Print Report

CEGL001826 Carex aquatilis var. dives Fen

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available


Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Sitka Sedge Fen

Colloquial Name: No Data Available

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: Habitat is usually montane fens. The association is widespread and important in the Cascade Range and, like ~Carex aquatilis Wet Meadow (CEGL001802)$$, includes a heterogeneous mix of species that do not segregate in any meaningful way. Trees and shrubs are scarce, although many different species are present. The herb layer is astonishingly diverse with more than 120 species recorded, but most of these have relatively low constancy and reflect the patchy distribution of many different taxa. Carex aquatilis var. dives is the primary species, averaging 54% cover, and many stands occur as monotypic reed swamp with cover ranging from 5 to 99%. Some of these stands intergrade with ~Carex utriculata Wet Meadow (CEGL001562)$$ in seasonally flooded depressions. Dodecatheon jeffreyi, Carex utriculata, and Hypericum anagalloides are the only other species with constancy higher than 20%. Species with significant patches include Caltha leptosepala ssp. howellii, Eleocharis quinqueflora, Equisetum fluviatile, Viola macloskeyi, Cicuta douglasii, and Agrostis humilis. Stands may occur on old beaver terraces on seepage slopes and also in sag ponds on slopes prone to slumping. Carex aquatilis var. dives can intermix with forest ecotone or meadow taxa as long as enough soil moisture is present. Plants become progressively dwarfed as conditions become drier.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: No Data Available

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available

Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: No Data Available

Dynamics:  No Data Available

Environmental Description:  No Data Available

Geographic Range: This association occurs from northern California to Alaska (Christy 2004).

Nations: CA,US

States/Provinces:  AK, BC, CA?, OR, WA




Confidence Level: Moderate

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available

Grank: G4

Greasons: No Data Available


Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available

Synonomy: = Carex aquatilis association (Odion et al. 2013)
= Carex aquatilis var. dives (McCain and Christy 2005) [71 plots]
= Carex aquatilis var. dives (Murray 2000)
= Carex aquatilis var. dives (C. sitchensis) Association (Crowe et al. 2004)
= Carex aquatilis var. dives Association (Christy 2004)
= Carex aquatilis var. dives Fen (DiPaolo et al. 2018)
? Carex aquatilis community (Crawford 2003)
= Carex sitchensis - Potentilla palustris variant (Kunze 1994) [(p.84)]
? Carex sitchensis / Equisetum fluviatile (Sitka sedge/swamp horsetail) Community Type (Shephard 1995)
= Carex sitchensis (Kovalchik 1987) [(p.114)]
? Carex sitchensis Community Type (Boggs 2000) [(Sitka Sedge Community Type) CARSIT G5; S5.]

Concept Author(s): J.A. Christy (2004)

Author of Description: J.A. Christy (2004)

