Print Report
CEGL005858 Trollius laxus - Parnassia fimbriata Wet Meadow
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: American Globeflower - Fringed Grass-of-Parnassus Wet Meadow
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community has been documented from throughout the subalpine and alpine of Glacier National Park, Montana. This is a palustrine wetland type occurring at upper subalpine to lower alpine environments, from 1960 to 2320 m (6430-7610 feet). It is found as a mostly linear, small-patch type bordering first- and second-order steams and associated with seeps and subirrigated positions. Often associated with glacial cirque basins, most of the sites are very low-gradient terraces and benchlands, collecting positions, often with a concave surface. High moisture status is the primary driving variable overwhelming any differences in slope, exposure or parent material. Sites are developed on limestones, argillites and diorite. The upper soil horizons are black, very high in organic content and, if sufficiently deep, qualify the sites as peatlands; bank overflow and slopewash are responsible for a considerable amount of silt accumulating in the peat mat. The vascular layer is both lush (exceeding 80% cover in 90% of plots) and diverse. This community is characterized by an assemblage of low-growing forbs; however, Senecio triangularis is consistently present, with cover not much exceeding 5%. Characteristic low-stature forbs include Trollius laxus, Triantha glutinosa, Parnassia fimbriata, Hypericum scouleri, Veronica wormskjoldii, and Packera streptanthifolia, any one of which may express dominance. Allium schoenoprasum, Arnica x diversifolia, Arnica mollis, and Symphyotrichum foliaceum are also consistently present. Carex podocarpa is the only high-constancy graminoid also having appreciable cover (often in excess of 10%); Carex nigricans, Juncus drummondii, and Poa alpina are present in 50% or more of the plots. Carex lenticularis is exclusive to plots with well-developed, though not necessarily deep, peaty soils. Moss cover is in excess of 40% and mostly greater than 80% with Philonotis fontana, Bryum spp., Brachythecium spp., and Campylium stellatum comprising the majority of cover. Lichens, if present, occur only in trace amounts.
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 vascular layer is both lush (exceeding 80% cover in 90% of plots) and diverse. This community is characterized by an assemblage of low-growing forbs; however, Senecio triangularis is consistently present, with cover not much exceeding 5%. Characteristic low-stature forbs include Trollius laxus, Triantha glutinosa (= Tofieldia glutinosa), Parnassia fimbriata, Hypericum scouleri (= Hypericum formosum), Veronica wormskjoldii, and Packera streptanthifolia (= Senecio cymbalarioides), any one of which may express dominance. Allium schoenoprasum, Arnica x diversifolia, Arnica mollis, and Symphyotrichum foliaceum (= Aster foliaceus) are also consistently present. Carex podocarpa is the only high-constancy graminoid also having appreciable cover (often in excess of 10%); Carex nigricans, Juncus drummondii, and Poa alpina are present in 50% or more of the plots. Carex lenticularis is exclusive to plots with well-developed, though not necessarily deep, peaty soils. Moss cover is in excess of 40% and mostly greater than 80% with Philonotis fontana, Bryum spp., Brachythecium spp., and Campylium stellatum comprising the majority of cover. Lichens, if present, occur only in trace amounts.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This is a palustrine wetland type occurring at upper subalpine to lower alpine environments, from 1960 to 2320 m (6430-7610 feet). It is found as a mostly linear, small-patch type bordering first- and second-order steams and associated with seeps and subirrigated positions. Often associated with glacial cirque basins, most of the sites are very low-gradient terraces and benchlands, collecting positions, often with a concave surface. High moisture status is the primary driving variable overwhelming any differences in slope, exposure or parent material. Sites are developed on limestones, argillites and diorite. The upper soil horizons are black, very high in organic content and, if sufficiently deep, qualify the sites as peatlands; bank overflow and slopewash are responsible for a considerable amount of silt accumulating in the peat mat.
Geographic Range: This community has been documented from throughout the subalpine and alpine of Glacier National Park, Montana, and adjacent Alberta, Canada. Its distribution elsewhere has not been determined.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: AB, MT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.728599
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3?
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.5 Sitka Alder - Booth''s Willow / Northwest Territory Sedge Montane Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Macrogroup | M893 | 2.C.4.Nb.5 |
| Group | 2.C.4.Nb.5.c White Marsh-marigold - Black Alpine Sedge - Alpine Laurel Subalpine-Alpine Snowbed, Wet Meadow & Dwarf-shrubland Group | G520 | 2.C.4.Nb.5.c |
| Alliance | A3832 Black Alpine Sedge - Creeping Sibbaldia - American Globeflower Wet Meadow Alliance | A3832 | 2.C.4.Nb.5.c |
| Association | CEGL005858 American Globeflower - Fringed Grass-of-Parnassus Wet Meadow | CEGL005858 | 2.C.4.Nb.5.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: >< Tofieldio glutinosae - Caricetum lenticularis Association (Damm 2001)
= Trollio - Parnassietum fimbriatae Association (Damm 2001)
= Trollius laxus - Parnassia fimbriata Herbaceous Vegetation (Hop et al. 2007)
= Trollio - Parnassietum fimbriatae Association (Damm 2001)
= Trollius laxus - Parnassia fimbriata Herbaceous Vegetation (Hop et al. 2007)
- ANHIC [Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre]. 2018. Community database files. Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre, Parks and Protected Areas Division, Alberta Community Development, Edmonton.
- Damm, C. 2001. A phytosociological study of Glacier National Park, Montana, U. S. A., with notes on the syntaxonomy of alpine vegetation in western North America. Dissertation from Georg - August University, Germany. 297 pp. plus appendices.
- Hop, K., M. Reid, J. Dieck, S. Lubinski, and S. Cooper. 2007. U.S. Geological Survey-National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Program: Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, WI. 131 pp. plus Appendices A-L.
- Reid, M. S., S. V. Cooper, and G. Kittel. 2004. Vegetation classification of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. Final report for USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, International Peace Park Mapping Project. NatureServe, Arlington VA.
- Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.