Print Report
CEGL003376 Myrica gale / Carex (aquatilis var. dives, utriculata) Fen
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Sweetgale - (Sitka Sedge, Northwest Territory Sedge) Fen
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: According to Christy (2004), trees are absent in this fen association, and the shrub layer is composed primarily of Myrica gale from 60 to 120 cm (2-4 feet tall) with cover up to 95%. The single montane plot reported from northwestern Oregon also contains Spiraea douglasii and Betula glandulosa, but coastal expressions would not contain Betula. The herb layer here contains Carex aquatilis var. dives in both coastal and montane sites, and the moss layer may contain Sphagnum. Myrica gale fixes atmospheric nitrogen and is an important source of this element in mires. It appears to favor edges of pools and former ditches that have infilled with poorly consolidated peat, where water movement and nutrient status may be greater than in other peatland situations.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: In Oregon, it occurs at Gearhart Bog in Clatsop County and may never have been very extensive. Early collections indicate that Myrica gale once extended as far south as Lincoln County, with a questionable record from Curry County, but Clatsop County is currently the southernmost known locality. Kunze (1994) noted that most occurrences of this association in the northern Puget Trough are in poor condition, presumably because of human disturbance, and that Myrica gale was once more widespread.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: No Data Available
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: No Data Available
Geographic Range: This association occurs from Oregon to southeastern Alaska (Christy 2004).
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: AK?, BC, OR, WA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688377
Confidence Level: Moderate
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.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.3 Beach Pine / Bog Labrador-tea / Cusick''s Sedge North Pacific Bog & Fen Macrogroup | M063 | 2.C.2.Na.3 |
| Group | 2.C.2.Na.3.a Cusick''s Sedge - Water Sedge - Sweetgale Alkaline Fen Group | G285 | 2.C.2.Na.3.a |
| Alliance | A3432 Sweetgale - Rose Spirea Alkaline Fen Alliance | A3432 | 2.C.2.Na.3.a |
| Association | CEGL003376 Sweetgale - (Sitka Sedge, Northwest Territory Sedge) Fen | CEGL003376 | 2.C.2.Na.3.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Myrica gale / Carex aquatilis var. dives (McCain and Christy 2005) [1 plot]
= Myrica gale / Carex aquatilis var. dives Association (Christy 2004)
? Myrica gale / Carex sitchensis (sweetgale/Sitka sedge) Community Type (Shephard 1995)
= Myrica gale / Carex sitchensis Community Type (Kunze 1994)
= Myrica gale / Carex sitchensis Community Type (Boggs 2000) [(Sweetgale/Sitka Sedge Community Type) MYRGAL/CARSIT G4; S4]
= Myrica gale / Carex aquatilis var. dives Association (Christy 2004)
? Myrica gale / Carex sitchensis (sweetgale/Sitka sedge) Community Type (Shephard 1995)
= Myrica gale / Carex sitchensis Community Type (Kunze 1994)
= Myrica gale / Carex sitchensis Community Type (Boggs 2000) [(Sweetgale/Sitka Sedge Community Type) MYRGAL/CARSIT G4; S4]
- Boggs, K. 2000. Classification of community types, successional sequences and landscapes of the Copper River Delta, Alaska. General Technical Report PNW-GTR-469. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Portland, OR. March 2000. 244 pp.
- Christy, J. A. 2001a. Low-elevation Sphagnum wetlands in western Oregon. Report to Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10. Oregon Natural Heritage Program, Portland. 90 pp.
- Christy, J. A. 2004. Native freshwater wetland plant associations of northwestern Oregon. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Oregon State University, Portland, OR.
- Kunze, L. M. 1994. Preliminary classification of native, low elevation, freshwater wetland vegetation in western Washington. Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program. 120 pp.
- McCain, C., and J. A. Christy. 2005. Field guide to riparian plant communities in northwestern Oregon. Technical Paper R6-NR-ECOL-TP-01-05. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland. 357 pp.
- Shephard, M. E. 1995. Plant community ecology and classification of the Yakutat Foreland, Alaska. R10-TP-56. USDA Forest Service, Alaska Region. 213 pp. plus appendices.
- Viereck, L. A., C. T. Dyrness, A. R. Batten, and K. J. Wenzlick. 1992. The Alaska vegetation classification. General Technical Report PNW-GTR286. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Portland, OR. 278 pp.
- WNHP [Washington Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data files. Washington Natural Heritage Program, Department of Natural Resources, Olympia, WA.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.