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CEGL005867 Carex spectabilis - Arnica x diversifolia Alpine Meadow
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Showy Sedge - Rayless Arnica Alpine Meadow
Colloquial Name: No Data Available
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This is a small-patch herbaceous association of the alpine of northwestern Montana, in Glacier National Park. It is characterized as a pioneer chionophilic community of recently deglaciated substrates in glacier-scoured cirque basins or on morainal or other talus slopes. The noted elevation span is from 2000 to 2400 m (6560-7870 feet), and all aspects are represented. Cirque basin margins are usually gently sloping or undulating and the colluvial slopes and newly exposed morainal walls do not much exceed a 20% grade. The community is found on soil patches having minimal development with large barren rock or gravel areas between patches. The total rock cover varies from 90% in earliest successional expressions to less than 40%, in later successional stages. Vegetation is restricted to the soil patches, which are often humus-rich and fine-textured. All sites have a moderate to mostly long-persisting snowpack approaching snowbed conditions and resulting in a mesic to hygric moisture regime. Meltwaters from adjacent snowbanks is virtually constant, supplied well into late summer. Vascular plant cover ranges from 10% to 65%, presumably following a gradient in time since exposure; these presumed younger stages have a low species richness of around 20 whereas older sites have up to 40 species. Prominent clumps of Carex spectabilis are the first vascular species to colonize these gravel barrens and rocky slopes, generating their own humus layers via decomposition of abundant foliage. Other graminoids with at least 50% constancy include Luzula piperi, Phleum alpinum, Poa cusickii, Poa alpina, Juncus drummondii, and Carex nigricans; the last two named species are faithful indicators of snowbed environments, whereas the first four are found on many area moraines as the first pioneering species. Forbs of high constancy and also known as colonizers are Arnica x diversifolia, Epilobium anagallidifolium, Oxyria digyna, and Ranunculus eschscholtzii. Forbs with moderate to high constancy and indicative of high moisture status/snow persistence include Veronica wormskjoldii, Senecio triangularis, Erigeron peregrinus, Hieracium gracile, and Sibbaldia procumbens. Moss and lichen cover is less than 5% regardless of site age.
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: Vascular plant cover ranges from 10% to 65%, presumably following a gradient in time since exposure; these presumed younger stages have a low species richness of around 20 whereas older sites have up to 40 species. Prominent clumps of Carex spectabilis are the first vascular species to colonize these gravel barrens and rocky slopes, generating their own humus layers via decomposition of abundant foliage. Other graminoids with at least 50% constancy include Luzula piperi, Phleum alpinum, Poa cusickii, Poa alpina, Juncus drummondii, and Carex nigricans; the last two named species are faithful indicators of snowbed environments, whereas the first four are found on many area moraines as the first pioneering species. Forbs of high constancy and also known as colonizers are Arnica x diversifolia, Epilobium anagallidifolium (= Epilobium alpinum), Oxyria digyna, and Ranunculus eschscholtzii. Forbs with moderate to high constancy and indicative of high moisture status/snow persistence include Veronica wormskjoldii, Senecio triangularis, Erigeron peregrinus, Hieracium gracile, and Sibbaldia procumbens. Moss and lichen cover is less than 5% regardless of site age.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: It is characterized as a pioneer chionophilic community of recently deglaciated substrates in glacier-scoured cirque basins or on morainal or other talus slopes. The noted elevation span is from 2000 to 2400 m (6560-7870 feet), and all aspects are represented. Cirque basin margins are usually gently sloping or undulating and the colluvial slopes and newly exposed morainal walls do not much exceed a 20% grade. The community is found on soil patches having minimal development with large barren rock or gravel areas between patches. The total rock cover varies from 90% in earliest successional expressions to less than 40%, in later successional stages. Vegetation is restricted to the soil patches, which are often humus-rich and fine-textured. All sites have a moderate to mostly long-persisting snowpack approaching snowbed conditions and resulting in a mesic to hygric moisture regime. Meltwaters from adjacent snowbanks is virtually constant, supplied well into late summer.
Geographic Range: This is a small-patch herbaceous association of the alpine of northwestern Montana, in Glacier National Park.
Nations: CA?,US
States/Provinces: AB?, MT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.730698
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3G4
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 4 Polar & High Montane Scrub, Grassland & Barrens Class | C04 | 4 |
| Subclass | 4.B Temperate to Polar Alpine & Tundra Vegetation Subclass | S12 | 4.B |
| Formation | 4.B.1 Temperate & Boreal Alpine Tundra Formation | F037 | 4.B.1 |
| Division | 4.B.1.Nb Western North American Alpine Tundra Division | D043 | 4.B.1.Nb |
| Macrogroup | 4.B.1.Nb.3 Vancouverian Alpine Tundra Macrogroup | M101 | 4.B.1.Nb.3 |
| Group | 4.B.1.Nb.3.b Longawn Sedge - Showy Sedge - Spreading Phlox Alpine-Subalpine Tundra Group | G320 | 4.B.1.Nb.3.b |
| Alliance | A1300 Showy Sedge Subalpine Meadow Alliance | A1300 | 4.B.1.Nb.3.b |
| Association | CEGL005867 Showy Sedge - Rayless Arnica Alpine Meadow | CEGL005867 | 4.B.1.Nb.3.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Arnico diversifoliae - Caricetum spectabilis Association (Damm 2001)
= Carex spectabilis - Arnica x diversifolia Herbaceous Vegetation (Hop et al. 2007)
= Carex spectabilis - Arnica x diversifolia Herbaceous Vegetation (Hop et al. 2007)
- 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.