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CEGL002040 Schoenoplectus pungens - Suaeda calceoliformis Alkaline Marsh
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Common Threesquare - Pursh Seepweed Alkaline Marsh
Colloquial Name: Western Great Plains Alkaline Marsh
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This alkaline bulrush community type is found in the central-western Great Plains of the United States. Stands occur in depressions in the bottomlands along rivers and streams and along the margins of moderately to strongly alkaline lakes in basins or valleys with little or no surface outlet and poor subsurface drainage. Water enters the wetlands predominately through precipitation and surface runoff. These sites remain flooded through most of the season. Soils are deep, mineral-rich, poorly-drained silt loams or sandy loams with a silty clay subsoil formed in siltstone, calcareous alluvium, or eolian sand. The vegetation of this community is dominated by medium-tall graminoids which can tolerate strongly alkaline conditions. The primary species is Schoenoplectus pungens and in some sites Scirpus nevadensis is common. In Nebraska, Stuckenia pectinata and Ruppia maritima are present in the deeper parts of the wetland, and mesophytic grasses such as Hordeum jubatum and Puccinellia nuttalliana are common along the periphery. In Kansas, Coreopsis tinctoria, Polygonum pensylvanicum, Sagittaria longiloba, Schoenoplectus acutus, Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani, and Typha latifolia may also be present.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type should be compared with other Schoenoplectus pungens associations in the western Great Plains. This community is known in western Nebraska in the "closed basin" region of the Sandhills and in the North Platte River valley.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The vegetation of this community is dominated by medium-height hydrophytic graminoids which can tolerate strongly alkaline conditions. Schoenoplectus pungens (= Scirpus pungens) is the dominant species, though in some sites, Scirpus nevadensis is abundant. In Nebraska, occasional patches of Schoenoplectus acutus (= Scirpus acutus) or Bolboschoenus maritimus (= Scirpus maritimus) may also be present, but are never common. In deeper portions of the marsh, Chara spp. and Stuckenia pectinata (= Potamogeton pectinatus) are commonly present, with Ruppia maritima additionally present at some sites. Along the periphery of this community, a band of mesophytic graminoids forms a transition to the adjoining grassland communities. Hordeum jubatum and Puccinellia nuttalliana frequently dominate this zone, with Puccinellia distans additionally present in many sites. Species diversity is low (Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003). In Kansas, Coreopsis tinctoria, Polygonum pensylvanicum (= Polygonum bicorne), Sagittaria longiloba, Schoenoplectus acutus, Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani (= Scirpus tabernaemontani), and Typha latifolia may also be present in these different zones (Lauver et al. 1999).
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This community occupies depressions on the bottomlands of rivers and streams, and the margins of moderately to strongly alkaline lakes in interdunal basins and valleys with no surface inflow or outflow and poor subsurface drainage, usually caused by a layer of impermeable or slightly permeable silt, clay, or siltstone beneath the bottom of the wetland. Soils are poorly drained, very strongly alkaline silty loams or sandy loams with a silty clay subsoil, and are formed in siltstone, calcareous alluvium, or eolian sand. These sites remain inundated through most of the season. Salts commonly accumulate as evaporites on shorelines, vegetation, and at times as a thin film on the water surface. The most abundant salts are sodium and potassium carbonates, with calcium and magnesium carbonates common, but not abundant. Alkalinity is >5000 mg/l (Bleed and Ginsberg 1990, Matherne 1994).
Geographic Range: This alkaline bulrush community type is found in the central-western Great Plains of the United States.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: KS, NE, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688739
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3G4
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.5 Salt Marsh Formation | F035 | 2.C.5 |
| Division | 2.C.5.Na North American Great Plains Saline Marsh Division | D033 | 2.C.5.Na |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.5.Na.1 Great Plains Saline Wet Meadow & Marsh Macrogroup | M077 | 2.C.5.Na.1 |
| Group | 2.C.5.Na.1.a Saltgrass - Foxtail Barley - Western Wheatgrass Great Plains Saline Wet Meadow & Marsh Group | G324 | 2.C.5.Na.1.a |
| Alliance | A4069 Common Threesquare Great Plains Marsh Alliance | A4069 | 2.C.5.Na.1.a |
| Association | CEGL002040 Common Threesquare - Pursh Seepweed Alkaline Marsh | CEGL002040 | 2.C.5.Na.1.a |
Concept Lineage: merged
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Schoenoplectus pungens - Suaeda calceoliformis Alkaline Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
> Permanent saline wetland (Rolfsmeier 1993b)
> Wet saline meadow (Rolfsmeier 1993b)
> Permanent saline wetland (Rolfsmeier 1993b)
> Wet saline meadow (Rolfsmeier 1993b)
- Bleed, A., and M. Ginsberg. 1990. Lakes and wetlands. Pages 115-122 in: A. Bleed and C. Flowerday, editors. An atlas of the Sand Hills, resource atlas No. 5a. Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
- 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.).
- Lauver, C. L., K. Kindscher, D. Faber-Langendoen, and R. Schneider. 1999. A classification of the natural vegetation of Kansas. The Southwestern Naturalist 44:421-443.
- Matherne, A. M. 1994. Freshwater and saline floodplain wetlands of the North Platte River - sources and seasonal dynamics: Kiowa Wildlife Management Area, Morrill, NE. Report to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Lincoln. 19 pp. plus appendices.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- Rolfsmeier, S. B. 1993a. The saline wetland - meadow vegetation and flora of the North Platte River Valley in the Nebraska Panhandle. Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences 20:13-24.
- Rolfsmeier, S. B. 1993b. Analyses of the natural vegetation at Kiowa Basin, Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska. Report to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Lincoln. 12 pp. plus map.
- Rolfsmeier, S. B., and G. Steinauer. 2010. Terrestrial ecological systems and natural communities of Nebraska (Version IV - March 9, 2010). Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Lincoln, NE. 228 pp.
- Steinauer, G., and S. Rolfsmeier. 2003. Terrestrial natural communities of Nebraska. (Version III - June 30, 2003). Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Lincoln. 163 pp.
- Tolstead, W. L. 1942. Vegetation of the northern part of Cherry County, Nebraska. Ecological Monographs 12(3):257-292.
- WNDD [Wyoming Natural Diversity Database]. No date. Unpublished data on file. Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY.