Print Report

CEGL001809 Carex pellita Wet Meadow

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Woolly Sedge Wet Meadow

Colloquial Name: No Data Available

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This groundwater-supported plant association occurs in small patches along stream channels and in seasonally wet depressions and swales at low to moderate elevations in the western U.S. from Washington to Montana south to Oregon, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado. It has also been reported from British Columbia, Canada. These wetlands form small to medium-sized meadows. Carex pellita, a distinctive wetland-indicator species, clearly dominates stands with 30-80% cover. Low species diversity, with few associates having high constancy, is characteristic. Deschampsia cespitosa, Carex microptera, Carex nebrascensis, Carex simulata, Carex praegracilis, Elymus glaucus, Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis, Schoenoplectus pungens, Equisetum arvense, and Equisetum hyemale are sometimes present with low cover. Scattered shrubs and small trees may also be present. On the eastern plains of Colorado, it can occur under a canopy of cottonwood trees forming ~Populus deltoides / Carex pellita Floodplain Woodland (CEGL002649)$$.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This association is defined as a PNV vegetation type. This plant association has been described in recent classifications throughout its range (Kovalchik 1987, Padgett et al. 1989, Evenden 1990, Manning and Padgett 1995, Crowe and Clausnitzer 1997, Kittel et al. 1999a). Hansen et al. (1995) included all combinations of Carex pellita (= Carex lanuginosa), Carex lasiocarpa, and Carex buxbaumii in the Carex lasiocarpa habitat type. There may be some similarities between sites supporting Carex pellita, Carex lasiocarpa, and Carex buxbaumii plant associations. However, Carex pellita stands typically occur on mineral soils in seasonally saturated floodplains along runoff-dominated stream channels or headwater basins, while Carex lasiocarpa and Carex buxbaumii occur on organic soils in association with semipermanently saturated spring-fed or groundwater-driven wetlands. From a biodiversity conservation standpoint, the three associations should be recognized as distinct types. Identification of this association is complicated when shrubs are present and when Carex pellita is not clearly dominant.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: Carex pellita (= Carex lanuginosa), a distinctive wetland-indicator species, clearly dominates stands of this association with 30-80% cover. Low species diversity is characteristic. Deschampsia cespitosa, Carex microptera, Carex nebrascensis, Carex simulata, Carex praegracilis, Carex utriculata, Elymus glaucus, Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis (= Juncus balticus), Schoenoplectus pungens (= Scirpus pungens), Equisetum arvense, and Equisetum hyemale are sometimes present with low cover. Stands that have been degraded by grazing may have high cover by the exotic species Agrostis stolonifera or Poa pratensis or the native rush Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis (Jankovsky-Jones et al. 2001). Scattered shrubs and small trees may be present, including Salix exigua, Chrysothamnus linifolius, Salix amygdaloides, Populus deltoides, and exotic Tamarix spp.

Dynamics:  Carex pellita is a mycorrhizal species, which allows it to thrive in low-nutrient environments (Muthukumar et al. 2004). On the eastern plains of Colorado, this association can occur under a canopy of mature cottonwood trees, forming ~Populus deltoides / Carex pellita Floodplain Woodland (CEGL002649)$$.
Environmental Description:  This groundwater-supported plant association occurs in small patches along stream channels and in seasonally wet depressions and swales at low to moderate elevations in the western U.S. from Washington to Montana south to Oregon, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado. It has also been reported from British Columbia, Canada. These wetlands form small to medium-sized meadows on valley bottoms. Soils are alluvial and remain saturated through at least part of the growing season.
Geographic Range: This plant association is a minor wetland type in Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia, Canada. Carex pellita is a common sedge that occurs throughout the northern and western United States. It is likely that this or a closely related association occurs in Wyoming, California, and New Mexico.

Nations: CA,US

States/Provinces:  BC, CA, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY


Confidence Level: High

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3

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.Nb Western North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division D031 2.C.4.Nb
Macrogroup 2.C.4.Nb.5 Sitka Alder - Booth''s Willow / Northwest Territory Sedge Montane Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Macrogroup M893 2.C.4.Nb.5
Group 2.C.4.Nb.5.b Sedge species - Reedgrass species Montane Wet Meadow & Marsh Group G521 2.C.4.Nb.5.b
Alliance A3805 Nebraska Sedge - Blister Sedge - Woolly Sedge Wet Meadow Alliance A3805 2.C.4.Nb.5.b
Association CEGL001809 Woolly Sedge Wet Meadow CEGL001809 2.C.4.Nb.5.b
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Carex lanuginosa Community Type (Hansen et al. 1988b)
= Carex lanuginosa Community Type (Hansen et al. 1991)
= Carex lanuginosa (Kovalchik 1987) [(p.98)]
= Carex lanuginosa (Crowe and Clausnitzer 1997) [(p.186)]
= Carex lanuginosa (Kittel et al. 1999b)
= Carex lanuginosa Association (Jankovsky-Jones et al. 2001)
= Carex lanuginosa Community Type (Padgett et al. 1989)
= Carex lanuginosa Community Type (Manning and Padgett 1995)
< Carex lanuginosa Habitat Type (Hansen et al. 1995)
= Carex pellita (=lanuginosa) Herbaceous Vegetation (Carsey et al. 2003a)
= Carex pellita (C. lanuginosa) Association (Crowe et al. 2004)
? Woolly Sedge-Common Spikerush CT (Muldavin et al. 2000a)
= Woolly sedge (Carex lanuginosa) Plant Association (Kittel et al. 1999a)
= Wooly sedge (Carex lanuginosa) Plant Association (Kittel et al. 1997a)
Concept Author(s): M. Jankovsky-Jones

Author of Description: M. Jankovsky-Jones and J. Coles

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 10-13-05
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