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CEGL002501 Carex lasiocarpa - Rhynchospora alba - Scheuchzeria palustris Acidic Peatland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Woolly-fruit Sedge - White Beaksedge - Rannoch-rush Acidic Peatland
Colloquial Name: Open Schlenke Bog
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This graminoid bog crest community type is found in northern Minnesota and adjacent Canada. Stands occur only in areas that are genuinely ombrotrophic, that is, receiving minerals only from precipitation and having a pH less than 4.1. This is a raised bog in which pool formations have developed near bog crests. Species in these bog pools are typically absent from typical habitats in raised bogs, where the water table may drop as much as 70-100 cm below the surface for a period of time. This community is dominated by sedges, cottongrasses, and Sphagnum spp. Scattered and stunted trees may be found in this community, but their canopy never covers more than 30%. The most abundant species are Carex lasiocarpa, Carex limosa and Scheuchzeria palustris. The presence of Rhynchospora alba and Sphagnum cuspidatum and the maritime species Utricularia cornuta also characterize this community.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Concept of the type is taken from the Minnesota state type - Open Sphagnum Bog Schlenke Subtype (MNNHP 1993), as developed by concepts from Paul Glaser (1983, 1992b). These raised bog pools are more typical of maritime raised bog on the east coast. Sphagnum majus may also be typical. Size of these raised bog pools ranges from 40-100 acres. Only three sites are known in Minnesota. Further work is needed to clarify the classification of this type.
According to N. Aaseng (pers. comm. 2000) Glaser argues that bog development eventually results in a change from a dome to a flatter surface that will pond water. This is what happens in the Maritimes where bog development has been going on faster and for longer periods of time. It is these wetter sites that have species such as Scheuchzeria palustris and Rhynchospora alba, which Glaser argues are not minerotrophic indicators but simply do not occur in other continental bogs because conditions do not get that wet. Glaser also cites the water chemistry of schlenke bogs, which is compatible with the ombrotrophic concept of bog. By contrast, E. Gorham argues that it is not just the low concentration of Ca+ and Mg+ ions that are important but the rate they are delivered to the plants. Typically in a bog there is not much water movement so these concentration tells the whole story. However, if there is a lot of water movement across a peatland (perhaps like in the case of a schlenke bog) then the plants will have more ions available to them and perceive the environment as somewhat richer (poor fen-like).
According to N. Aaseng (pers. comm. 2000) Glaser argues that bog development eventually results in a change from a dome to a flatter surface that will pond water. This is what happens in the Maritimes where bog development has been going on faster and for longer periods of time. It is these wetter sites that have species such as Scheuchzeria palustris and Rhynchospora alba, which Glaser argues are not minerotrophic indicators but simply do not occur in other continental bogs because conditions do not get that wet. Glaser also cites the water chemistry of schlenke bogs, which is compatible with the ombrotrophic concept of bog. By contrast, E. Gorham argues that it is not just the low concentration of Ca+ and Mg+ ions that are important but the rate they are delivered to the plants. Typically in a bog there is not much water movement so these concentration tells the whole story. However, if there is a lot of water movement across a peatland (perhaps like in the case of a schlenke bog) then the plants will have more ions available to them and perceive the environment as somewhat richer (poor fen-like).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This community is dominated by sedges, cotton grasses, and Sphagnum spp. Scattered and stunted trees may be found in this community but their canopy never covers more than 30%. The most abundant species are Carex lasiocarpa, Carex limosa, and Scheuchzeria palustris. The presence of Rhynchospora alba and Sphagnum cuspidatum and the maritime species Utricularia cornuta characterize this community.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This bog community occurs only in areas that are genuinely ombrotrophic, that is, receiving minerals only from precipitation and having a pH less than 4.3. This is a raised bog in which pool formations have developed near bog crests. Species in these bog pools are typically absent from typical habitats in raised bogs, where the water table may drop as much as 70-100 cm below the surface for a period of time (Glaser 1992b) [see also Plates 10b, 10c].
Geographic Range: This graminoid bog crest community type is found in northern Minnesota and adjacent Canada. In Minnesota it is known from only three sites, at North Black River, Myrtle Lake, and Sturgeon River, where they range in size from 15-40 ha (40-100 acres). The type may never have been more extensive than in those three sites.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: MB, MN, ON?, QC?
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686123
Confidence Level: Moderate
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.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass | S44 | 2.C |
| Formation | 2.C.2 Temperate to Polar Bog & Fen Formation | F016 | 2.C.2 |
| Division | 2.C.2.Na North American Bog & Fen Division | D029 | 2.C.2.Na |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.2.Na.1 Leatherleaf - Small Cranberry - Few-seed Sedge Bog & Acidic Fen Macrogroup | M876 | 2.C.2.Na.1 |
| Group | 2.C.2.Na.1.a Leatherleaf - Few-seed Sedge - Bog Laurel Boreal Bog & Acidic Fen Group | G748 | 2.C.2.Na.1.a |
| Alliance | A4399 Leatherleaf / Few-seed Sedge Bog Alliance | A4399 | 2.C.2.Na.1.a |
| Association | CEGL002501 Woolly-fruit Sedge - White Beaksedge - Rannoch-rush Acidic Peatland | CEGL002501 | 2.C.2.Na.1.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Carex lasiocarpa - Rhynchospora alba - Scheuchzeria palustris Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Open Sphagnum Bog Schlenke Subtype (MNNHP 1993)
= Schlenke (Glaser 1992b)
= Open Sphagnum Bog Schlenke Subtype (MNNHP 1993)
= Schlenke (Glaser 1992b)
- CDPNQ [Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec]. No date. Unpublished data. Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec, Québec.
- 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.).
- Glaser, P. H. 1983. Vegetation patterns in the North Black River peatland, northern Minnesota. Canadian Journal of Botany 61:2085-2104.
- Glaser, P. H. 1992a. Raised bogs in eastern North America - regional controls for species richness and floristic assemblages. Journal of Ecology 80:535-554.
- Glaser, P. H. 1992b. Vegetation and water chemistry. Pages 15-26 in: H. E. Wright, Jr., B. A. Coffin, and N. E. Aaseng, editors. The patterned peatlands of Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN.
- Greenall, J. A. 1996. Manitoba''s terrestrial plant communities. MS Report 96-02. Manitoba Conservation Data Centre, Winnipeg.
- MNNHP [Minnesota Natural Heritage Program]. 1993. Minnesota''s native vegetation: A key to natural communities. Version 1.5. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program, St. Paul, MN. 110 pp.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- Minnesota DNR [Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]. 2003-2005a. Field guide to the native plant communities of Minnesota. Three volumes: The Laurentian Mixed Forest Province (2003), The Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province (2005c), The Prairie Parkland and Tallgrass Aspen Parklands provinces (2005b). Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey, and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul.
- Minnesota DNR [Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]. 2003. Field guide to the native plant communities of Minnesota: The Laurentian Mixed Forest Province. Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey, and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul.