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CEGL008408 Alnus serrulata - Lindera benzoin / Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis - Carex tetanica Seepage Shrubland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Hazel Alder - Northern Spicebush / Royal Fern - Rigid Sedge Seepage Shrubland
Colloquial Name: Ridge & Valley Calcareous Shrubby Seep
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: The type is strictly confined to hillside seeps and lateral seepage zones in small stream bottoms of Central Appalachian Virginia. Physiognomically, this association is a patchwork of shrubs and small herbaceous openings. Mean total shrub stratum cover in four plots is 50%, and mean total herbaceous cover is 75%. Small trees are rooted along the edges of the shrublands in three plots. Alnus serrulata and Lindera benzoin are the dominant shrubs. Aronia arbutifolia, Hamamelis virginiana, Kalmia latifolia, Lyonia ligustrina var. ligustrina, sapling Acer rubrum, sapling Liriodendron tulipifera, and sapling Pinus strobus are frequent shrub stratum associates. Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis strongly dominates the herbaceous layer in three of the four plots; Carex tetanica dominates the fourth plot. Sedge cover is generally high, with Carex atlantica ssp. atlantica, Carex echinata ssp. echinata, Carex gracillima, and Carex leptalea also common to locally abundant. Selaginella apoda and Packera aurea are relatively constant (75%) species that attain moderately high cover in one and two plots, respectively. Relatively constant herbaceous species with low mean cover include Carex granularis, Dichanthelium dichotomum, Drosera rotundifolia var. rotundifolia, Glyceria striata, Linum striatum, Osmunda cinnamomea, Oxypolis rigidior, Phlox maculata ssp. pyramidalis, Solidago rugosa, Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens, and Viola cucullata.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This community type is compositionally and environmentally distinct from other groundwater slope wetlands that have been documented in the Virginia mountain region. Floristically, it contains an enigmatic mixture of species including the prominent calciphiles Carex flava, Carex hystericina, Carex tetanica, Cirsium muticum, Cypripedium reginae, Eleocharis erythropoda, Juncus brachycephalus, Pedicularis lanceolata, Physocarpus opulifolius, and Thuja occidentalis. By contrast, Calopogon tuberosus var. tuberosus, Carex intumescens, Drosera rotundifolia var. rotundifolia, Eriophorum virginicum, Gaylussacia baccata, Parnassia asarifolia, and Pogonia ophioglossoides suggest oligotrophy, as all are more characteristically associated with "bogs" and other nutrient-poor, acidic wetlands. Some examples of this vegetation were formerly treated as Carex leptalea - Parnassia grandifolia - Rhynchospora alba Herbaceous Vegetation (CEGL004997).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Physiognomically, this unit is a patchwork of shrubs and small herbaceous openings. Mean total shrub stratum cover in four plots is 50%, and mean total herbaceous cover is 75%. Small trees are rooted along the edges of the shrublands in three plots. Alnus serrulata and Lindera benzoin are the dominant shrubs. Aronia arbutifolia, Hamamelis virginiana, Kalmia latifolia, Lyonia ligustrina var. ligustrina, sapling Acer rubrum, sapling Liriodendron tulipifera, and sapling Pinus strobus are frequent shrub stratum associates. Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis strongly dominates the herbaceous layer in three of the four plots; Carex tetanica dominates the fourth plot. Sedge cover is generally high, with Carex atlantica ssp. atlantica, Carex echinata ssp. echinata, Carex gracillima, and Carex leptalea also common to locally abundant. Selaginella apoda and Packera aurea (= Senecio aureus) are relatively constant (75%) species that attain moderately high cover in one and two plots, respectively. Relatively constant herbaceous species with low mean cover include Carex granularis, Dichanthelium dichotomum, Drosera rotundifolia var. rotundifolia, Glyceria striata (= var. striata), Linum striatum, Osmunda cinnamomea, Oxypolis rigidior, Phlox maculata ssp. pyramidalis, Solidago rugosa, Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens, and Viola cucullata.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: The type is strictly confined to hillside seeps and lateral seepage zones in small stream bottoms of Central Appalachian Virginia. Known occurrences are very small (0.1 to 0.4 ha) and occupy moderately to very elongate areas with requisite hydrologic conditions. Three discrete occurrences are located 0.4 km to 1.8 km apart in the Dismal Creek valley of Giles County in southwest Virginia; a fourth occurrence is a well-known wetland along Peters Mill Run in the Massanutten Mountains of northwest Virginia (Shenandoah County). Hydrologically, the habitats are classified as "groundwater slope wetlands," where groundwater is discharged at the ground surface and carried away as stream flow (Golet et al. 1993). The sites are saturated for most or all of the growing season and contain areas of very shallow surface water, but are never inundated by flood waters. The Dismal Creek sites have a mean slope of 6° and are situated in headwaters seeps with braided, hummock-and-streamlet microtopography. The seepage rills and streamlet channels at these sites contain large areas of exposed gravel, with superficial accumulations of organic muck up to about 10-12 cm deep in adjacent areas and on hummocks in the channels. At the Peters Mill Run site, due to a natural levee bordering the stream, seepage from the base of a slope collects in a slightly concave bottom before slowly draining off into a forested seepage swamp. Soil in the center of this wetland is quaking peat of unknown depth. Soil samples collected from these habitats ranged from medium acidic to neutral in pH (mean = 6.2), with exchangeable calcium ranging from 1253 to 4108 ppm (mean = 2356 ppm).
