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CEGL006006 Spartina patens - Distichlis spicata - (Juncus gerardii) Salt Marsh

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Saltmeadow Cordgrass - Saltgrass - (Saltmeadow Rush) Salt Marsh

Colloquial Name: North Atlantic High Salt Marsh

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This high salt marsh vegetation dominated by Spartina patens or codominated by Distichlis spicata forms distinct "cowlicked" meadows above low salt marsh communities. This high marsh association generally occurs behind barrier beaches along the north Atlantic coast from the Canadian maritime provinces south to New Jersey. It occupies the irregularly flooded zone extending from mean high tide landward to the limit of spring tides. The substrate is peat overlying sand, silt, or bedrock. Vegetation of this marsh community occurs in mosaics of patches generally dominated by a single graminoid species, Spartina patens, Distichlis spicata, or Juncus gerardii. Other characteristic associates that occur in low abundance include Symphyotrichum tenuifolium, Limonium carolinianum, Solidago sempervirens, Symphyotrichum subulatum, Polygonum ramosissimum, Argentina anserina, Atriplex patula, Lythrum lineare, and Panicum virgatum. Salt pannes are often a prominent feature within this association.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This community is differentiated from ~Spartina patens - Distichlis spicata - (Juncus roemerianus) Salt Marsh (CEGL004197)$$ to the south by the importance of Juncus gerardii, Plantago maritima, and Triglochin maritima and absence or relatively infrequent occurrence of species of southern distribution such as Borrichia frutescens, Kosteletzkya virginica, Fimbristylis castanea, and Lythrum lineare.

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

Floristics: Vegetation of this marsh community occurs in mosaics of patches generally dominated by a single graminoid species, Spartina patens, Distichlis spicata, or Juncus gerardii. Other characteristic associates that occur in low abundance include Symphyotrichum tenuifolium (= Aster tenuifolius), Limonium carolinianum, Solidago sempervirens, Symphyotrichum subulatum (= Aster subulatus), Polygonum ramosissimum, Argentina anserina (= Potentilla anserina), Atriplex patula, Lythrum lineare, and Panicum virgatum.

Dynamics:  Vegetation of this association occurs as a shifting mosaic of patches dominated by a single graminoid species. Species composition at a particular site results from the interaction of hydroperiod, nutrient availability, salinity gradients, soil oxygen, concentrations of growth inhibitors in the soil, and interspecific competition. As sedimentation increases marsh elevation, vegetation may shift to upland border communities dominated by Panicum virgatum and Juncus gerardii. Local disturbance, i.e., from ice scouring, can cause invasion by Spartina alterniflora, or can lead to the formation of salt pannes.
Environmental Description:  This high salt marsh association generally occurs behind barrier beaches, but also in the outer reaches of estuaries, occupying the zone extending from mean high tide landward approximately to the limit of spring tides. They are often adjacent to low salt marshes dominated by Spartina alterniflora (tall form), which are regularly flooded by diurnal tides. Spartina patens-dominated high marshes form very dense peat with high organic matter content. Peat forms over sand, silt or bedrock.
Geographic Range: This high salt marsh association occurs from the Canadian maritime provinces south to Delaware.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  CT, DE, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI


Confidence Level: Moderate

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G5

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.Nb North American Atlantic & Gulf Coastal Salt Marsh Division D034 2.C.5.Nb
Macrogroup 2.C.5.Nb.1 North American Atlantic & Gulf Coastal Salt Marsh Macrogroup M079 2.C.5.Nb.1
Group 2.C.5.Nb.1.c Saltmeadow Cordgrass - Jesuit''s-bark High Salt Marsh Group G121 2.C.5.Nb.1.c
Alliance A4491 <i>Spartina patens - Juncus gerardii</i> High Salt Marsh Alliance A4491 2.C.5.Nb.1.c
Association CEGL006006 Saltmeadow Cordgrass - Saltgrass - (Saltmeadow Rush) Salt Marsh CEGL006006 2.C.5.Nb.1.c
Concept Lineage: 6905 is a compilation of 3 fairly disparate plots that share a common abundance of Scirpus pungens and nothing else. Each of the 3 plots fall within variability of 3 other associations, 3921, 6006, and 4193.

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: >< Spartina patens - Distichlis spicata Herbaceous Vegetation (Harrison 2001)
= Spartina patens - Distichlis spicata community (Metzler and Barrett 2006)
= Spartina patens lower slope (Miller and Egler 1950)
? Salt Marsh (Rawinski 1984a) [formerly Southern New England and Gulf of Maine Salt Marshes.]
Concept Author(s): Eastern Ecology Group

Author of Description: S.L. Neid

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 05-13-02
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