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CEGL002043 Distichlis spicata - Bolboschoenus maritimus - Salicornia rubra Wet Meadow
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Saltgrass - Cosmopolitan Bulrush - Red Swampfire Wet Meadow
Colloquial Name: Eastern Great Plains Saline Lake Wet Meadow
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community is found in the southeastern Great Plains of the United States, in basins or floodplains. It is dependent on periodic influx of saline water to maintain the characteristic soil and water chemistry. The soils of this community are deep and poorly drained and the parent material is alluvium or loess. This community is flooded or saturated for most of the year. It may dry out in late summer and fall. Herbaceous plants dominate, and trees and other woody plants are almost completely absent. The dominant species are Distichlis spicata, Salicornia rubra, and Bolboschoenus maritimus. Symphyotrichum subulatum, Hordeum jubatum, Iva annua, Sporobolus texanus, and Suaeda calceoliformis are all common. Few individuals in this community exceed 1 m and most are less than 0.5 m. There can be unvegetated ground, especially in the wettest and most saline parts of this community. Ruppia maritima and Stuckenia pectinata may persist in pools in the wettest areas. The vegetation is more dense with few stretches of bare ground on the drier and less saline parts.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: The global name needs review, as Distichlis spicata is not common in stands in Nebraska. Typha angustifolia may also be found in Nebraska stands as an exotic (S. Rolfsmeier pers. comm. 1999). Nebraska stands may also contain small pools of Ruppia maritima and Stuckenia pectinata. The relation of stands in central Kansas to those of eastern Nebraska and western Missouri needs further review. In Missouri, state type saline seep is placed in this type. Saline marsh has essentially been extirpated from the state, leaving the seep and associated mudflats (M. Leahy pers. comm. 1999). A similar saline marsh is known from Arkansas near the lower Saline River (D. Zollner pers. comm. 1998).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This community is dominated by herbaceous plants. Trees and other woody plants are almost completely absent. The dominant species are Distichlis spicata, Salicornia rubra, and Bolboschoenus maritimus (= Scirpus maritimus). Symphyotrichum subulatum (= Aster subulatus), Hordeum jubatum, Iva annua, Sporobolus texanus, and Suaeda calceoliformis are all common. Few individuals in this community exceed 1 m and most are less than 0.5 m. There can be unvegetated ground, especially in the wettest and most saline parts of this community. Ruppia maritima and Stuckenia pectinata (= Potamogeton pectinatus) may persist in pools in the wettest areas. The vegetation is more dense with few stretches of bare ground on the drier and less saline parts (Lauver et al. 1999, Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003). Nebraska does not report the presence of Distichlis spicata in the type, but does report pools of Ruppia maritima and Stuckenia pectinata, which, depending on size, may be classifiable as a separate type.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: In Nebraska, this community is known to occur where Dakota sandstone has been exposed in basins or stream valleys. Water seeping through this sandstone comes from deeper brine deposits. Over time the salt from this water was deposited in low-lying areas or along the floodplains of creeks as saline water accumulated and evaporated repeatedly (Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003). This process may also occur in other parts of this community''s range, but little is known of the hydrology of locations outside of Nebraska.
Throughout its range this community is found in basins or floodplains. It is dependent on periodic influx of saline water to maintain the characteristic soil and water chemistry. The soils of this community are deep and poorly drained. They are silty clay loams in Nebraska and peat, muck or mineral soils in Kansas (Lauver et al. 1999, Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003). The parent material rangewide is alluvium or loess. This community is flooded or saturated for most of the year. It may dry out in late summer and fall.
Throughout its range this community is found in basins or floodplains. It is dependent on periodic influx of saline water to maintain the characteristic soil and water chemistry. The soils of this community are deep and poorly drained. They are silty clay loams in Nebraska and peat, muck or mineral soils in Kansas (Lauver et al. 1999, Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003). The parent material rangewide is alluvium or loess. This community is flooded or saturated for most of the year. It may dry out in late summer and fall.
Geographic Range: This community is found in the southeastern Great Plains of the United States in basins or floodplains, extending from western Missouri to eastern Nebraska, south to Arkansas and possibly Texas.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: KS, MO, NE, TX?, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686366
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1G2
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.5 Salt Marsh Formation | F035 | 2.C.5 |
| Division | 2.C.5.Na North American Great Plains Saline Marsh Division | D033 | 2.C.5.Na |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.5.Na.1 Great Plains Saline Wet Meadow & Marsh Macrogroup | M077 | 2.C.5.Na.1 |
| Group | 2.C.5.Na.1.a Saltgrass - Foxtail Barley - Western Wheatgrass Great Plains Saline Wet Meadow & Marsh Group | G324 | 2.C.5.Na.1.a |
| Alliance | A1341 Saltgrass - Foxtail Barley Wet Meadow Alliance | A1341 | 2.C.5.Na.1.a |
| Association | CEGL002043 Saltgrass - Cosmopolitan Bulrush - Red Swampfire Wet Meadow | CEGL002043 | 2.C.5.Na.1.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Distichlis spicata - Schoenoplectus maritimus - Salicornia rubra Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
> Hordeum jubatum - Iva annua community (Ungar et al. 1969)
> Ruppia-Potamogeton community (Ungar et al. 1969)
> Scirpus maritimus community (Ungar et al. 1969)
> Hordeum jubatum - Iva annua community (Ungar et al. 1969)
> Ruppia-Potamogeton community (Ungar et al. 1969)
> Scirpus maritimus community (Ungar et al. 1969)
- 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.).
- Farrar, J., and R. Gersib. 1991. Nebraska salt marshes: Last of the least. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Lincoln, NE. 23 pp.
- Lauver, C. L., K. Kindscher, D. Faber-Langendoen, and R. Schneider. 1999. A classification of the natural vegetation of Kansas. The Southwestern Naturalist 44:421-443.
- Leahy, Mike. Personal communication. Missouri Natural Heritage Database, Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- Nelson, P. 2010. The terrestrial natural communities of Missouri. Revised edition. Missouri Natural Areas Committee, Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Conservation, Jefferson City.
- Nelson, P. W. 1985. The terrestrial natural communities of Missouri. Missouri Natural Areas Committee, Jefferson City. 197 pp. Revised edition, 1987.
- Rolfsmeier, S. B. 1993a. The saline wetland - meadow vegetation and flora of the North Platte River Valley in the Nebraska Panhandle. Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences 20:13-24.
- Rolfsmeier, S. B., and G. Steinauer. 2010. Terrestrial ecological systems and natural communities of Nebraska (Version IV - March 9, 2010). Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Lincoln, NE. 228 pp.
- Steinauer, G. 1989. Characterization of the natural communities of Nebraska. Appendix D, pages 103-114 in: M. Clausen, M. Fritz, and G. Steinauer. The Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, two year progress report. Unpublished document. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Natural Heritage Program, Lincoln, NE.
- Steinauer, G., and S. Rolfsmeier. 2003. Terrestrial natural communities of Nebraska. (Version III - June 30, 2003). Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Lincoln. 163 pp.
- Ungar, I. A., W. Hogan, and M. McClennand. 1969. Plant communities of saline soils at Lincoln, Nebraska. The American Midland Naturalist 82(2):564-577.
- WNDD [Wyoming Natural Diversity Database]. No date. Unpublished data on file. Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY.
- Zollner, Douglas. Personal communication. Ecologist, The Nature Conservancy, Arkansas Field Office, Little Rock.