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 06-10-06

  • Boggs, K. 2000. Classification of community types, successional sequences and landscapes of the Copper River Delta, Alaska. General Technical Report PNW-GTR-469. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Portland, OR. March 2000. 244 pp.
  • Bourgeron, P. S., and L. D. Engelking, editors. 1994. A preliminary vegetation classification of the western United States. Unpublished report. The Nature Conservancy, Western Heritage Task Force, Boulder, CO. 175 pp. plus appendix.
  • Campbell, A. G. 1973. Vegetative ecology of Hunts Cove, Mt. Jefferson, OR. M.S. thesis, Oregon State University, Corvallis. 89 pp.
  • Christy, J. A. 2004. Native freshwater wetland plant associations of northwestern Oregon. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Oregon State University, Portland, OR.
  • Crawford, R. C. 2003. Riparian vegetation classification of the Columbia Basin, Washington. Natural Heritage Report 2003-03. Washington Natural Heritage Program, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Olympia. 98 pp. plus appendices.
  • Crowe, E. A., B. L. Kovalchik, and M. J. Kerr. 2004. Riparian and wetland vegetation of central and eastern Oregon. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Institute for Natural Resources, Oregon State University, Portland. 473 pp. [http://oregonstate.edu/ornhic/ publications.html]
  • DiPaolo, D. A., D. C. Odion, K. M. Rolih, P. Adamus, and D. A. Sarr. 2018. Vegetation classification and mapping: Crater Lake National Park. Natural Resource Report NPS/CRLA/NRR--2018/1663. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 550 pp.
  • Frenkel, R. E., W. H. Moir, and J. A. Christy. 1986. Vegetation of Torrey Lake Mire, central Cascade Range, Oregon. Madrono 33:24-39.
  • Hemstrom, M. A., S. E. Logan, and W. Pavlat. 1987. Plant association and management guide, Willamette National Forest. Report R6-Ecol 257-B-86. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, OR. 312 pp.
  • Kagan, J. S., E. M. Nielsen, M. D. Noone, J. C. van Warmerdam, L. K. Wise, G. Kittel, and C. Copass. 2012. Lewis and Clark National Historic Park vegetation classification and mapping project report. Natural Resource Report NPS/NCCN/NRR--2012/597. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO.
  • Kagan, J. S., J. A. Christy, M. P. Murray, and J. A. Titus. 2004. Classification of native vegetation of Oregon. January 2004. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Portland. 52 pp.
  • Kovalchik, B. L. 1987. Riparian zone associations - Deschutes, Ochoco, Fremont, and Winema national forests. Technical Paper 279-87. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, OR. 171 pp.
  • Kovalchik, B. L. 2001. Classification and management of aquatic, riparian and wetland sites on the national forests of eastern Washington. Part 1: The series descriptions. 429 pp. plus appendix. [http://www.reo.gov/col/wetland_classification/wetland_classification.pdf]
  • Kunze, L. M. 1994. Preliminary classification of native, low elevation, freshwater wetland vegetation in western Washington. Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program. 120 pp.
  • McCain, C., and J. A. Christy. 2005. Field guide to riparian plant communities in northwestern Oregon. Technical Paper R6-NR-ECOL-TP-01-05. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland. 357 pp.
  • Murray, M. P. 2000. Wetland plant associations of the western hemlock zone in the central coastal and westslope Cascade Mountains. Unpublished report, Oregon Natural Heritage Program, Portland, OR. 82 pp. [http://www.natureserve.org/nhp/us/or/nw_or_wetlands.pdf]
  • Odion, D. C., D. A. DiPaolo, L. C. Groshong, D. A. Sarr, and S. Mohren. 2013. Vegetation Inventory Project: Oregon Caves National Monument and proposed expansion area. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/ORCA/NRTR--2013/782. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 272 pp.
  • Roach, A. W. 1952. Phytosociology of the Nash Crater lava flows, Linn County, Oregon. Ecological Monographs 22:169-193.
  • Seyer, S. C. 1979. Vegetative ecology of a montane mire, Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. Unpublished thesis, Oregon State University, Corvallis. 87 pp.
  • Seyer, S. C. 1983. Ecological analysis, Multorpor Fen Preserve, Oregon. The Nature Conservancy, Oregon Field Office, Portland. 28 pp.
  • Shephard, M. E. 1995. Plant community ecology and classification of the Yakutat Foreland, Alaska. R10-TP-56. USDA Forest Service, Alaska Region. 213 pp. plus appendices.
  • Titus, J. H. 1996. Unpublished vegetation data for French Flat, Bruno Meadows, Hill Creek, and Tater Hill. Oregon Natural Heritage Program, The Nature Conservancy, Portland.
  • Titus, J. H., and J. A. Christy. 1996a. Vegetation of Big Marsh, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon. Report to Deschutes National Forest. Oregon Natural Heritage Program, The Nature Conservancy, Portland.
  • WNHP [Washington Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data files. Washington Natural Heritage Program, Department of Natural Resources, Olympia, WA.
  • Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.
  • Wilson, C. E. 1986. Floristic and edaphic aspects of vegetational patterns in subalpine mires of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. M.S. thesis, University of Oregon, Eugene. 59 pp.