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CEGL006437 Prunus pumila var. depressa / Deschampsia cespitosa Riverscour Wet Meadow
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Eastern Sandcherry / Tufted Hairgrass Riverscour Wet Meadow
Colloquial Name: Northern Cobble Rivershore
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association is characteristic of broad, exposed cobble beaches on Laurentian-Acadian northeastern rivers. The vegetation is patchy and dominated by a mixture of grasses and forbs, with some low shrubs mixed in. Trees are absent, and shrubs are kept to a low height by the ice-scour usually associated with spring snowmelt along these rivers. Total vegetation cover is about 60-90% but is locally variable. The dominant and characteristic grass is Deschampsia cespitosa; associated grasses include Spartina pectinata, Agrostis scabra, and Phalaris arundinacea. Forb richness may be relatively high and include species more-or-less restricted (in the east) to these rivershore habitats such as Astragalus alpinus var. brunetianus, Prenanthes racemosa, Tanacetum bipinnatum ssp. huronense, Gentianella amarella, Hedysarum alpinum, Symphyotrichum anticostense, and Oxytropis campestris var. johannensis. More common associates include Desmodium canadense, Solidago juncea, Campanula rotundifolia, Apocynum cannabinum, Symphyotrichum novi-belgii, Iris versicolor, and Argentina anserina, along with the exotic Silene vulgaris. Associated shrubs, aside from the diagnostic and locally extensive Prunus pumila var. depressa, include Toxicodendron rydbergii, Cornus sericea, Spiraea alba, Rosa blanda, and Salix spp. This association is distinguished by its river-channel setting, cobble substrate, and prominence of Prunus pumila var. depressa and Deschampsia cespitosa.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type is also related to another new Northern Appalachians type, ~Calamagrostis canadensis - Doellingeria umbellata - Spartina pectinata Riverscour Wet Meadow (CEGL006427)$$. Those grasslands develop on sandier soils, somewhat higher above the riverbed, and have much higher vegetation cover. Along a particular stretch of river, the two types may grade from one into the other.
A less-boreal analog has been described from New Hampshire (Dwarf cherry river channel, S2), differing in the associated herbaceous species, i.e., prairie grasses rather than Deschampsia cespitosa, and near-boreal forbs lacking. This type is crosswalked to ~Prunus pumila / Andropogon gerardii - Sorghastrum nutans Riverscour Wet Meadow (CEGL006518)$$.
A less-boreal analog has been described from New Hampshire (Dwarf cherry river channel, S2), differing in the associated herbaceous species, i.e., prairie grasses rather than Deschampsia cespitosa, and near-boreal forbs lacking. This type is crosswalked to ~Prunus pumila / Andropogon gerardii - Sorghastrum nutans Riverscour Wet Meadow (CEGL006518)$$.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: The vegetation is patchy and dominated by a mixture of grasses and forbs, with some low shrubs mixed in. Trees are absent, and shrubs are kept to a low height by the ice-scour usually associated with spring snowmelt along these rivers. Total vegetation cover is about 60-90% but is locally variable.
Floristics: The dominant and characteristic grass is Deschampsia cespitosa; associated grasses include Spartina pectinata, Agrostis scabra, and Phalaris arundinacea. Forb richness may be relatively high and include species more-or-less restricted (in the east) to these rivershore habitats such as Astragalus alpinus var. brunetianus, Prenanthes racemosa, Tanacetum bipinnatum ssp. huronense, Gentianella amarella, Hedysarum alpinum, Symphyotrichum anticostense, and Oxytropis campestris var. johannensis. More common associates include Desmodium canadense, Solidago juncea, Campanula rotundifolia, Apocynum cannabinum, Symphyotrichum novi-belgii (= Aster novi-belgii), Iris versicolor, and Argentina anserina, along with the exotic Silene vulgaris (= Silene cucubalus). Associated shrubs, aside from the diagnostic and locally extensive Prunus pumila var. depressa, include Toxicodendron rydbergii, Cornus sericea, Spiraea alba, Rosa blanda, and Salix spp.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Shores of larger rivers where coarse deposits remain after spring flooding and ice-scour. The substrate is usually cobbly and often dry at the surface. Sites flood in the spring and may be underwater for brief periods during the summer. Slope is very slight, and the sites are exposed to full sun.
Geographic Range: This association occurs from northern Maine to New York and is believed to be more widely distributed in adjacent Canada.
Nations: CA?,US
States/Provinces: ME, NY, VT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685924
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
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 | CEGL006437 Eastern Sandcherry / Tufted Hairgrass Riverscour Wet Meadow | CEGL006437 | 2.C.4.Nd.4.d |
Concept Lineage: merged
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Dwarf Cherry River Channel (Nichols et al. 2001)
= Sand Cherry - Tufted Hairgrass River Beach (Gawler 2002)
= Sand Cherry - Tufted Hairgrass River Beach (Gawler 2002)
- CDPNQ [Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec]. No date. Unpublished data. Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec, Québec.
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- 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.
- 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.
- Thompson, E. H., and E. R. Sorenson. 2005. Wetland, woodland, wildland: A guide to the natural communities of Vermont. The Nature Conservancy and the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. University Press of New England, Hanover, NH. 456 pp.