Print Report
CEGL003425 Deschampsia cespitosa - Artemisia lindleyana Marsh
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Tufted Hairgrass - Columbia River Wormwood Marsh
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association is found only along the shores of the Columbia River in Washington (and very rarely in Oregon) in the western Cascades. It occurs on silty portions of gravel and cobble bars that are seasonally flooded. The association is a codominance of the grass Deschampsia cespitosa and the forb Artemisia lindleyana; the total herbaceous cover is open to semi-open. A foliose lichen, Dermatocarpon sp., covers much of the exposed cobble or gravel.
Habitat is cobble beds and silt along the Columbia River at the western end of the Columbia River Gorge. The cobble beds are inundated when Bonneville Dam releases surplus water, usually in spring, and may be 30-60 cm (1-2 feet) above the summer water levels. Salix lucida ssp. lasiandra and Fraxinus latifolia may be present as seedlings or at shrub height. Salix fluviatilis is the principal species in the shrub layer, but Amorpha fruticosa is rapidly spreading along the riverbanks. Deschampsia cespitosa was not recorded from one of the two plots sampled here but was present nearby and is also present in the Oregon site, and so is considered to be the principal species in the herb layer with at least 35% cover. Artemisia lindleyana is present with an average cover of 23%, and Coreopsis tinctoria var. atkinsoniana is a consistent associate but with very low percent cover. The other 14 species in the herb layer are scarce, and over half of them are exotics, but inundation and scouring by winter flows keep their cover low. The cobbles are coated with silt and covered with the lichen Dermatocarpon luridum. Both Artemisia lindleyana and Coreopsis tinctoria var. atkinsoniana are more typical of riparian areas of eastern Oregon and Washington. The association is currently known only from both sides of the river between the Pierce Island-Beacon Rock area and the Sandy River delta, where cobbles and silt predominate. The plots on the Washington side of the river are in good condition, but those on the Oregon side are weedy. More plots are needed to adequately describe this association, but it may be difficult to find remnants in good condition. It is probable that this association extended much further upriver, possibly throughout the Columbia River Gorge and into eastern Oregon, but all these areas are now drowned behind a series of dams. It should be sought in the free-flowing section of the river in the Hanford Reach of Washington.
Habitat is cobble beds and silt along the Columbia River at the western end of the Columbia River Gorge. The cobble beds are inundated when Bonneville Dam releases surplus water, usually in spring, and may be 30-60 cm (1-2 feet) above the summer water levels. Salix lucida ssp. lasiandra and Fraxinus latifolia may be present as seedlings or at shrub height. Salix fluviatilis is the principal species in the shrub layer, but Amorpha fruticosa is rapidly spreading along the riverbanks. Deschampsia cespitosa was not recorded from one of the two plots sampled here but was present nearby and is also present in the Oregon site, and so is considered to be the principal species in the herb layer with at least 35% cover. Artemisia lindleyana is present with an average cover of 23%, and Coreopsis tinctoria var. atkinsoniana is a consistent associate but with very low percent cover. The other 14 species in the herb layer are scarce, and over half of them are exotics, but inundation and scouring by winter flows keep their cover low. The cobbles are coated with silt and covered with the lichen Dermatocarpon luridum. Both Artemisia lindleyana and Coreopsis tinctoria var. atkinsoniana are more typical of riparian areas of eastern Oregon and Washington. The association is currently known only from both sides of the river between the Pierce Island-Beacon Rock area and the Sandy River delta, where cobbles and silt predominate. The plots on the Washington side of the river are in good condition, but those on the Oregon side are weedy. More plots are needed to adequately describe this association, but it may be difficult to find remnants in good condition. It is probable that this association extended much further upriver, possibly throughout the Columbia River Gorge and into eastern Oregon, but all these areas are now drowned behind a series of dams. It should be sought in the free-flowing section of the river in the Hanford Reach of Washington.
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: Salix lucida ssp. lasiandra and Fraxinus latifolia may be present as seedlings or at shrub height. Salix fluviatilis is the principal species in the shrub layer, but Amorpha fruticosa is rapidly spreading along the riverbanks (Glad and Halse 1993). Deschampsia cespitosa was not recorded from one of the two plots sampled here but was present nearby and is also present in the Oregon site, and so is considered to be the principal species in the herb layer with at least 35% cover. Artemisia lindleyana is present with an average cover of 23%, and Coreopsis tinctoria var. atkinsoniana is a consistent associate but with very low percent cover. The other 14 species in the herb layer are scarce, and over half of them are exotics, but inundation and scouring by winter flows keep their cover low. The cobbles are coated with silt and covered with the lichen Dermatocarpon luridum (= Dermatocarpon fluviatile). Both Artemisia lindleyana and Coreopsis tinctoria var. atkinsoniana are more typical of riparian areas of eastern Oregon and Washington.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: No Data Available
Geographic Range: This association is reported only along the Columbia River, downstream of Bonneville Dam. It was formerly more widespread up and down the Columbia River.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: OR, WA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685711
Confidence Level: Low
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.Nb Western North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division | D031 | 2.C.4.Nb |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.4.Nb.4 Vancouverian Lowland Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Macrogroup | M073 | 2.C.4.Nb.4 |
| Group | 2.C.4.Nb.4.b Bering''s Tufted Hairgrass - Pacific Silverweed - Slough Sedge Vancouverian Freshwater Coastal Marsh & Wet Meadow Group | G517 | 2.C.4.Nb.4.b |
| Alliance | A3820 California Oatgrass - Lakeshore Sedge - Tufted Hairgrass Coastal & Lowland Marsh Alliance | A3820 | 2.C.4.Nb.4.b |
| Association | CEGL003425 Tufted Hairgrass - Columbia River Wormwood Marsh | CEGL003425 | 2.C.4.Nb.4.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Artemisia lindleyana - Deschampsia cespitosa Community Type (Kunze 1994)
= Deschampsia caespitosa - Artemisia lindleyana (McCain and Christy 2005) [2 plots]
= Deschampsia caespitosa - Artemisia lindleyana Association (Christy 2004)
= Deschampsia caespitosa - Artemisia lindleyana (McCain and Christy 2005) [2 plots]
= Deschampsia caespitosa - Artemisia lindleyana Association (Christy 2004)
- Christy, J. A. 2004. Native freshwater wetland plant associations of northwestern Oregon. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Oregon State University, Portland, OR.
- Christy, J. A., and J. A. Putera. 1993. Lower Columbia River Natural Area Inventory, 1992. Oregon Natural Heritage Program, Portland. 75 pp.
- Glad, J. B., and R. R. Halse. 1993. Invasion of Amorpha fruticosa L. (Leguminosae) along the Columbia and Snake rivers in Oregon and Washington. Madrono 40:62-63.
- Kunze, L. M. 1994. Preliminary classification of native, low elevation, freshwater wetland vegetation in western Washington. Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program. 120 pp.
- McCain, C., and J. A. Christy. 2005. Field guide to riparian plant communities in northwestern Oregon. Technical Paper R6-NR-ECOL-TP-01-05. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland. 357 pp.
- WNHP [Washington Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data files. Washington Natural Heritage Program, Department of Natural Resources, Olympia, WA.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.