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CEGL005263 Schoenoplectus spp. - Poa palustris - Mixed Herbaceous Great Plains Streamside Marsh

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Bulrush species - Fowl Bluegrass - Mixed Herbaceous Great Plains Streamside Marsh

Colloquial Name: Western Great Plains Streamside Marsh

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This western Great Plains streamside marsh lines perennial streams at lower to mid elevations in the Black Hills of the United States, and perhaps more widely in the northern Great Plains. Species composition is variable, and dominance is patchy within stands. Local dominants include Agrostis stolonifera, Glyceria grandis, Poa palustris, Scirpus pallidus, Eleocharis palustris, Leersia oryzoides, Lycopus asper, Cicuta douglasii, and Nasturtium officinale. Ranunculus longirostris can be abundant in adjacent shallow water. Catabrosa aquatica, Mimulus guttatus, and several species of Veronica and Epilobium commonly grow in adjacent shallow water. This type is undersurveyed and not well-characterized. It typically forms a narrow border, perhaps only a few m wide, along streams, and this scale may be too fine for recognition as an association.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: At one time a closely related type, the former Black Hills Streamside Vegetation, Glyceria grandis - Poa palustris - Mixed Herbaceous Black Hills Herbaceous Vegetation [Provisional] (CEGL005262), was recognized as the higher elevation equivalent of this type, but stands appear similar enough based on existing data that they have been combined. This type still needs further characterization. It typically forms a narrow border, perhaps only a few meters wide, along streams, and this scale may be too fine for recognition as associations. Girard (c. 1991) described stands of Glyceria grandis, one of the more common streamside dominants, as part of a vegetation complex associated with beaver dams, occurring in shallow water or on saturated soils.

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

Floristics: The vegetation is dominated by a mix of graminoids and forbs, with herbaceous cover approaching 100% in stands surveyed. Species composition is variable, and dominance is patchy within stands. Local dominants include Agrostis stolonifera, Glyceria grandis, Poa palustris, Scirpus pallidus, Eleocharis palustris, Leersia oryzoides, Lycopus asper, Cicuta douglasii, and Nasturtium officinale (= Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum). Ranunculus longirostris (= Ranunculus circinatus) can be abundant in adjacent shallow water (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000). Catabrosa aquatica, Mimulus guttatus, and several species of Veronica and Epilobium commonly grow in adjacent shallow water (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000).

Dynamics:  This type appears to be an early successional type that develops on narrow bands of sediment along streams and in adjacent shallow water. With continued slow deposition, it may persist for some time. With flooding, it probably is removed, but soon re-establishes in appropriate habitat. This type does not occur along streams with steep banks (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000).
Environmental Description:  Stands occur most commonly at lower elevations (1065-1465 m [3500-4800 feet]) immediately adjacent to perennial or seasonally intermittent streams, but may extend as high as 6000 feet. It does not develop along streams with steep banks. It has been documented in the lower Minnekahta Foothills, Red Valley and Hogback Rim in areas underlain by limestone, sandstone and other sedimentary rocks. It is somewhat common at higher elevations (1220-1860 m [4000-6100 feet]) in the Central Core in areas underlain by schist, slate and granite. It is occasional on the Limestone Plateau, where perennial streams are less common (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000).
Geographic Range: This community lines perennial streams at lower elevations in the Black Hills of the United States, and perhaps more widely in the northern Great Plains (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000). Range extent is difficult to specify given uncertainties about the overall distribution, but the type could extend over 500,000 square km.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  SD


Confidence Level: Low

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2G4

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.c Dogwood species - Chokecherry / Western Wheatgrass Great Plains Riparian Wet Meadow & Shrubland Group G337 2.C.4.Nd.5.c
Alliance A3587 Bulrush species - Fowl Bluegrass Marsh Alliance A3587 2.C.4.Nd.5.c
Association CEGL005263 Bulrush species - Fowl Bluegrass - Mixed Herbaceous Great Plains Streamside Marsh CEGL005263 2.C.4.Nd.5.c
Concept Lineage: Upgraded to Standard during screening.

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Schoenoplectus spp. - Poa palustris - Mixed Herbaceous Great Plains Streamside Herbaceous Vegetation [Provisional] (Marriott et al. 1999)
= Schoenoplectus spp. - Poa palustris - Mixed Herbaceous Great Plains Streamside Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Schoenoplectus spp. - Poa palustris - Mixed Herbaceous Great Plains Streamside Herbaceous Vegetation [Provisional] (Marriott and Faber-Langendoen 2000)
Concept Author(s): H. Marriott and D. Faber-Langendoen (2000)

Author of Description: H. Marriott and D. Faber-Langendoen

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 04-06-12
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  • Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
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