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CEGL004190 Spartina alterniflora - Juncus roemerianus - Distichlis spicata Louisianian Zone Tidal Salt Marsh

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Smooth Cordgrass - Black Needlerush - Saltgrass Louisianian Zone Tidal Salt Marsh

Colloquial Name: Gulf Coast Cordgrass Tidal Salt Marsh

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This salt marsh community occurs along the Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas. It is the major salt marsh type of coastal Louisiana, occurring in Gulf-fringing areas, mostly flanking large bays. It is mainly found in the Deltaic Plain but is also present in the Chenier Plain, principally as a narrow band of marsh behind coastal dunes. Species richness is characteristically quite low. This marsh is usually strongly dominated by Spartina alterniflora. In the Deltaic Plain of Louisiana, Juncus roemerianus may be present as a component or in localized monospecific patches of a marsh otherwise dominated by Spartina alterniflora. In the Chenier Plain of Louisiana, the type is codominated by Distichlis spicata and Spartina alterniflora. In the central and upper coast of Texas, this marsh is usually limited in extent to the bay side of barrier islands and narrow bands along mainland shores and tidal guts. Other common species include Spartina patens, Vigna luteola, Schoenoplectus americanus, Phragmites australis, Sagittaria platyphylla, Polygonum spp., Batis maritima, Baccharis halimifolia, and Cyperus spp. Bolboschoenus robustus sometimes occurs as a local, patchy or zonal dominant and codominant.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Also closely related to ~Juncus roemerianus Salt Marsh (CEGL004186)$$.

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

Floristics: This marsh is usually strongly dominated by Spartina alterniflora. Species richness is characteristically quite low. In the Deltaic Plain of Louisiana, Juncus roemerianus may be present as a component or in localized monospecific patches of a marsh otherwise dominated by Spartina alterniflora. In the Chenier Plain of Louisiana, the type is codominated by Distichlis spicata and Spartina alterniflora. In the central and upper coast of Texas, this marsh is usually limited in extent to the bay side of barrier islands and narrow bands along mainland shores and tidal guts. Other common species include Spartina patens, Vigna luteola, Schoenoplectus americanus (= Scirpus americanus), Phragmites australis, Sagittaria platyphylla, Polygonum spp., Batis maritima, Baccharis halimifolia, and Cyperus spp. Bolboschoenus robustus (= Scirpus robustus) sometimes occurs as a local, patchy or zonal dominant and codominant.

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  This salt marsh community occurs along the Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas. It is the major salt marsh type of coastal Louisiana, occurring in Gulf-fringing areas, mostly flanking large bays. It is mainly found in the Deltaic Plain but is also present in the Chenier Plain, principally as a narrow band of marsh behind coastal dunes. This range is consistent with the "Louisianian Province" of Cowardin et al. (1979).
Geographic Range: This community occurs along the Gulf Coast of the United States, from Florida to Texas.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  AL, FL, LA, MS, TX


Confidence Level: Moderate

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G5

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.a Smooth Cordgrass Low Salt Marsh Group G122 2.C.5.Nb.1.a
Alliance A4497 Smooth Cordgrass South Atlantic-Gulf Low Salt Marsh Alliance A4497 2.C.5.Nb.1.a
Association CEGL004190 Smooth Cordgrass - Black Needlerush - Saltgrass Louisianian Zone Tidal Salt Marsh CEGL004190 2.C.5.Nb.1.a
Concept Lineage: merged

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: >< Mesohaline Mixture (Visser et al. 2000)
? Polyhaline Oystergrass Marsh (Visser and Sasser 1998)
< Saline Marsh (Wieland 1994a)
Concept Author(s): M. Pyne

Author of Description: M. Pyne and L.M. Smith

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 08-01-96
  • 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.
  • LNHP [Louisiana Natural Heritage Program]. 2009. Natural communities of Louisiana. Louisiana Natural Heritage Program, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, Baton Rouge. 46 pp. [http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/page_wildlife/6776-Rare%20Natural%20Communities/LA_NAT_COM.pdf]
  • 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.
  • Peet, R. K., T. R. Wentworth, M. P. Schafale, and A.S. Weakley. No date. Unpublished data of the North Carolina Vegetation Survey. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
  • Smith, L. 1999. Coastal marsh types currently recognized in Louisiana and relationships with existing types in ICEC-TNC. Draft report. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Natural Heritage Program, Baton Rouge. 20 pp.
  • Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
  • Visser, J. M., C. E. Sasser, R. H. Chabreck, and R. G. Linscombe. 1998. Marsh vegetation types of the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain. Estuaries 21(48):818-828.
  • Visser, J. M., C. E. Sasser, R. H. Chabreck, and R. G. Linscombe. 2000. Marsh vegetation types of the Chenier Plain, Louisiana, USA. Estuaries 23(3):318-327.
  • Visser, J. M., and C. E. Sasser. 1998. 1997 Coastal vegetation analysis. Unpublished report to Greg Steyer, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Baton Rouge, LA. Draft report November 20, 1998. 47 pp.
  • Wieland, R. G. 1994a. Marine and estuarine habitat types and associated ecological communities of the Mississippi Coast. Museum Technical Report 25. Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Museum of Natural Science, Jackson, MS. 270 pp.