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CEGL007888 Spartina patens - Vigna luteola Mississippi River Deltaic Plain Tidal Marsh
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Saltmeadow Cordgrass - Hairy-pod Cowpea Mississippi River Deltaic Plain Tidal Marsh
Colloquial Name: Mississippi River Deltaic Plain Saltmeadow Cordgrass - Cowpea Intermediate Marsh
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: A common intermediate marsh type of the Deltaic Plain of coastal Louisiana. The type is dominated by Spartina patens with Vigna luteola as a frequent codominant. Numerous other species are present. Species richness is relatively high in the type. Additional common species include Schoenoplectus americanus, Ipomoea sagittata, Sagittaria lancifolia, Cyperaceae, Polygonum spp., Baccharis halimifolia, Juncus roemerianus, Bacopa monnieri, and others. It may be mostly a floating marsh type ("flotant").
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: C. Sasser (pers. comm.) recommends maintaining the oligohaline wiregrass marshes of the Chenier Plain and Deltaic Plain as separate types. Nolfo-Clements (2006) identified a thick-mat community dominated by Spartina patens with few other species. More information is needed to better separate the fresh to oligohaline marshes along the coast of Louisiana into associations. This vegetation may be floating and non-floating and share many species [see Similar Associations]. These marshes appear to undergo seasonal shifts in vegetation composition. In addition, subsidence, sea-level rise, and hydrologic changes are likely causing shifts in species composition, adding to the difficulty in classifying this vegetation.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The type is dominated by Spartina patens with Vigna luteola as a frequent codominant. Numerous other species are present. Species richness is relatively high in the type. Additional common species include Schoenoplectus americanus (= Scirpus americanus), Ipomoea sagittata, Sagittaria lancifolia, Cyperaceae, Polygonum spp., Baccharis halimifolia, Juncus roemerianus, Bacopa monnieri, and others.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This vegetation is a common intermediate marsh type of the Deltaic Plain of coastal Louisiana.
Geographic Range: This community is an intermediate marsh type of the Deltaic Plain of coastal Louisiana.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: LA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688951
Confidence Level: Low
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.4 Temperate to Polar Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Formation | F013 | 2.C.4 |
| Division | 2.C.4.Ne Atlantic & Gulf Coastal Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division | D322 | 2.C.4.Ne |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.4.Ne.1 Annual Wild Rice - Saltmeadow Cordgrass - Pickerelweed Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Macrogroup | M066 | 2.C.4.Ne.1 |
| Group | 2.C.4.Ne.1.b <i>Zizaniopsis milacea - Spartina patens - Panicum hemotimon</i> Freshwater Tidal Marsh Group | G913 | 2.C.4.Ne.1.b |
| Alliance | A4015 Southern Cattail - Beaked Spikerush Gulf Coastal Plain Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Alliance | A4015 | 2.C.4.Ne.1.b |
| Association | CEGL007888 Saltmeadow Cordgrass - Hairy-pod Cowpea Mississippi River Deltaic Plain Tidal Marsh | CEGL007888 | 2.C.4.Ne.1.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Spartina patens thick-mat association (Nolfo-Clements 2006)
= Deltaic Plain Oligohaline Wiregrass Marsh (Visser and Sasser 1998)
= Deltaic Plain Oligohaline Wiregrass Marsh (Visser and Sasser 1998)
- Couvillion, B. R., J. A. Barras, G. D. Steyer, W. Sleavin, M. Fischer, H. Beck, N. Trahan, B. Griffin, and D. Heckman. 2011. Land area change in coastal Louisiana from 1932 to 2010. U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3164, scale 1:265,000. 12 pp. pamphlet.
- Couvillion, B. R., and H. Beck. 2013. Marsh collapse thresholds for coastal Louisiana estimated using elevation and vegetation index data. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue 63:58-67.
- Deegan L. A., H. M. Kennedy, and C. Neill. 1984. Natural factors and human modifications contributing to marsh loss in Louisiana''s Mississippi River deltaic plain. Environmental Management 8(6):519-528.
- Glick, P., J. Clough, A. Polaczyk, B. Couvillion, and B. Nunley. 2013. Potential effects of sea-level rise on coastal wetlands in southeastern Louisiana. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue 63:211-233.
- Howard R. J., and I. A. Mendelssohn. 1999. Salinity as a constraint on growth of oligohaline marsh macrophytes. I. Species variation in stress tolerance. American Journal of Botany 86(6):785-794.
- LNHP [Louisiana Natural Heritage Program]. 2009. Natural communities of Louisiana. Louisiana Natural Heritage Program, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, Baton Rouge. 46 pp. [http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/page_wildlife/6776-Rare%20Natural%20Communities/LA_NAT_COM.pdf]
- Neubauer, S. C. 2013. Ecosystem responses of a tidal freshwater marsh experiencing saltwater intrusion and altered hydrology. Estuaries and Coasts 36:491-507.
- Nolfo-Clements, L. E. 2006. Vegetative survey of wetland habitats at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in southeastern Louisiana. Southeastern Naturalist 5(3):499-514.
- Smith, L. 1999. Coastal marsh types currently recognized in Louisiana and relationships with existing types in ICEC-TNC. Draft report. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Natural Heritage Program, Baton Rouge. 20 pp.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- USGS [U.S. Geological Survey]. 2013b. Trends and causes of historical wetland loss in coastal Louisiana. Fact Sheet 2013-3017. U.S. Geological Survey. March 2013
- Visser, J. M., C. E. Sasser, R. H. Chabreck, and R. G. Linscombe. 1998. Marsh vegetation types of the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain. Estuaries 21(48):818-828.
- Visser, J. M., and C. E. Sasser. 1998. 1997 Coastal vegetation analysis. Unpublished report to Greg Steyer, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Baton Rouge, LA. Draft report November 20, 1998. 47 pp.
- Williams, S. J. 2013. Sea-level rise implications for coastal regions. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue 63:184-196. [http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/msltrendstable.htm]
- Willis, J. M., and M. W. Hester. 2004. Interactive effects of salinity, flooding, and soil type on Panicum hemitomon. Wetlands 24(1):43-50.