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CEGL001250 Vaccinium uliginosum / Deschampsia cespitosa Wet Shrubland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Bog Blueberry / Tufted Hairgrass Wet Shrubland
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This coastal shrubland association is found in Oregon and Washington and possibly California. The climate is very temperate with the mean temperatures ranging from 7-15°C. Precipitation is highly seasonal with most rain falling through the fall and winter months. Mean annual precipitation averages 190 cm. Stands grow in swales and ephemeral bogs with a well-developed iron pan about 30 cm below the soil surface. These strongly leached soils have developed in areas of ancient marine terraces, and their distribution is highly localized. The shrub Vaccinium uliginosum is the dominant plant attaining 40% cover, with occasional patches of Sphagnum spp. and Deschampsia cespitosa. Sanguisorba menziesii and Carex obnupta also occur with high constancy.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: The author of this type referred to it as the Vaccinium uliginosum / Carex obnupta - Sanguisorba menziesii community.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This association is dominated by the low, broad-leaved deciduous shrub Vaccinium uliginosum, typically less than 0.5 m tall and averaging 40% cover. The herbaceous layer is codominated by perennial grasses and sedges, the most abundant being the densely tufted grass Deschampsia cespitosa and the rhizomatous sedge Carex obnupta, together averaging 50% cover and typically up to 1 m in height. Other grasses occasionally present include Agrostis scabra and Calamagrostis nutkaensis. Forbs are infrequent. Patches of species of the peat-forming moss Sphagnum contribute up to 30% cover.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This association occurs in a coastal region on elevated marine terraces. The climate is strongly marine-dominated, with average annual precipitation of 190 cm, most of which occurs during late fall and winter as rain. Temperatures are greatly moderated by the oceanic influence. Persistent, strong onshore winds are another climatic factor of some importance, and winter storms can often have winds exceeding 120 kilometers/hour.
This association is found on level, marine coastal terraces, elevated approximately 40 m above sea level, and underlain by tuffaceous, indurated sandstone. The terraces are covered by strongly leached, nutrient-poor soils derived from fossil sand dunes and marine deposits, called Blacklock soils. These soils have an impenetrable iron hardpan in the B2 horizon that has developed at a depth of 30 to 76 cm, and is 15 to 30 cm thick. The A horizon ranges in texture from sandy loam to loam. A perched water table is the result of the iron pan, and during the winter rains the entire surface of the terrace is flooded.
The surface of these terraces is marked by a pattern of ridges and swales, in linear formations, which are apparently a series of "fossilized" sand dunes. The swales hold water much longer into the growing season, and in some locations larger depressions support what can best be characterized as ephemeral bogs. In some cases, circular ponds persist in these depressions into late summer. These ephemeral bogs are where this association occurs.
This association is found on level, marine coastal terraces, elevated approximately 40 m above sea level, and underlain by tuffaceous, indurated sandstone. The terraces are covered by strongly leached, nutrient-poor soils derived from fossil sand dunes and marine deposits, called Blacklock soils. These soils have an impenetrable iron hardpan in the B2 horizon that has developed at a depth of 30 to 76 cm, and is 15 to 30 cm thick. The A horizon ranges in texture from sandy loam to loam. A perched water table is the result of the iron pan, and during the winter rains the entire surface of the terrace is flooded.
The surface of these terraces is marked by a pattern of ridges and swales, in linear formations, which are apparently a series of "fossilized" sand dunes. The swales hold water much longer into the growing season, and in some locations larger depressions support what can best be characterized as ephemeral bogs. In some cases, circular ponds persist in these depressions into late summer. These ephemeral bogs are where this association occurs.
Geographic Range: This community is known from the immediate coastline, between the California border and central Oregon coast. It has also been reported from Washington.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: CA?, OR, WA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688792
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2
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.4 Vancouverian Lowland Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Macrogroup | M073 | 2.C.4.Nb.4 |
| Group | 2.C.4.Nb.4.c Alder species - Willow species - Meadowsweet species Wet Shrubland Group | G322 | 2.C.4.Nb.4.c |
| Alliance | A1123 Bog Blueberry - Dwarf Bilberry Wet Shrubland Alliance | A1123 | 2.C.4.Nb.4.c |
| Association | CEGL001250 Bog Blueberry / Tufted Hairgrass Wet Shrubland | CEGL001250 | 2.C.4.Nb.4.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Bog Blueberry / Tufted Hairgrass Dwarf-shrubland (Vaccinium uliginosum / Deschampsia cespitosa ssp. cespitosa) (Christy et al. 1998) [(p.86)]
- 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.
- Christy, J. A., J. S. Kagan, and A. M. Wiedemann. 1998. Plant associations of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area - Siuslaw National Forest, Oregon. Technical Paper R6-NR-ECOL-TP-09-98. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, OR. 196 pp.
- Hemstrom, M. A., S. E. Logan, and W. Pavlat. 1987. Plant association and management guide, Willamette National Forest. Report R6-Ecol 257-B-86. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, OR. 312 pp.
- 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.
- Martin, R. C., and R. E. Frenkel. 1978. Preserve analysis: Blacklock Point. Oregon Natural Area Preserves Advisory Committee to the State Land Board, Salem, OR. 63 pp.
- Titus, J. H., and J. A. Christy. 1996a. Vegetation of Big Marsh, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon. Report to Deschutes National Forest. Oregon Natural Heritage Program, The Nature Conservancy, Portland.
- 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.