Print Report
CEGL006522 Carex limosa - Rhynchospora alba / Sphagnum pulchrum - Odontoschisma sp. Fen
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Mud Sedge - White Beaksedge / Beautiful Peatmoss - Notchwort species Fen
Colloquial Name: Sedge - Bryophyte Lawn & Mud-bottom Acidic Fen
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This sedge - bryophyte association occurs with other peatland vegetation types as part of acidic fens from northern New England into adjacent Canada. It occurs in the very wet (and unstable) portions of the peatlands, but not in raised portions and rarely adjacent to open water. In raised peatlands, it may occupy the weakly minerotrophic margin around the raised portions. In most cases, it forms soggy lawns or mud-bottoms, sometimes with a network of small pools; in acidic patterned fens it may form the flarks. The saturated peat substrate is typically in the pH 4.0-5.0 range. The community is dominated by a continuous layer of bryophytes with variable cover of sedges (often over 40% cover, but <25% cover in places). Low heath shrubs may be scattered; tall shrubs and trees are absent. Dwarf-shrubs include small individuals of Andromeda polifolia var. glaucophylla and Chamaedaphne calyculata, often with Vaccinium oxycoccos. Other bog ericads may rarely occur. Rhynchospora alba is a prominent sedge, and Carex limosa, Menyanthes trifoliata, and Scheuchzeria palustris are characteristic. Carex oligosperma may be codominant at some sites. Other frequent species include Carex canescens, Drosera intermedia, Drosera rotundifolia, Eriophorum virginicum, Sarracenia purpurea, Solidago uliginosa, and Utricularia cornuta. Typical bryophytes are Odontoschisma fluitans, Sphagnum cuspidatum, Sphagnum fallax, Sphagnum majus, Sphagnum papillosum, and Sphagnum pulchrum. This association is distinguished by the bryophyte - sedge dominance, by Odontoschisma or Sphagnum cuspidatum in the bryophyte layer, and by the lack of circumneutral or calcareous indicators. The floristically similar ~Sphagnum (cuspidatum, torreyanum) - Vaccinium macrocarpon Fen (CEGL006394)$$ typically has Sphagnum rather than Odontoschisma dominance, and less than 25% cover of vascular plants.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: No Data Available
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The community is dominated by a continuous layer of bryophytes with variable cover of sedges (often over 40% cover, but <25% cover in some places), with scattered low shrubs and no trees. Dwarf-shrubs include small individuals of Andromeda polifolia var. glaucophylla (= Andromeda glaucophylla) and Chamaedaphne calyculata, often with Vaccinium oxycoccos. Other bog ericads may rarely occur. Rhynchospora alba is a prominent sedge, and Carex limosa, Menyanthes trifoliata, and Scheuchzeria palustris are characteristic. Carex oligosperma may be codominant at some sites. Other frequent species include Carex canescens, Drosera intermedia, Drosera rotundifolia, Eriophorum virginicum, Sarracenia purpurea, Solidago uliginosa, and Utricularia cornuta. Typical bryophytes are Odontoschisma fluitans (= Cladopodiella fluitans), Sphagnum cuspidatum, Sphagnum fallax, Sphagnum majus, Sphagnum papillosum, and Sphagnum pulchrum.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This sedge - bryophyte association occurs with other peatland vegetation types as part of acidic fens from northern New England into adjacent Canada. It occurs in the very wet (and unstable) portions of the peatlands, but not in raised portions and rarely adjacent to open water. In raised peatlands, it may occupy the weakly minerotrophic margin around the raised portions. In most cases, it forms soggy lawns or mud-bottoms, sometimes with a network of small pools; in acidic patterned fens it may form the flarks. The saturated peat substrate is typically in the pH 4.0-5.0 range.
Geographic Range: This type is found in the Adirondacks across northern New England and north into adjacent Canada.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: ME, NH, NY, QC?, VT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.689070
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
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.1 Leatherleaf - Small Cranberry - Few-seed Sedge Bog & Acidic Fen Macrogroup | M876 | 2.C.2.Na.1 |
| Group | 2.C.2.Na.1.a Leatherleaf - Few-seed Sedge - Bog Laurel Boreal Bog & Acidic Fen Group | G748 | 2.C.2.Na.1.a |
| Alliance | A4398 Leatherleaf / Woolly-fruit Sedge Poor Fen Alliance | A4398 | 2.C.2.Na.1.a |
| Association | CEGL006522 Mud Sedge - White Beaksedge / Beautiful Peatmoss - Notchwort species Fen | CEGL006522 | 2.C.2.Na.1.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Carex limosa - Rhynchospora alba - Scheuchzeria palustris / Sphagnum papillosum - Sphagnum magellanicum sedge / moss lawn (Anderson and Davis 1997)
? Rhynchospora alba - Carex limosa / Cladopodiella fluitans - Drosera intermedia sedge / mud bottom (Anderson and Davis 1997)
? Rhynchospora alba mud-bottom community (Damman and French 1987)
= Low Sedge - Buckbean Fen Lawn (Gawler 2002)
? Rhynchospora alba - Carex limosa / Cladopodiella fluitans - Drosera intermedia sedge / mud bottom (Anderson and Davis 1997)
? Rhynchospora alba mud-bottom community (Damman and French 1987)
= Low Sedge - Buckbean Fen Lawn (Gawler 2002)
- Anderson, D. S., and R. B. Davis. 1997. The vegetation and its environment in Maine peatlands. Canadian Journal of Botany 75:1785-1805.
- CDPNQ [Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec]. No date. Unpublished data. Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec, Québec.
- Damman, A. W. H., and T. W. French. 1987. The ecology of peat bogs of the glaciated northeastern United States: A community profile. USDI Fish & Wildlife Service Biological Report 85(7.16). 100 pp.
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- Edinger, G. J., D. J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T. G. Howard, D. M. Hunt, and A. M. Olivero, editors. 2014a. Ecological communities of New York state. Second edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke''s ecological communities of New York state. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.
- Gawler, S. C. 2002. Natural landscapes of Maine: A guide to vegetated natural communities and ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Department of Conservation, Augusta, ME.
- Gawler, S. C., and A. Cutko. 2010. Natural landscapes of Maine: A classification of vegetated natural communities and ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Department of Conservation, Augusta.
- Sperduto, D. D., W. F. Nichols, and N. Cleavitt. 2000a. Bogs and fens of New Hampshire. New Hampshire Natural Heritage Inventory, Concord, NH.
- Thompson, E. H., and E. R. Sorenson. 2005. Wetland, woodland, wildland: A guide to the natural communities of Vermont. The Nature Conservancy and the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. University Press of New England, Hanover, NH. 456 pp.