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CEGL004134 Scirpus cyperinus - Dulichium arundinaceum / Sphagnum spp. Marsh
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Woolgrass - Threeway Sedge / Peatmoss species Marsh
Colloquial Name: Southern Appalachian Montane Upland Pool
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community includes emergent zones in upland depression ponds of the mountains of North Carolina and adjacent states, where water is ponded by an impermeable substrate. It has a pronounced seasonal fluctuation in water level, filling in the winter and often drying completely in the summer. It is extremely rare, known only from very few scattered sites in Burke and Buncombe counties, North Carolina. This community includes a variety of shrub- and herb-dominated upland wetlands with very different substrates. Herbaceous vegetation occurs in monospecific clumps, with Sphagnum mats, and scattered shrubs and trees around the margins. Typical dominants are Scirpus cyperinus, Dulichium arundinaceum, Juncus effusus var. solutus, and Juncus canadensis. Other species include Bartonia virginica, Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis, Sphagnum lescurii, Sphagnum pylaesii, Sphagnum cuspidatum, Sphagnum palustre, and Sphagnum recurvum. Sparsely distributed trees may include Nyssa sylvatica, Quercus phellos, Acer rubrum, and Liquidambar styraciflua. Shrubs include Cephalanthus occidentalis, Vaccinium spp., and Eubotrys racemosa.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This community provides important breeding habitat for amphibians. It is distinguished from all other wetlands in the Southern Blue Ridge by having standing water for significant parts of the year and by the lack of peaty mats and bog species found in other non-alluvial mountain wetlands. This classification was based on data from Linville Mountain Pond (Newell and Peet 1995) and may be modified as more regional information is collected. This association may be related to Virginia''s Mountain Pools in the Shenandoahs [see ~(Cephalanthus occidentalis) / Dulichium arundinaceum - (Polygonum hydropiperoides, Glyceria acutiflora, Proserpinaca palustris) Marsh (CEGL003746)$$]. Resolve the classification with floristically similar types in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont of Virginia.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This community is dominated by various wetland shrubs and herbs. Herbaceous vegetation occurs in monospecific clumps, with Sphagnum mats, and scattered shrubs and trees around the margins. Other species include Bartonia virginica, Juncus effusus var. solutus, Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis, Juncus canadensis, Sphagnum lescurii, Sphagnum pylaesii, Sphagnum cuspidatum, Sphagnum palustre, and Sphagnum recurvum. Sparsely distributed trees may include Nyssa sylvatica, Quercus phellos, Acer rubrum, and Liquidambar styraciflua. Shrubs include Cephalanthus occidentalis, Vaccinium spp., and Eubotrys racemosa (= Leucothoe racemosa). This community is surrounded by forests dominated by Quercus montana (= Quercus prinus) and Quercus coccinea.
Dynamics: This upland pool community seems to be stable over long periods, but will slowly fill with sediment or organic matter. An ephemeral drawdown community may occur when water level drops. Extended droughts may be necessary for establishment of some species (Weakley and Schafale 1994). With time, occurrences of this community may gradually fill with sediment or organic matter and be succeeded by swamp forests or non-wetland forests.
Environmental Description: Soils have a mucky surface layer and a shallow clay hardpan or rock layer that prevents drainage. They are seasonally to semipermanently flooded, with rainfall apparently the main source of water (Weakley and Schafale 1994). This community has a pronounced seasonal fluctuation in water level, filling in the winter and often drying completely in the summer. Linville Mountain Pond is approximately 15 x 20 m in size and occurs at 907 m elevation over lower quartzite geology.
Geographic Range: This community occurs in the Southern Blue Ridge of North Carolina and Georgia. Its possible occurrence in South Carolina and Tennessee is speculative.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: GA, NC, SC?, TN
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686555
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1Q
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.4 Temperate to Polar Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Formation | F013 | 2.C.4 |
| Division | 2.C.4.Nd Eastern North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division | D323 | 2.C.4.Nd |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.4.Nd.90 Common Rush - Purple Loosestrife - Reed Canarygrass Eastern North American Ruderal Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Macrogroup | M303 | 2.C.4.Nd.90 |
| Group | 2.C.4.Nd.90.a Bushy Bluestem - Common Rush Ruderal Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Group | G557 | 2.C.4.Nd.90.a |
| Alliance | A3412 Common Rush - Bushy Bluestem - Giant Plumegrass Ruderal Marsh Alliance | A3412 | 2.C.4.Nd.90.a |
| Association | CEGL004134 Woolgrass - Threeway Sedge / Peatmoss species Marsh | CEGL004134 | 2.C.4.Nd.90.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Scirpus cyperinus-Dulichium Pond (Newell and Peet 1995)
< IIE1g. Interior Vernal Pool Complex (Allard 1990)
? Upland Pool (Weakley and Schafale 1994)
< IIE1g. Interior Vernal Pool Complex (Allard 1990)
? Upland Pool (Weakley and Schafale 1994)
- Allard, D. J. 1990. Southeastern United States ecological community classification. Interim report, Version 1.2. The Nature Conservancy, Southeast Regional Office, Chapel Hill, NC. 96 pp.
- Anderson, L. E. 1990a. A checklist of Sphagnum in North America north of Mexico. The Bryologist 93:500-501.
- Newell, C. L., and R. K. Peet. 1995. Vegetation of Linville Gorge Wilderness, North Carolina. Unpublished report. to USDA Forest Service. University of North Carolina, Department of Biology, Chapel Hill. 211 pp.
- Peet, R. K., T. R. Wentworth, M. P. Schafale, and A.S. Weakley. No date. Unpublished data of the North Carolina Vegetation Survey. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
- Schafale, M. P. 2012. Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina, 4th Approximation. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh.
- Schafale, M. P., and A. S. Weakley. 1990. Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina. Third approximation. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh. 325 pp.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Weakley, A. S., and M. P. Schafale. 1994. Non-alluvial wetlands of the Southern Blue Ridge: Diversity in a threatened ecosystem. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 77:359-383.
- Weakley, A. S., compiler. 1993. Natural Heritage Program list of the rare plant species of North Carolina. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program. Raleigh. 79 pp.