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CEGL003438 Vaccinium cespitosum / Sanguisorba officinalis Fen
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Dwarf Bilberry / Great Burnet Fen
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association occurs on acidic mineral soil around the margins of seasonally wet meadows in the northern Coast Range of Oregon. Trees and tall shrubs are absent. Vaccinium cespitosum forms a network of low thickets and hummocks 0.3-0.5 m in height around openings with seasonally flooded shallow pools with a very sparse cover of Carex obnupta and sheets of the tiny black liverwort Cephaloziella. Vaccinium cespitosum covers 30-70% of the stands, and Sanguisorba officinalis may cover up to 85% of the herb layer. Stunted Spiraea douglasii and Camassia quamash suggest that the soil has very low nutrient status. Thuja plicata, Rhododendron spp., and Gaultheria shallon occur on logs and other elevated microsites and can eventually shade out the association if hydrology is altered or a sufficient area of elevated substrate develops. Sphagnum and Aulacomnium palustre occur among the Vaccinium hummocks and may cover 50-95% of the moss layer. Anemone oregana var. felix is present in these stands.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association has been sampled at only two sites but is expected to occur in a few other places. Inventories in the central Oregon Coast Range are still incomplete.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Trees and tall shrubs are absent. Vaccinium cespitosum forms a network of low thickets and hummocks 0.3-0.5 m in height around openings with seasonally flooded shallow pools with a very sparse cover of Carex obnupta and sheets of the tiny black liverwort Cephaloziella. Vaccinium cespitosum covers 30-70% of the stands, and Sanguisorba officinalis may cover up to 85% of the herb layer. Stunted Spiraea douglasii and Camassia quamash suggest that the soil has very low nutrient status. Thuja plicata, Rhododendron spp., and Gaultheria shallon occur on logs and other elevated microsites and can eventually shade out the association if hydrology is altered or a sufficient area of elevated substrate develops. Sphagnum and Aulacomnium palustre occur among the Vaccinium hummocks and may cover 50-95% of the moss layer. Regional endemic Anemone oregana var. felix is present in these stands.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This association occurs on acidic mineral soil around the margins of seasonally wet meadows in the northern Coast Range of Oregon.
Geographic Range: This association is currently known only from the northern Coast Range of Oregon. It is possible that it also occurs in coastal mountains of Washington.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: OR, WA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688728
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1
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.b North Pacific Acidic Open Bog & Fen Group | G284 | 2.C.2.Na.3.b |
| Alliance | A3585 Sweetgale - Rose Spirea - Dwarf Bilberry Shrub Fen Alliance | A3585 | 2.C.2.Na.3.b |
| Association | CEGL003438 Dwarf Bilberry / Great Burnet Fen | CEGL003438 | 2.C.2.Na.3.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Vaccinium caespitosum / Sanguisorba officinalis - Carex obnupta (McCain and Christy 2005) [9 plots]
= Vaccinium caespitosum / Sanguisorba officinalis - Carex obnupta Association (Christy 2004)
= Vaccinium caespitosum / Sanguisorba officinalis - Carex obnupta Association (Christy 2004)
- Christy, J. A. 2001b. Wetland vegetation of Fanno Meadows Preserve, Polk County, Oregon. Report to The Nature Conservancy of Oregon, Portland. Oregon Natural Heritage Program. 17 pp.
- Christy, J. A. 2004. Native freshwater wetland plant associations of northwestern Oregon. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Oregon State University, Portland, OR.
- Kagan, J. S., J. A. Christy, M. P. Murray, and J. A. Titus. 2004. Classification of native vegetation of Oregon. January 2004. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Portland. 52 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.
- 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.