All of the habitats are situated in areas where Devonian / Silurian melanges of interbedded limestone, sandstone, and shale are mapped at low to middle elevations (mean = 645 m [2116 feet]). The forests surrounding the seeps are typical of acidic, oligotrophic sandstone slopes, but there is no doubt, based on soil samples and the presence of obligate calciphiles, that the wetlands are being supplied with calcium by groundwater. It is not known whether the calcium originates from subsurficial interbedded limestone or from the presence of calcium concretions in the sandstone.
All of the habitats are situated in areas where Devonian / Silurian melanges of interbedded limestone, sandstone, and shale are mapped at low to middle elevations (mean = 645 m [2116 feet]). The forests surrounding the seeps are typical of acidic, oligotrophic sandstone slopes, but there is no doubt, based on soil samples and the presence of obligate calciphiles, that the wetlands are being supplied with calcium by groundwater. It is not known whether the calcium originates from subsurficial interbedded limestone or from the presence of calcium concretions in the sandstone.
Geographic Range: This community is known from scattered sites in the Ridge and Valley of western Virginia. It may occur in adjacent states.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: VA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685745
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.Nd Eastern North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division | D323 | 2.C.4.Nd |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.4.Nd.1 Shrubby-cinquefoil - Canadian Burnet / Inland Sedge Seep Macrogroup | M061 | 2.C.4.Nd.1 |
| Group | 2.C.4.Nd.1.a Catawba Rosebay / Tawny Cottongrass / Peatmoss species Shrub & Herb Seep Group | G184 | 2.C.4.Nd.1.a |
| Alliance | A3381 Prickly Bog Sedge - Roundleaf Goldenrod - Kidneyleaf Grass-of-Parnassus Seep Alliance | A3381 | 2.C.4.Nd.1.a |
| Association | CEGL008408 Hazel Alder - Northern Spicebush / Royal Fern - Rigid Sedge Seepage Shrubland | CEGL008408 | 2.C.4.Nd.1.a |
Concept Lineage: CEGL004997 lumped into CEGL008408
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Alnus serrulata / Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis - Carex tetanica - Carex leptalea Shrubland (Fleming and Coulling 2001)
= Alnus serrulata / Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis - Carex tetanica Shrubland (Fleming 1999)
= Alnus serrulata / Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis - Carex tetanica Shrubland (Fleming 1999)
- Fleming, G. P. 1999. Plant communities of limestone, dolomite, and other calcareous substrates in the George Washington and Jefferson national forests, Virginia. Natural Heritage Technical Report 99-4. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond. Unpublished report submitted to the USDA Forest Service. 218 pp. plus appendices.
- Fleming, G. P., K. D. Patterson, and K. Taverna. 2017. The natural communities of Virginia: A classification of ecological community groups and community types. Third approximation. Version 3.0. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. [http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-communities/]
- Fleming, G. P., and P. P. Coulling. 2001. Ecological communities of the George Washington and Jefferson national forests, Virginia. Preliminary classification and description of vegetation types. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. 317 pp.
- Golet, F. C., A. J. K. Calhoun, W. R. DeRagon, D. J. Lowry, and A. J. Gold. 1993. Ecology of red maple swamps in the glaciated Northeast: A community profile. USDI Fish & Wildlife Service, Washington, DC. 151 pp.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.