplex var. randii and Paronychia argyrocoma, and species characteristic of grasslands such as Andropogon gerardii, Schizachyrium scoparium, Danthonia spicata, Solidago nemoralis, and species of Panicum.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: No Data Available
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This community occurs with a somewhat mixed physiognomy ranging from bare sand in the most frequently flooded zone, to Hudsonia "barrens" to shrub thickets of Salix, Spiraea, and Cornus. Other species characteristically present include Schizachyrium scoparium, Danthonia spicata, Panicum spp., Lechea maritima, Polygonella articulata, Euthamia graminifolia, Solidago nemoralis, Apocynum cannabinum, Betula populifolia, Betula papyrifera, Pinus rigida, and Pinus strobus. Nonvascular species include Polytrichum piliferum and Cladonia cristatella. The exotic species Rumex acetosella and invasive Achillea millefolium are often present.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Occurs on intermittently flooded, xeric, nutrient-poor alluvial sand and gravel bars. The soils are Suncook loamy fine sands. Typically it occurs on point bars where plant zonation represents a gradient of flood frequency, intensity, and sediment size and load. Wind- and water-formed dunes may be present.
Geographic Range: This community is limited to a portion of the Saco River in New Hampshire and Maine.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: ME, NH
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685098
Confidence Level: Moderate
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.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.4 Eastern North American Riverscour Vegetation Macrogroup | M881 | 2.C.4.Nd.4 |
| Group | 2.C.4.Nd.4.d Gray Alder / <i>Spartina pectinata - Deschampsia cespitosa</i> Floodplain Vegetation | G925 | 2.C.4.Nd.4.d |
| Alliance | A3827 <i>Andropogon gerardii - Spartina pectinata - Apocynum cannabinum</i> Riverscour Alliance | A3827 | 2.C.4.Nd.4.d |
| Association | CEGL006232 Woolly Beach-heather - Silvery Nailwort Riverscour Dwarf-shrubland | CEGL006232 | 2.C.4.Nd.4.d |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Hudsonia tomentosa - Paronychia argyrocoma - Andropogon gerardii - Solidago simplex Association (Rawinski et al. n.d.) [is further subdivided into the Hudsonia tomentosa - Cladonia cristatella group which occurs on the inner zones of point bars, and a Hudsonia tomentosa - Mixed Forb group, which typically occupies the middle zone of point bars. The entire complex is extremely rare.]
= Hudsonia tomentosa - Paronychia argyrocoma Dwarf-shrubland (Engstrom 1998)
= Hudsonia-silverling river channel (Nichols et al. 2001)
= Hudsonia tomentosa - Paronychia argyrocoma Dwarf-shrubland (Engstrom 1998)
= Hudsonia-silverling river channel (Nichols et al. 2001)
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- Engstrom, B. 1998. Inventory and classification of natural communities along the Upper Saco River, New Hampshire. New Hampshire Natural Heritage Inventory, Concord, NH. 26 pp. plus appendices.
- Gawler, S. C. 2002. Natural landscapes of Maine: A guide to vegetated natural communities and ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Department of Conservation, Augusta, ME.
- Gawler, S. C., and A. Cutko. 2010. Natural landscapes of Maine: A classification of vegetated natural communities and ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Department of Conservation, Augusta.
- Nichols, W. F., J. M. Hoy, and D. D. Sperduto. 2001. Open riparian communities and riparian complexes in New Hampshire. New Hampshire Natural Heritage Inventory, DRED Division of Forests and Lands, Concord, NH. 82 pp. plus appendices.
- Rawinski, T. J., L. A. Sneddon, and K. J. Metzler. No date. The ecology of regularly flooded beach heather (Hudsonia tomentosa) vegetation along the Saco River: Community classification and interpretation. Unpublished manuscript. The Nature Conservancy.
- Sperduto, D. D., and W. F. Nichols. 2004. Natural communities of New Hampshire: A guide and classification. New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau, DRED Division of Forests and Lands, Concord. 242 pp.