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CEGL003312 Carex exsiccata Wet Meadow

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Western Inflated Sedge Wet Meadow

Colloquial Name: No Data Available

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This herbaceous vegetation occupies small to large shallow basins on a variety of soil types, mostly seasonally flooded to perennially saturated organic, silt loam, or sand. This association is widely distributed in northwestern Oregon and Washington at elevations ranging from 30 to 1525 m (100-5000 feet). The association is present but uncommon at lower elevations along the coast and in interior valleys of western Oregon, and becomes more common at higher elevations in the Coast and Cascade ranges. The composition is diverse with no obvious segregate types. Stands are usually flooded seasonally to a depth of 30 to 90 cm (1-3 feet) and may dry out by midsummer with the water table just below the soil surface. Thuja plicata and Pseudotsuga menziesii were recorded from plots but are peripheral or restricted to elevated microsites. Eleven different shrub species are reported, depending on elevation, but most occur in trace amounts except for Spiraea douglasii, Vaccinium uliginosum, and Alnus incana. Stands are usually nearly monotypic reed swamp of Carex exsiccata in standing water or bare mud, but sometimes it occurs with other species in wet lawns. Average cover of Carex exsiccata is 69%, with cover in some plots as much as 100%. More than 90 other species are present in the herb layer, the great diversity due mainly to the variety of elevations at which the association occurs. Most of the other species occur only in trace amounts. Those forming significant patches include Veronica scutellata, Nuphar polysepala, Deschampsia cespitosa, Lysichiton americanus, Torreyochloa pallida var. pauciflora, Juncus patens, and Carex hystericina. Some stands were no doubt grazed by livestock in the past, and elk and deer use may be high locally.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Carex exsiccata has also been called Carex vesicaria var. major, but the association differs substantially in composition from ~Carex vesicaria Wet Meadow (CEGL002661)$$ reported from east of the Cascade Range.

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

Floristics: Thuja plicata and Pseudotsuga menziesii were recorded from plots but are peripheral or restricted to elevated microsites. Eleven different shrub species are reported, depending on elevation, but most occur in trace amounts except for Spiraea douglasii, Vaccinium uliginosum, and Alnus incana. Stands are usually nearly monotypic reed swamp of Carex exsiccata in standing water or bare mud, but sometimes it occurs with other species in wet lawns. Average cover of Carex exsiccata is 69%, with cover in some plots as much as 100%. More than 90 other species are present in the herb layer, the great diversity due mainly to the variety of elevations at which the association occurs. Most of the other species occur only in trace amounts. Those forming significant patches include Veronica scutellata, Nuphar polysepala (= Nuphar lutea ssp. polysepala), Deschampsia cespitosa, Lysichiton americanus, Torreyochloa pallida var. pauciflora, Juncus patens, and Carex hystericina.

Dynamics:  Some stands were no doubt grazed by livestock in the past, and elk and deer use may be high locally.
Environmental Description:  This herbaceous vegetation occupies small to large shallow basins on a variety of soil types, mostly seasonally flooded to perennially saturated organic, silt loam, or sand. This association is widely distributed in northwestern Oregon and Washington at elevations ranging from 30 to 1525 m (100-5000 feet). The association is present but uncommon at lower elevations along the coast and in interior valleys of western Oregon, and becomes more common at higher elevations in the Coast and Cascade ranges. The composition is diverse with no obvious segregate types. Stands are usually flooded seasonally to a depth of 30-90 cm (1-3 feet) and may dry out by midsummer with the water table just below the soil surface.
Geographic Range: This association occurs in western Oregon, Washington and British Columbia (Christy 2004).

Nations: CA?,US

States/Provinces:  BC?, OR, WA


Confidence Level: Low

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2G3

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.b Bering''s Tufted Hairgrass - Pacific Silverweed - Slough Sedge Vancouverian Freshwater Coastal Marsh & Wet Meadow Group G517 2.C.4.Nb.4.b
Alliance A1468 Columbian Sedge - Western Inflated Sedge Wet Meadow Alliance A1468 2.C.4.Nb.4.b
Association CEGL003312 Western Inflated Sedge Wet Meadow CEGL003312 2.C.4.Nb.4.b
Concept Lineage: Upgraded to Standard during screening.

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Carex exsiccata (McCain and Christy 2005) [33 plots]
= Carex exsiccata (Murray 2000)
= Carex exsiccata Association (Christy 2004)
= Inflated Sedge Herbaceous Vegetation (Carex exsiccata) (Christy et al. 1998) [(p.110)]
Concept Author(s): J.A. Christy (2004)

Author of Description: J.A. Christy (2004)

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 04-06-12
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  • Christy, J. A. 2004. Native freshwater wetland plant associations of northwestern Oregon. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center, Oregon State University, Portland, OR.
  • 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.
  • Christy, J. A., and L. C. Cornelius. 1980. Katherine Ordway Sycan Marsh Preserve: Preliminary classification of plant communities. The Nature Conservancy, Oregon Field Office, Portland.
  • Henderson, J. S., and M. L. McAllister. 1983. Downey Lake, an inventory of vegetation and wildlife. The Nature Conservancy, Portland, OR.
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  • McCain, C., and J. A. Christy. 2005. Field guide to riparian plant communities in northwestern Oregon. Technical Paper R6-NR-ECOL-TP-01-05. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland. 357 pp.
  • Murray, M. P. 2000. Wetland plant associations of the western hemlock zone in the central coastal and westslope Cascade Mountains. Unpublished report, Oregon Natural Heritage Program, Portland, OR. 82 pp. [http://www.natureserve.org/nhp/us/or/nw_or_wetlands.pdf]
  • Padgett, W. G., A. P. Youngblood, and A. H. Winward. 1989. Riparian community type classification of Utah and southeastern Idaho. Research Paper R4-ECOL-89-0. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, UT.
  • Titus, J. H., J. A. Christy, D. Vander Schaaf, J. S. Kagan, and E. R. Alverson. 1996. Native wetland, riparian, and upland plant communities and their biota in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Report to the Environmental Protection Agency, Region X, Seattle, WA. Willamette Basin Geographic Initiative. Oregon Natural Heritage Program, The Nature Conservancy, Portland, OR.
  • 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.