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CEGL002390 Carex interior - Eleocharis elliptica - Thelypteris palustris Fen
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Inland Sedge - Elliptic Spikerush - Eastern Marsh Fern Fen
Colloquial Name: Sandhills Fen
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community is found in the Sandhills region of the central Great Plains on level valley bottoms bordering streams, lakes, and marshes. The water table is 15-30 cm below the surface, and these sites remain saturated throughout the year but never become flooded. The soils are deep (0.7-7 m) peat or muck formed from decaying herbaceous vegetation. Surface mounding is characteristic of many sites. The vegetation consists mainly of hydrophytic herbaceous species. Stands are typically dominated by sedges, including Carex interior, Carex lacustris, Carex nebrascensis, Carex prairea, and Carex sartwellii. Other abundant species are Calamagrostis canadensis, Eleocharis elliptica, Glyceria striata, and Thelypteris palustris. In areas of well-preserved fibrous peat, Carex pellita, Carex interior and Carex prairea dominate. Where the peat is more degraded and mucky, Carex lacustris and Carex nebrascensis often dominate, with Carex aquatilis common in some sites. Some parts of the fen may be dominated by taller graminoids, such as Phragmites australis, Schoenoplectus acutus, and Typha latifolia, with a ground layer of Onoclea sensibilis and Thelypteris palustris. In other parts, shrub cover can be high. Shrub species include Salix petiolaris, Cornus sericea, and Salix spp. Many disjunct boreal species are commonly found in the fibrous peat, including Symphyotrichum boreale, Doellingeria umbellata var. pubens, Eriophorum angustifolium, Eriophorum gracile, Muhlenbergia glomerata, and Ophioglossum pusillum.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Type needs rangewide review. Shrubby patches with greater than 25% cover may occur.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The vegetation consists mainly of hydrophytic herbaceous species. Stands are typically dominated by sedges, including Carex interior, Carex lacustris, Carex nebrascensis, Carex prairea, and Carex sartwellii. Other abundant species are Calamagrostis canadensis, Eleocharis elliptica, Glyceria striata, and Thelypteris palustris. In areas of well-preserved fibrous peat, Carex pellita, Carex interior, and Carex prairea dominate. Where the peat is more degraded and mucky, Carex lacustris and Carex nebrascensis often dominate, with Carex aquatilis common in some sites. Some parts of the fen may be dominated by taller graminoids, such as Phragmites australis, Schoenoplectus acutus (= Scirpus acutus), and Typha latifolia, with a ground layer of Onoclea sensibilis and Thelypteris palustris. In other parts, shrub cover can be high. Shrub species include Salix petiolaris, Cornus sericea (= Cornus stolonifera), and Salix spp. Many disjunct boreal species are commonly found in the fibrous peat, including Symphyotrichum boreale (= Aster borealis), Doellingeria umbellata var. pubens (= Aster umbellatus var. pubens), Eriophorum angustifolium, Eriophorum gracile, Muhlenbergia glomerata, and Ophioglossum pusillum. (Tolstead 1942, Steinauer et al. 1996, Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003)
Dynamics: Fires spreading from surrounding prairie vegetation may have been common in this community before European settlement. Flooding due to the presence of beaver dams may have been important in fens bordering the prairie (Steinauer et al. 1996).
Environmental Description: This community is typically found at the headwaters of Sandhills stream valleys or at the upper ends of lakes and marshes. The water table is 15-30 cm below the surface (Tolstead 1942), and these sites remain saturated throughout the year but never become flooded. Soils are predominately Cutcomb mucky peat formed in decaying herbaceous vegetation, and show evidence of low oxygen availability during the growing season. Organic deposits range from 30 cm to 7+ m deep with sand layers interspersed among the organic deposits. The oldest deposits have been radiocarbon dated at 12,260 +/- 60 years B.P. Surface mounding is an important feature of Sandhills fens and raised peat mounds are frequently areas of groundwater discharge. Groundwater pH ranges from 6.0-6.9 (Tolstead 1942, Steinauer et al. 1996, Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003).
Geographic Range: This community type is found in the Sandhills region of the central Great Plains on gently sloping to level valley bottoms bordering streams or lakes, particularly in northwestern Nebraska and adjacent southwestern South Dakota.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: NE, SD
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687044
Confidence Level: Moderate
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.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.2 Shrubby cinquefoil - Woolly-fruit Sedge / Star Campylium Moss Alkaline Fen Macrogroup | M877 | 2.C.2.Na.2 |
| Group | 2.C.2.Na.2.b Shrubby-cinquefoil / Dioecious Sedge - Smooth Sawgrass Alkaline Fen Group | G183 | 2.C.2.Na.2.b |
| Alliance | A4129 Inland Sedge - Woolly Sedge Central Plains Graminoid Fen Alliance | A4129 | 2.C.2.Na.2.b |
| Association | CEGL002390 Inland Sedge - Elliptic Spikerush - Eastern Marsh Fern Fen | CEGL002390 | 2.C.2.Na.2.b |
Concept Lineage: This is a shrub fen type that is now combined with the herbaceous fen type, as recommended by Gerry Steinauer.
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Carex interior - Eleocharis elliptica - Thelypteris palustris Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
? Plants of Peat Soils (Tolstead 1942)
? Plants of Peat Soils (Tolstead 1942)
- 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.).
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- 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.
- SDNHP [South Dakota Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data. South Dakota Natural Heritage Program, Pierre, SD.
- Steinauer, G. A., S. B. Rolfsmeier, and J. Phillips Hardy. 1996. Inventory and floristics of Sandhills fens in Cherry County, Nebraska. Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences 23:9-21.
- 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.
- Tolstead, W. L. 1942. Vegetation of the northern part of Cherry County, Nebraska. Ecological Monographs 12(3):257-292.