Print Report

CEGL001237 Salix wolfii / Carex utriculata Wet Shrubland

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available


Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Wolf''s Willow / Northwest Territory Sedge Wet Shrubland

Colloquial Name: No Data Available

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This riparian shrubland is a common community of very wet, high montane and subalpine sites throughout the western Rocky Mountains. It is common but never the most abundant type. It occurs on wet alluvial terraces, broad meadows and large seeps. It generally occupies low-gradient valleys and is almost never found adjacent to rapidly flowing water. It occurs from 2320 to 3260 m (7600-10,700 feet) in elevation. Salix wolfii dominates the low-statured upper canopy (<1.5 m in height) with continuous to patchy cover. Other shrubs are typically present but never codominant and include Salix planifolia, Salix boothii, Salix geyeriana, Betula glandulosa, and Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda. The herbaceous layer is dominated by Carex utriculata but often has other graminoids, such as Carex aquatilis, Carex microptera, Carex limosa, and Deschampsia cespitosa, present in small amounts. Other graminoids present in trace quantities include Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis, Phleum pratense, Danthonia intermedia, and Luzula comosa. Forbs are few and include Pedicularis groenlandica, Caltha leptosepala, Symphyotrichum foliaceum, and Swertia perennis. In more disturbed stands, forbs such as Cirsium arvense and Fragaria virginiana may become common.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Studies throughout the Rocky Mountains west have documented this association. All of these classifications have used the old name Carex rostrata, which is now known to be strictly boreal. This name is superseded by Carex utriculata (Reznicek 1987).

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

Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: Salix wolfii dominates the low-statured upper canopy (<1.5 m in height) with continuous to patchy cover. Other shrubs are typically present but never codominant and include Salix planifolia, Salix boothii, Salix geyeriana, Betula glandulosa, and Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda (= Pentaphylloides floribunda). The herbaceous layer is dominated by Carex utriculata but often has other graminoids, such as Carex aquatilis, Carex microptera, Carex limosa, and Deschampsia cespitosa, present in small amounts. Other graminoids present in trace quantities include Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis (= Juncus balticus var. montanus), Phleum pratense, Danthonia intermedia, and Luzula comosa. Forbs are few and include Pedicularis groenlandica, Caltha leptosepala, Symphyotrichum foliaceum, and Swertia perennis. In more disturbed stands, forbs such as Cirsium arvense and Fragaria virginiana may become common.

Dynamics:  No Data Available

Environmental Description:  This riparian shrubland is a common community of very wet, high montane and subalpine sites throughout the western Rocky Mountains. It is common but never the most abundant type. It occurs on wet alluvial terraces, broad meadows and large seeps. It generally occupies low-gradient valleys and is almost never found adjacent to rapidly flowing water. It occurs from 2320 to 3260 m (7600-10,700 feet) in elevation.

Geographic Range: This association occurs throughout the western central Rocky Mountains in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Idaho.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  CO, ID, UT, WY




Confidence Level: Low

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: < Salix wolfii - Betula glandulosa / Carex rostrata Community Type (Mutz and Queiroz 1983) [p.54. For the most part identical, but they included a few stands dominated by Carex aquatilis.]
< Salix wolfii / Carex rostrata Community Type (Tuhy and Jensen 1982) [p.71. Nearly identical but includes a few stands dominated by Carex aquatilis.]
< Salix wolfii / Carex rostrata Community Type (Hansen et al. 1995) [p.224. Includes a few stands with only Carex utriculata but not very high cover (3%).]
= Salix wolfii / Carex rostrata Community Type (Padgett et al. 1989) [p.99.]
= Salix wolfii / Carex rostrata Community Type (Youngblood et al. 1985a) [p.41. Pedicularis groenlandica and mosses conspicuously absent, typically found in the Salix wolfii / Carex aquatilis community type.]
= Salix wolfii / Carex utriculata Shrubland (Carsey et al. 2003a) [p.260.]
< Salix wolfii / Swertia perennis Community Type (Tuhy and Jensen 1982) [p.68. Nearly identical but includes a few stands dominated by Carex aquatilis.]
= Salix wolfii / wet Carex Ecological Type (Girard et al. 1997) [p.199. All stands are dominated by Carex utriculata.]
< Salix spp. / Carex rostrata Community Type (Tuhy and Jensen 1982) [Includes stands dominated by Salix wolfii and Carex utriculata.]

Concept Author(s): Western Ecology Group

Author of Description: G. Kittel

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 06-16-05

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