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CEGL001867 Carex scirpoidea - Potentilla diversifolia Alpine Turf
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Northern Single-spike Sedge - Varileaf Cinquefoil Alpine Turf
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association is found sporadically in the alpine of the mountains in southwestern Montana and possibly southeastern Idaho. Elevation ranges from 2835-3150 m. This moist turf community occurs on gentle terrain that is less wind-impacted than the drier turf communities, but still accumulates little snow. Stands are found in relatively moist sites above snowbed or wet meadow communities, or on cooler northern aspects. Soils range from clay to sandy clay textures and are derived from both calcareous (limestone and conglomerate) and non-calcareous (basalt, granite, and quartzite) parent materials. Most of the sites have evidence of frost-sorting and solifluction phenomena. The dense herbaceous vegetation layer is a mixture of graminoids (66% mean cover) and forbs (47% mean cover) that is dominated by one or more of the following sedges: Carex scirpoidea, Carex heteroneura, Carex phaeocephala, and/or Carex obtusata. Other important graminoids include Carex elynoides, Carex rupestris, Festuca brachyphylla, and Calamagrostis purpurascens. Forb diversity is high with Potentilla diversifolia being most characteristic. Other forbs with high consistency and cover include Achillea millefolium, Erigeron simplex, Lloydia serotina, Phlox pulvinata, Polygonum bistortoides, Solidago multiradiata, and Zigadenus elegans. Diagnostic of this moist turf association is the dominance of Carex scirpoidea, Carex heteroneura, Carex phaeocephala, and/or Carex obtusata with Potentilla diversifolia as the characteristic forb.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Similar stands have been described from the Washington Cascades and the Big Snowy Range in northwest Montana (Bamberg and Major 1968, Douglas and Bliss 1977, Cooper et al. 1999).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The dense herbaceous vegetation layer is a mixture of graminoids (66% mean cover) and forbs (47% mean cover) that is dominated by one or more of the following sedges: Carex scirpoidea, Carex heteroneura, Carex phaeocephala, and/or Carex obtusata. Other important graminoids include Carex elynoides, Carex rupestris, Festuca brachyphylla, and Calamagrostis purpurascens. Forb diversity is high with Potentilla diversifolia being most characteristic. Other forbs with high consistency and cover include Achillea millefolium, Erigeron simplex, Lloydia serotina, Phlox pulvinata, Polygonum bistortoides, Solidago multiradiata, and Zigadenus elegans. Diagnostic of this moist turf association is the dominance of Carex scirpoidea, Carex heteroneura, Carex phaeocephala, and/or Carex obtusata with Potentilla diversifolia as the characteristic forb.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Elevation ranges from 2835-3150 m. This moist turf community occurs on gentle terrain that is less wind-impacted than the drier turf communities, but still accumulates little snow. Stands are found in relatively moist sites above snowbed or wet meadow communities, or on cooler northern aspects. Soils range from clay to sandy clay textures and are derived from both calcareous (limestone and conglomerate) and non-calcareous (basalt, granite, and quartzite) parent materials. Most of the sites have evidence of frost-sorting and solifluction phenomena.
Geographic Range: This community is found sporadically in the alpine of the mountains within the Beaverhead Mountains Section of the Middle Rocky Mountains Province in southwestern Montana and possibly southeastern Idaho (Bailey 1995).
Nations: US
States/Provinces: ID?, MT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688491
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3?
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 4 Polar & High Montane Scrub, Grassland & Barrens Class | C04 | 4 |
| Subclass | 4.B Temperate to Polar Alpine & Tundra Vegetation Subclass | S12 | 4.B |
| Formation | 4.B.1 Temperate & Boreal Alpine Tundra Formation | F037 | 4.B.1 |
| Division | 4.B.1.Nb Western North American Alpine Tundra Division | D043 | 4.B.1.Nb |
| Macrogroup | 4.B.1.Nb.2 Eight-petal Mountain-avens - Blackroot Sedge - Moss Campion Alpine Tundra Macrogroup | M099 | 4.B.1.Nb.2 |
| Group | 4.B.1.Nb.2.b Blackroot Sedge - Bellardi Bog Sedge - Cushion Phlox Alpine Turf & Fell-field Group | G314 | 4.B.1.Nb.2.b |
| Alliance | A3155 Blackroot Sedge - Curly Sedge - Bellardi Bog Sedge Rocky Mountain Alpine Turf Alliance | A3155 | 4.B.1.Nb.2.b |
| Association | CEGL001867 Northern Single-spike Sedge - Varileaf Cinquefoil Alpine Turf | CEGL001867 | 4.B.1.Nb.2.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Carex scirpoidea - Potentilla diversifolia Herbaceous Vegetation (Cooper et al. 1999)
>< Carex scirpoidea var. scirpoidea Community Type (Douglas and Bliss 1977)
= Carex scirpoidea/Potentilla diversifolia c.t. (Cooper et al. 1997)
>< Carex scirpoidea var. scirpoidea Community Type (Douglas and Bliss 1977)
= Carex scirpoidea/Potentilla diversifolia c.t. (Cooper et al. 1997)
- Bamberg, S. A., and J. Major. 1968. Ecology of the vegetation and soils associated with calcareous parent materials in three alpine regions of Montana. Ecological Monographs 38(2):127-167.
- Bourgeron, P. S., and L. D. Engelking, editors. 1994. A preliminary vegetation classification of the western United States. Unpublished report. The Nature Conservancy, Western Heritage Task Force, Boulder, CO. 175 pp. plus appendix.
- Cooper, S. V., C. Jean, and B. L. Heidel. 1999. Plant associations and related botanical inventory of the Beaverhead Mountains Section, Montana. Unpublished report to the Bureau of Land Management. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena. 235 pp.
- Cooper, S. V., P. Lesica, and D. Page-Dumroese. 1997. Plant community classification for alpine vegetation on Beaverhead National Forest, Montana. Report INT-GTR-362. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Ogden, UT. 61 pp.
- Cooper, S. V., and P. Lesica. 1992. Plant community classification for alpine vegetation on Beaverhead National Forest, Montana. Conservation Biology Research, Helena, MT. 80 pp.
- Douglas, G. W., and L. C. Bliss. 1977. Alpine and high subalpine plant communities of the North Cascades Range, Washington and British Columbia. Ecological Monographs 47:113-150.
- MTNHP [Montana Natural Heritage Program]. 2002b. List of ecological communities for Montana. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Montana State Library, Helena, MT.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.