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CEGL004169 Eleocharis (bifida, compressa) - Schoenolirion croceum - Carex crawei - Allium cernuum Seep Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: (Glades Spikerush, Flat-stem Spikerush) - Yellow Sunnybell - Crawe''s Sedge - Nodding Onion Seep Grassland
Colloquial Name: Limestone Seep Glade
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This herbaceous seepage community is a zonal component of Central Basin (Tennessee) and Moulton Valley (Alabama) Limestone Cedar Glades. Examples are dominated by Eleocharis bifida, Eleocharis compressa, Schoenolirion croceum, Carex crawei, and Allium cernuum. Other characteristic species include Nothoscordum bivalve, Isoetes butleri and Hypoxis hirsuta. This vegetation is supported by seepage of groundwater from unconfined aquifers during winter and spring. Tennessee occurrences are on Ordovician limestone, Alabama ones on Mississippian Bangor limestone. Alabama Moulton Valley examples are apparently associated with ~Juniperus virginiana / Schizachyrium scoparium - (Andropogon gerardii, Sorghastrum nutans) - Silphium terebinthinaceum Wooded Grassland (CEGL004738)$$. In contrast, Tennessee Central Basin examples are associated with ~Sporobolus (neglectus, vaginiflorus) - Aristida longespica - Panicum flexile - Panicum capillare Grassland (CEGL004340)$$, an annual grass glade type.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: More information is needed on any differences in composition between Tennessee and Alabama examples.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This community is dominated by herbaceous monocots with narrow, linear leaves, from 2-3 dm tall. Dominant plants include Schoenolirion croceum, Eleocharis compressa, Nothoscordum bivalve (spring-blooming), and Allium cernuum (summer-blooming). Carex crawei is present in most examples, but is also found in the absence of some of the other nominal species.
Dynamics: Examples are associated with lateral seepage or flow (particularly during spring) of mineral-rich circumneutral waters from adjoining limestone strata. In central Tennessee, this situation apparently occurs frequently at the interface between the Lebanon and the underlying Ridley limestones, both of Ordovician age.
Environmental Description: Patches are kept moist in spring by seepage from limestone groundwater. This community is found on flat to gently sloping terrain at about 214 m (700 feet) elevation on limestones of the Central (or Nashville) Basin in central Tennessee, as well as in the Moulton Valley of Alabama and glades of Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park. Examples are found in a lower slope position than drier limestone glade communities and are associated with lateral seepage or flow (particularly during spring) of mineral-rich circumneutral waters from adjoining limestone strata. In central Tennessee, this situation apparently occurs frequently at the interface between the Lebanon and the underlying Ridley limestones, both of Ordovician age.
Geographic Range: This vegetation type is restricted to limestone glade regions of the Central Basin of Tennessee (222Ed), the Moulton Valley of Alabama (231Ce) and the Chert Valley (231Da).
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AL, GA, TN
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686384
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
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.B Temperate & Boreal Grassland & Shrubland Subclass | S18 | 2.B |
| Formation | 2.B.2 Temperate Grassland & Shrubland Formation | F012 | 2.B.2 |
| Division | 2.B.2.Nc Eastern North American Grassland & Shrubland Division | D024 | 2.B.2.Nc |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.2.Nc.3 Little Bluestem - Dropseed species Central Interior Calcareous Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup | M508 | 2.B.2.Nc.3 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nc.3.b Little Bluestem - Sideoats Grama - Diamond-flowers Central Glade & Barrens Group | G179 | 2.B.2.Nc.3.b |
| Alliance | A1458 Glades Spikerush - Flat-stem Spikerush - Crow-poison Alkaline Rocky Seep Alliance | A1458 | 2.B.2.Nc.3.b |
| Association | CEGL004169 (Glades Spikerush, Flat-stem Spikerush) - Yellow Sunnybell - Crawe''s Sedge - Nodding Onion Seep Grassland | CEGL004169 | 2.B.2.Nc.3.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
- Hilton, J. L. 1997. North Alabama Glade Study. Report prepared for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Alabama Natural Heritage Program, Montgomery. 96 pp. plus appendices.
- Nordman, C. 2004a. Vascular plant community classification for Stones River National Battlefield. NatureServe, Durham, NC. 64 pp. plus appendices and CD.
- Rollins, S. C. 1997. Calcareous glade communities in the Central Basin of Tennessee: The effects of scale on community classification. M.S. thesis, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 142 pp.
- Smith, S. G. 2001. Taxonomic innovations in North America Eleocharis (Cyperaceae). Novon 11:241-257.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- TDNH [Tennessee Division of Natural Heritage]. 2018. Unpublished data. Tennessee Division of Natural Heritage, Nashville, TN.