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CEGL005110 Deschampsia cespitosa - (Sporobolus heterolepis, Schizachyrium scoparium) - Carex crawei - Packera paupercula Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Tufted Hairgrass - (Prairie Dropseed, Little Bluestem) - Crawe''s Sedge - Balsam Groundsel Grassland
Colloquial Name: Tufted Hairgrass Wet Alvar Grassland
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: The tufted hairgrass wet alvar grassland occurs in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, in northern Michigan, southern Ontario, and northern New York. Stands occur on very shallow, organic soils that cover flat limestone and dolostone outcrops (pavements). Average soil depths in this grassland community are less than 10 cm. This community has a characteristic soil moisture regime of alternating wet and dry seasons; many of them have flooded or saturated soils in early spring and late fall, combined with summer drought in most years. They usually occur in a patchy landscape mosaic with other alvar communities, including annual alvar pavement-grassland, little bluestem alvar grassland, alvar nonvascular pavement, and juniper alvar shrubland. In these landscape mosaics, the tufted hairgrass wet alvar grassland usually occupies the lowest, wettest positions; the actual elevation differences may be very subtle, with differences of less than 10 or 15 cm. The dominant grasses and sedges are Deschampsia cespitosa, Carex crawei, Sporobolus heterolepis, and Eleocharis compressa. Other characteristic grasses and herbs include Packera paupercula, Sporobolus neglectus, Sporobolus vaginiflorus, Trichostema brachiatum, and Allium schoenoprasum. Typically there are several turf and weft mosses forming a patchy mat at the base of grasses and forbs; typical mosses are Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Abietinella abietina, Tortella tortuosa, and Drepanocladus spp. There are very few shrubs in this grassland community (usually less than 1% cover). The community often includes small patches of exposed bedrock pavement (patches are less than 1.25 acres or 0.5 ha).
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type usually occur in a patchy landscape mosaic with other alvar communities, including Annual Alvar Pavement Grassland, ~Sporobolus neglectus - Sporobolus vaginiflorus - Trichostema brachiatum - Panicum philadelphicum - (Poa compressa) Alvar Grassland (CEGL005235)$$; Little Bluestem Alvar Grassland, ~Sporobolus heterolepis - Schizachyrium scoparium - (Carex scirpoidea) / (Juniperus horizontalis) Grassland (CEGL005234)$$; Alvar Nonvascular Pavement, ~Tortella tortuosa - Cladonia pocillum - Placynthium spp. Sparse Vegetation (CEGL005192)$$; and Juniper Alvar Shrubland, ~Juniperus communis - (Juniperus virginiana) - Rhus aromatica - Viburnum rafinesqueanum / Oligoneuron album Shrubland (CEGL005212)$$.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The dominant grasses and sedges are Deschampsia cespitosa, Carex crawei, Sporobolus heterolepis, and Eleocharis compressa. Other characteristic grasses and herbs include Packera paupercula (= Senecio pauperculus), Sporobolus neglectus, Sporobolus vaginiflorus, Trichostema brachiatum, and Allium schoenoprasum. Typically there are several turf and weft mosses forming a patchy mat at the base of grasses and forbs; typical mosses are Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Abietinella abietina, Tortella tortuosa, and Drepanocladus spp. There are very few shrubs in this grassland community (usually less than 1% cover). The community often includes small patches of exposed bedrock pavement (patches are less than 1.25 acres or 0.5 ha) (Reschke et al. 1998).
Dynamics: Windthrow is common in alvar probably because of the thin soils and proximity to major streams (which often funnel windstorms) and the Great Lakes. The thin soils are also droughty, giving the potential for tree-killing drought or surface fires. Thus, the plant community is maintained as primarily herbs and shrubs. Flooding after spring snowmelt may also limit tree growth by creating anaerobic conditions for a few weeks (Reschke et al. 1998).
