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CEGL002254 Carex pellita - Calamagrostis stricta Wet Meadow

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Woolly Sedge - Slimstem Reedgrass Wet Meadow

Colloquial Name: Woolly Sedge - Reedgrass Wet Meadow

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This sedge - reedgrass wet meadow is found in the northern Great Plains. Stands occur on level ground in shallow depressions and other lowlands on poorly drained sandy, loamy, or silty clay soils. Standing water may be present for a few to several weeks during most years. Soil pH is circumneutral to somewhat alkaline and organic content can be moderately high. The vegetation of this community provides approximately 100% cover and the dominant vegetation is graminoids, typically 0.5-1.0 m tall. Forbs can be common, but shrubs are rarely found in this type. The most abundant species are Calamagrostis stricta, Carex pellita, Carex sartwellii, Anemone canadensis, Apocynum cannabinum, Symphyotrichum lanceolatum, Eleocharis compressa, Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis, Phalaris arundinacea, Polygonum amphibium, and Schoenoplectus americanus. Carex buxbaumii may be common, except in North Dakota.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Type concept is a little unclear. Simple dominance by Carex lanuginosa (now Carex pellita in Kartesz 1994) may not be adequate. Hydrologic placement is difficult, ranging from seasonally flooded to temporarily flooded. In the northern tallgrass prairie region, this type is difficult to distinguish from ~Spartina pectinata - Calamagrostis stricta - Carex spp. Wet Meadow (CEGL002027)$$ (wet prairie), or vice-versa. For example, in Minnesota, see Prairie Meadow/Carr Type [WMp73a] (Minnesota DNR 2005b) which almost always contains the typical wet prairie grass dominants along with woolly sedge. See also ~Carex pellita Wet Meadow (CEGL001809)$$.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: The vegetation of this community provides approximately 100% cover, and the dominant vegetation is graminoid, typically 0.3-1.0 m tall. Forbs can be common; they had 25% relative cover in the stands studied by Nelson et al. (1981). Shrubs are rarely found in this type. The most abundant species are Calamagrostis stricta, Carex pellita (= Carex lanuginosa), Carex sartwellii, Anemone canadensis, Apocynum cannabinum, Symphyotrichum lanceolatum (= Aster lanceolatus), Eleocharis compressa, Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis (= Juncus balticus), Phalaris arundinacea, Polygonum amphibium, and Schoenoplectus americanus (= Scirpus americanus). Carex buxbaumii can be common, except in North Dakota.

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  This community occurs on level ground in shallow depressions and other lowlands on poorly drained sandy, loamy, or silty clay soils. Standing water can be present for a few to several weeks a year (Dix and Smeins 1967, Smeins and Olsen 1970). Soil pH is circumneutral to somewhat alkaline, and organic content can be moderately high.
Geographic Range: This sedge-reedgrass wet meadow is found in the in the northern Great Plains, ranging from the Dakotas to parts of the Canadian prairie provinces.

Nations: CA,US

States/Provinces:  CO, MB, MN?, MT, ND, SD, SK, WY


Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3G5

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.Nd Eastern North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division D323 2.C.4.Nd
Macrogroup 2.C.4.Nd.5 Prairie Cordgrass - Cattail species - Bulrush species Great Plains Marsh, Wet Meadow, Shrubland & Playa Macrogroup M071 2.C.4.Nd.5
Group 2.C.4.Nd.5.b Prairie Cordgrass - Slimstem Reedgrass - Sedge species Great Plains Wet Prairie, Wet Meadow & Seepage Fen Group G336 2.C.4.Nd.5.b
Alliance A3493 Prairie Cordgrass Great Plains Wet Meadow Alliance A3493 2.C.4.Nd.5.b
Association CEGL002254 Woolly Sedge - Slimstem Reedgrass Wet Meadow CEGL002254 2.C.4.Nd.5.b
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Carex lanuginosa / Calamagrostis inexpansa Habitat Type (Nelson et al. 1981)
= Carex lanuginosa Community (Smeins and Olsen 1970)
= Carex pellita - Calamagrostis stricta Herbaceous Vegetation (Cooper et al. 2001)
= Carex pellita - Calamagrostis stricta Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
Concept Author(s): D. Faber-Langendoen (2001)

Author of Description: J. Drake and D. Faber-Langendoen

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 07-03-13
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