Print Report

CEGL002265 Carex lasiocarpa - Carex oligosperma / Sphagnum spp. Acidic Peatland

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Woolly-fruit Sedge - Few-seed Sedge / Peatmoss species Acidic Peatland

Colloquial Name: Northern Sedge Poor Fen

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This graminoid poor fen community is found in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, as well as elsewhere in central Canada. Stands are found in peatlands with low exposure to mineral-rich groundwater, including basin fens, shores above the level of seasonal flooding and larger peatlands. Water hydrology is saturated, and surface water is slightly acidic and nutrient poor. The vegetation is dominated by graminoids, with up to 25% shrub cover, and scattered trees. The dominant graminoid is Carex lasiocarpa, and typical associates include Carex chordorrhiza, Carex limosa, Carex oligosperma, Rhynchospora alba, Trichophorum cespitosum, and Scheuchzeria palustris. Forbs include Arethusa bulbosa, Symphyotrichum boreale, Calopogon tuberosus, Pogonia ophioglossoides, Sarracenia purpurea, and Solidago uliginosa. The low-shrub layer contains Andromeda polifolia, Betula pumila, Chamaedaphne calyculata, Larix laricina, Salix discolor, Salix pedicellaris, and Vaccinium oxycoccos. The moss layer is virtually continuous, and is dominated by Sphagnum capillifolium, Sphagnum fuscum, and Sphagnum magellanicum. Diagnostic features include the dominance of graminoids, particularly Carex lasiocarpa, the almost continuous layer of Sphagnum peat, and few minerotrophic indicators.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Isolated stands can occur in central/southern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and even northern Iowa and Illinois and are tracked in ~Carex lasiocarpa - Carex oligosperma - (Lysimachia terrestris) / Sphagnum spp. Acidic Peatland (CEGL005279)$$ and ~Chamaedaphne calyculata / Carex oligosperma - Eriophorum virginicum Acidic Peatland (CEGL005092)$$. These graminoid poor fens may overlap into shrubby poor fens, such as a Chamaedaphne dwarf-shrub poor fen (undescribed, but see ~Chamaedaphne calyculata / Carex oligosperma / Sphagnum spp. Poor Fen (CEGL005277)$$ and ~Chamaedaphne calyculata - Ledum groenlandicum - Kalmia polifolia Bog (CEGL005278)$$), and they should perhaps be treated as one type, with a variable shrub cover [see Harris et al. (1996)]. In addition, a poor fen type or subtype dominated by Carex oligosperma and Carex utriculata may exist in the central sandplains of Minnesota and Wisconsin; other characteristic species include Spiraea tomentosa, Lysimachia terrestris, Sphagnum spp., and Hypericum kalmianum. These stands may correspond to what Michigan calls "Great Lakes Intermittent Wetland," and which is an acidic sedge and herb-dominated wet meadow [see ~Chamaedaphne calyculata / Carex oligosperma / Sphagnum spp. Acidic Peatland (CEGL005091)$$. They usually have low ericad cover (Chamaedaphne calyculata, Vaccinium oxycoccos) (Eric Epstein pers. comm. 1999). The type may be thought of as a counterpart to the central tamarack poor swamps. Finally, this type may overlap with the prairie transition rich fen ~Carex lasiocarpa - Calamagrostis spp. - (Eleocharis rostellata) Fen (CEGL002383)$$.

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

Floristics: The vegetation is dominated by graminoids, with up to 25% shrub cover, and scattered trees. The dominant graminoid is Carex lasiocarpa, and typical associates include Carex chordorrhiza, Carex limosa, Carex oligosperma, Rhynchospora alba, Trichophorum cespitosum (= Scirpus cespitosus), and Scheuchzeria palustris. Forbs include Arethusa bulbosa, Symphyotrichum boreale (= Aster borealis), Calopogon tuberosus, Pogonia ophioglossoides, Sarracenia purpurea, and Solidago uliginosa. The low-shrub layer contains Andromeda polifolia, Betula pumila, Chamaedaphne calyculata, Larix laricina, Salix discolor, Salix pedicellaris, and Vaccinium oxycoccos. The moss layer is virtually continuous and is dominated by Sphagnum capillifolium, Sphagnum fuscum, and Sphagnum magellanicum (Chapman et al. 1989, MNNHP 1993, Harris et al. 1996).

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  Stands are found in peatlands with low exposure to mineral-rich groundwater, including basin fens, shores above the level of seasonal flooding and larger peatlands. Water hydrology is saturated (Harris et al. 1996). The surface water is slightly acidic (pH 4.1-5.9) and nutrient-poor (calcium <13 mg/l) (MNNHP 1993).
Geographic Range: This graminoid poor fen community is found in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, as well as elsewhere in central Canada, ranging from eastern Manitoba, east to Ontario and Quebec, and south to central Minnesota, and east to Michigan.

Nations: CA,US

States/Provinces:  MB, MI, MN, ND, ON, QC?, WI


Confidence Level: Moderate

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3G4

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 A4398 Leatherleaf / Woolly-fruit Sedge Poor Fen Alliance A4398 2.C.2.Na.1.a
Association CEGL002265 Woolly-fruit Sedge - Few-seed Sedge / Peatmoss species Acidic Peatland CEGL002265 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 - Carex oligosperma / Sphagnum spp. Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001) [Poor Fen Sedge Subtype]
= Poor Fen Sedge Subtype (MNNHP 1993)
? Sphagnum lawn poor fen, flark? (Glaser 1992b)
Concept Author(s): D. Faber-Langendoen (2001)

Author of Description: D. Faber-Langendoen

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 07-02-13
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