Environmental Description: Stands occur on very shallow, organic soils that cover flat limestone and dolostone outcrops (pavements). Average soil depths in this grassland community are less than 10 cm. This community has a characteristic soil moisture regime of alternating wet and dry seasons; many of them have flooded or saturated soils in early spring and late fall, combined with summer drought in most years. They usually occur in a patchy landscape mosaic with other alvar communities; in these landscape mosaics, this type usually occupies the lowest, wettest positions; the actual elevation differences may be very subtle, with differences of less than 10 or 15 cm (Reschke et al. 1998).
Geographic Range: The tufted hairgrass wet alvar grassland occurs in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, ranging from northern Michigan and southern Ontario to northern New York.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: MI, NY, ON, QC?
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685175
Confidence Level: High
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class | C02 | 2 |
| Subclass | 2.B Temperate & Boreal Grassland & Shrubland Subclass | S18 | 2.B |
| Formation | 2.B.2 Temperate Grassland & Shrubland Formation | F012 | 2.B.2 |
| Division | 2.B.2.Nc Eastern North American Grassland & Shrubland Division | D024 | 2.B.2.Nc |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.2.Nc.5 Shrubby-cinquefoil - Bristleleaf Sedge Calcareous Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup | M507 | 2.B.2.Nc.5 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nc.5.a Little Bluestem - Prairie Dropseed - Common Juniper Alvar Grassland & Shrubland Group | G061 | 2.B.2.Nc.5.a |
| Alliance | A3104 Prairie Dropseed - Tufted Hairgrass / Shrubby-cinquefoil Alvar Grassland Alliance | A3104 | 2.B.2.Nc.5.a |
| Association | CEGL005110 Tufted Hairgrass - (Prairie Dropseed, Little Bluestem) - Crawe''s Sedge - Balsam Groundsel Grassland | CEGL005110 | 2.B.2.Nc.5.a |
Concept Lineage: merged
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Deschampsia caespitosa - (Sporobolus heterolepis, Schizachyrium scoparium) - Carex crawei - Packera paupercula Herbaceous Vegetation (Reschke et al. 1998)
= Deschampsia caespitosa - (Sporobolus heterolepis, Schizachyrium scoparium) - Carex crawei - Packera paupercula Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Deschampsia caespitosa - (Sporobolus heterolepis, Schizachyrium scoparium) - Carex crawei - Packera paupercula Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
- CDPNQ [Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec]. No date. Unpublished data. Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec, Québec.
- Edinger, G. J., D. J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T. G. Howard, D. M. Hunt, and A. M. Olivero, editors. 2014a. Ecological communities of New York state. Second edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke''s ecological communities of New York state. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.
- Faber-Langendoen, D., editor. 2001. Plant communities of the Midwest: Classification in an ecological context. Association for Biodiversity Information, Arlington, VA. 61 pp. plus appendix (705 pp.).
- Kost, M. A., D. A. Albert, J. G. Cohen, B. S. Slaughter, R. K. Schillo, C. R. Weber, and K. A. Chapman. 2007. Natural communities of Michigan: Classification and description. Report No. 2007-21, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Lansing. 314 pp. [http://web4.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/reports/2007-21_Natural_Communites_of_Michigan_Classification_and_Description.pdf]
- Lee, H., W. Bakowsky, J. Riley, J. Bowles, M. Puddister, P. Uhlig, and S. McMurray. 1998. Ecological land classification for southern Ontario: First approximation and its application. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Southcentral Science Section, Science Development and Transfer Branch. SCSS Field Guide FG-02.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- ONHIC [Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre]. 2018. Unpublished data. Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario, Canada.
- Reschke, C., R. Reid, J. Jones, T. Feeney, and H. Potter, on behalf of the Alvar Working Group. 1998. Conserving Great Lakes Alvars. Final Technical Report of the International Alvar Conservation Initiative. The Nature Conservancy, Great Lakes Program, Chicago, IL. 119 pp. plus 4 appendices.