Print Report

G324 Distichlis spicata - Hordeum jubatum - Pascopyrum smithii Great Plains Saline Wet Meadow & Marsh Group

Type Concept Sentence: This group occurs in much of the Great Plains where herbaceous saline wetlands form. Typical dominant or common species are Distichlis spicata or Hordeum jubatum, along with Eleocharis spp., Poa arida, Puccinellia nuttalliana, Bolboschoenus maritimus, Schoenoplectus pungens, Sporobolus airoides, and Suaeda calceoliformis.

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Saltgrass - Foxtail Barley - Western Wheatgrass Great Plains Saline Wet Meadow & Marsh Group

Colloquial Name: Great Plains Saline Wet Meadow & Marsh

Hierarchy Level:  Group

Type Concept: This group occurs in shallow-sloped basins in the Great Plains that experience seasonal flooding. Stands are dominated by short to medium-tall herbaceous species tolerant of flooding and salinity. The most abundant species at a site typically include Distichlis spicata or Hordeum jubatum. Other common associates or dominants are Atriplex patula, Eleocharis spp., Poa arida, Puccinellia nuttalliana, Bolboschoenus maritimus, Schoenoplectus pungens, Sporobolus airoides, Suaeda calceoliformis, and Iva annua. Where flooding is less frequent and where salinity is not high, Pascopyrum smithii is often present to dominant. Strongly saline mudflats usually have a high proportion of Salicornia rubra. Soils are saline and create brackish water.

Diagnostic Characteristics: Sites in this group are intermittently to seasonally flooded, dominated by short to medium-tall graminoids, and have saline soils.

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: Examples of this group are dominated by short to medium-tall herbaceous species, usually graminoids. Tall woody species are rare, but short shrubs are sometimes present but with less than 10% cover. Total vegetation cover can vary from relatively sparse (often where soils are most saline and/or where variation in available moisture is greatest) to dense.

Floristics: This group is dominated by herbaceous, usually graminoid, species. Salinity and moisture levels have a great affect on the species that grow at individual sites or where they grow within individual sites. The most abundant species at a site typically include Distichlis spicata or Hordeum jubatum. Other common associates or dominants are Atriplex patula, Eleocharis spp., Poa arida, Puccinellia nuttalliana, Bolboschoenus maritimus (= Schoenoplectus maritimus), Schoenoplectus pungens, Sporobolus airoides, Suaeda calceoliformis, and Iva annua. Where flooding is less frequent and where salinity is not high, Pascopyrum smithii is often present to dominant. Strongly saline mudflats usually have a high proportion of Salicornia rubra.

Dynamics:  Variations in water and salinity levels have a strong impact on this group. Plants that are abundant are tolerant of at least moderate salinity and periodic flooding. Unusually wet periods or high spring snowmelt may flush some salt away, shifting the boundaries temporarily until more salt accumulates. Salinity varies during the growing season, decreasing in the spring or after heavy rains and increasing during dry periods. The increased salinity due to concentration of the salt as the water evaporates - common in the late summer and early fall - creates a seasonally shifting environment. Species composition is strongly linked to salinity and soil moisture so there is usually notable zonation within this group with the species tolerant of the wettest and most saline conditions in the center, grading towards midgrass prairie at the edges (Ungar 1967, 1970). Fire may spread into this system from adjacent upland prairies and can burn areas with higher vegetation cover but the low vegetation cover and wet soils typical of many stands do not carry fire well.
Environmental Description:  This group occurs in shallow-sloped basins that experience seasonal flooding. Sites may dry out by the end of the growing season. Soils are saline and create brackish water. Salt brought to the surface by water that later evaporates may form crusts. This group is found in basins and low parts of floodplains where water collects. The soils and water are moderately to strongly saline (>0.5-1%) (Ungar 1967, 1970). The salts are leached from saline soils in the watershed or, rarely, come from saline groundwater discharge. Salts accumulate as the water in which they were dissolved evaporates. Salt crusts are present on the soil surface of some stands. Soils are fine-grained, typically with a silt or clay component, and poorly drained. The wettest examples are flooded through most or all of the growing season and can support aquatic species. Other aspects can be flooded or saturated for short periods (Dodd and Coupland 1966, Stewart and Kantrud 1971).
Geographic Range: This group occurs throughout the Great Plains from southern Canada to the panhandle of Texas. The group extends to the mixedgrass and shortgrass prairies of central Montana, eastern Wyoming, and eastern Colorado. The eastern limit of the main part of this group is in western Minnesota, eastern Nebraska, northwestern Missouri, and eastern Kansas. There are rare saline marshes in the southern and eastern Great Lakes area that are included in this group.

Nations: CA,MX?,US

States/Provinces:  AB, CO, IL, KS, MB, MI, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV?, OK, ON, QC, SD, SK, TX, WY


Confidence Level: Moderate

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR

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.Na North American Great Plains Saline Marsh Division D033 2.C.5.Na
Macrogroup 2.C.5.Na.1 Great Plains Saline Wet Meadow & Marsh Macrogroup M077 2.C.5.Na.1
Group 2.C.5.Na.1.a Saltgrass - Foxtail Barley - Western Wheatgrass Great Plains Saline Wet Meadow & Marsh Group G324 2.C.5.Na.1.a
Alliance A1341 Saltgrass - Foxtail Barley Wet Meadow Alliance A1341 2.C.5.Na.1.a
Alliance A1354 Western Wheatgrass - Saltgrass - Foxtail Barley Wet Meadow Alliance A1354 2.C.5.Na.1.a
Alliance A4069 Common Threesquare Great Plains Marsh Alliance A4069 2.C.5.Na.1.a
Alliance A4071 Red Swampfire Wet Meadow Alliance A4071 2.C.5.Na.1.a
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
Concept Author(s): S. Menard and K. Kindscher, in Faber-Langendoen et al. (2011)

Author of Description: J. Drake

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 05-08-15
  • Dodd, J. D., and R. T. Coupland. 1966. Vegetation of saline areas in Saskatchewan. Ecology 47(6):958-968.
  • Faber-Langendoen, D., J. Drake, S. Gawler, M. Hall, C. Josse, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, L. Sneddon, K. Schulz, J. Teague, M. Russo, K. Snow, and P. Comer, editors. 2010-2019a. Divisions, Macrogroups and Groups for the Revised U.S. National Vegetation Classification. NatureServe, Arlington, VA. plus appendices. [in preparation]
  • Stewart, R. E., and H. A. Kantrud. 1971. Classification of natural ponds and lakes in the glaciated prairie region. USDI Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife Resources, Publication 92. Washington, DC. 77 pp.
  • Ungar, I. A. 1967. Vegetation-soil relationships on saline soils in northern Kansas. The American Midland Naturalist 78(1):98-121.
  • Ungar, I. A. 1970. Species-soil relationships on sulfate dominated soils of South Dakota. The American Midland Naturalist 83(2):343-357.