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CEGL002267 Carex prairea - Schoenoplectus pungens - Rhynchospora capillacea Fen
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Prairie Sedge - Common Threesquare - Needle Beaksedge Fen
Colloquial Name: Northern Tallgrass Calcareous Fen
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community type is found primarily in the northern tallgrass prairie region of western Minnesota, northwestern Iowa and eastern Dakotas, where calcium-rich groundwater emerges as springs. These springs are commonly associated with porous bedrock or coarse-textured deposits such as beach or outwash. The water is cold, anoxic, and circumneutral. These conditions promote the accumulation of peat. The vegetation is dominated by graminoids, but may contain small shrubs. Many species are inhibited by the water conditions and thus the vegetation cover is moderate. The predominant vegetation is 25-35 cm tall while some species grow to 75-85 cm. The most abundant species are Calamagrostis stricta, Carex prairea, Carex sterilis, Eleocharis spp., Lobelia kalmii, Muhlenbergia glomerata, Muhlenbergia richardsonis, Parnassia glauca, Rhynchospora capillacea, Schoenoplectus pungens, Spartina pectinata, and Triglochin maritima. Shrubs that occur with the herbaceous species include Betula pumila, Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda, and Salix spp. (Salix candida is highly characteristic; others include Salix x bebbii and Salix discolor). Prairie herb associates include Andropogon gerardii, Doellingeria umbellata, Cirsium muticum, Liatris ligulistylis, Lilium philadelphicum, Solidago nemoralis, Oligoneuron riddellii, Zigadenus elegans, and Zizia aurea.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Schoenoplectus pungens is apparently the right name for the Schoenoplectus spp. found in this type (Ownbey and Morley 1991, R. Dana pers. comm. 1999). Type may not be found west of tallgrass prairie ecoregion. In Minnesota, fens can have Carex sterilis and Andropogon gerardii. Unlike southeastern Minnesota calcareous prairie fens, western Minnesota calcareous prairie fens do not have some of the prairie forb associates such as Valeriana edulis and Saxifraga pensylvanica. In Iowa, the Western Rich Fen type correlates with the MN Calcareous Fen (Southwestern), OPp93b. Within the IA type, there are two sites with a distinctive geomorphic form (large peat mounds with tufa "pavement" on a string-and-flark topography with strong artesian hydrology): Silver Lake Fen and Excelsior Fen, both in Dickinson County about a mile apart, near the Iowa-Minnesota border. These fens support a large lawn of calciphiles (Rhynchospora capillacea, Scleria verticillata, etc. plus pools of Chara algae); no other fens in Iowa have these traits so extremely expressed. However, despite these largely geomorphic differences, the flora of these two sites is basically the same as other Western Rich Fens in Iowa, so these two sites are perhaps best viewed as just interesting site variants of IA Western Rich Fen and MN Calcareous Fen (Southwestern). Iowa’s Eastern Rich Fen is crosswalked to ~Carex stricta - Valeriana edulis - Parnassia palustris Fen (CEGL005421)$$.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The vegetation is dominated by graminoids, but may contain small shrubs. Many species are inhibited by the water conditions and thus the vegetation cover is moderate (MNNHP 1993). This allows the growth of many heliophytic species. Van der Valk (1975) found that the predominant vegetation was 25-35 cm tall, with Schoenoplectus americanus (= Scirpus americanus) growing to 75-85 cm tall. The most abundant species are Calamagrostis stricta, Carex prairea, Carex sterilis, Eleocharis spp., Lobelia kalmii, Muhlenbergia glomerata, Muhlenbergia richardsonis, Parnassia glauca, Rhynchospora capillacea, Schoenoplectus pungens (= Scirpus pungens), Spartina pectinata, and Triglochin maritima (Pearson and Leoschke 1992). Shrubs that occur with the herbaceous species include Betula pumila, Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda (= Pentaphylloides floribunda), and Salix spp. (Salix candida is highly characteristic, others include Salix x bebbii and Salix discolor) (R. Dana pers. comm. 1999). Prairie herb associates include Andropogon gerardii, Doellingeria umbellata (= Aster umbellatus), Cirsium muticum, Liatris ligulistylis, Lilium philadelphicum, Solidago nemoralis, Oligoneuron riddellii (= Solidago riddellii), Zigadenus elegans, and Zizia aurea (R. Dana pers. comm. 1999).
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This community is found where calcium-rich groundwater emerges as springs. These springs are commonly associated with porous bedrock or coarse-textured deposits such as beach or outwash (Richardson et al. 1987). The water is cold, anoxic, and circumneutral (MNNHP 1993). These conditions promote the accumulation of peat resulting in soils that are shallow to deep peats. There may be calcium carbonates precipitated in the soil.
Geographic Range: This community type is found primarily in the northern tallgrass prairie region of western Minnesota, northwestern Iowa and eastern Dakotas, where calcium rich groundwater emerges as springs.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: IA, MN, ND, SD
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687546
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.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 | A3704 Shrubby-cinquefoil / Riddell''s Goldenrod - Big Bluestem Graminoid Fen Alliance | A3704 | 2.C.2.Na.2.b |
| Association | CEGL002267 Prairie Sedge - Common Threesquare - Needle Beaksedge Fen | CEGL002267 | 2.C.2.Na.2.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Carex prairea - Schoenoplectus pungens - Rhynchospora capillacea Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
< Discharge zone (van der Valk 1975a) [The equivalence of the Discharge zone of van der Valk (1975) with this community is somewhat tenuous. That zone contains more species and has a higher cover of vegetation than the Sedge mat zone.]
< Sedge mat zone (van der Valk 1975a)
< Discharge zone (van der Valk 1975a) [The equivalence of the Discharge zone of van der Valk (1975) with this community is somewhat tenuous. That zone contains more species and has a higher cover of vegetation than the Sedge mat zone.]
< Sedge mat zone (van der Valk 1975a)
- Dana, Robert. 1995. Personal communication. County Biological Survey ecologist, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul, MN.
- 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.).
- INAI [Iowa Natural Areas Inventory]. 2017. Vegetation classification of Iowa. Iowa Natural Areas Inventory, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Des Moines.
- MNNHP [Minnesota Natural Heritage Program]. 1993. Minnesota''s native vegetation: A key to natural communities. Version 1.5. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program, St. Paul, MN. 110 pp.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- Minnesota DNR [Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]. 2003-2005a. Field guide to the native plant communities of Minnesota. Three volumes: The Laurentian Mixed Forest Province (2003), The Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province (2005c), The Prairie Parkland and Tallgrass Aspen Parklands provinces (2005b). Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey, and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul.
- Minnesota DNR [Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]. 2005b. Field guide to the native plant communities of Minnesota: The Prairie Parkland and Tallgrass Aspen Parklands provinces. Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey, and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul.
- Ownbey, G. B., and T. Morley. 1991. Vascular plants of Minnesota: A checklist and atlas. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.
- Pearson, J. A., and M. J. Leoschke. 1992. Floristic composition and conservation status of fens in Iowa. Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science 99(2-3):41-52.
- Richardson, J. L., T. J. Malterer, A. Gienke, J. L. Arndt, M. J. Rosek, and A. J. Duxbury. 1987. Classification problems associated with histic soils of calcareous fens. Soil Survey Horizons.
- SDNHP [South Dakota Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data. South Dakota Natural Heritage Program, Pierre, SD.
- Van der Valk, A. G. 1975a. Floristic composition and structure of fen communities in northwest Iowa. Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science 82(2):113-118.