Print Report
G499 Carex lyngbyei - Bolboschoenus maritimus - Glaux maritima Salt Marsh Group
Type Concept Sentence: This group consists of intertidal salt and brackish marshes found throughout the North American Pacific coast, with representative dominant plant species such as Batis maritima, Carex lyngbyei, Carex ramenskii, Distichlis spicata, Eleocharis palustris, Glaux maritima, Salicornia depressa, Suaeda spp., Triglochin maritima, and/or Triglochin spp.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Lyngbye''s Sedge - Cosmopolitan Bulrush - Sea-milkwort Salt Marsh Group
Colloquial Name: Temperate Pacific Salt Marsh
Hierarchy Level: Group
Type Concept: This group consists of the intertidal salt marshes and brackish marshes found throughout the North American Pacific coast. Vegetation ranges from very dense thickets to open and sparse. Dominant plant species change from north to south, but communities have many species in common, including Batis maritima, Carex lyngbyei, Carex ramenskii, Distichlis spicata, Eleocharis palustris, Glaux maritima, Hippuris tetraphylla, Honckenya peploides, Jaumea carnosa, Limonium californicum, Monanthochloe littoralis, Puccinellia spp., Salicornia depressa, Salicornia spp., Spergularia canadensis, Suaeda spp., Triglochin maritima, and/or Triglochin spp. Primarily associated with estuaries or coastal lagoons, salt marshes are limited to bays, behind sand spits or other locations protected from wave action. These occur from Kodiak Island and south-central Alaska, south along the coast throughout British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Baja California and the Sonoran coast along the Gulf of California, including coastal marshes along the Colorado River delta and other river deltas such as the Rio Yaqui.
Diagnostic Characteristics: Coastal herbaceous intertidal salt marshes and brackish marshes primarily associated with estuaries or coastal lagoons, salt marshes are limited to bays, behind sand spits or other locations protected from wave action.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type has a very extensive distribution, from cold-temperate Alaska to subtropical Mexico. It also spans the low to high marsh. The following grouping of associations corresponds to the major environmental zones. These should be compared with the alliances. Low Tidal Marsh- Regularly Flooded Daily - CEGL002882, CEGL002920, CEGL002923, CEGL003123, CEGL003286, CEGL003287, CEGL003329, CEGL003366, CEGL003380, CEGL003381, CEGL003462, CEGL003466, CEGL003471. Hypersaline High Marsh - CEGL003356, CEGL003120, CEGL002885. Brackish High Marsh - CEGL003285, CEGL003288, CEGL003289, CEGL003357, CEGL003367, CEGL003369, CEGL003382, CEGL003383, CEGL003384, CEGL003421, CEGL003424, CEGL003469.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: Graminoid-dominated herbaceous wetlands flooded daily by saltwater tidal influx. May contain low scattered shrubs.
Floristics: Dominant plant species change from north to south, but communities have many species in common which include Jaumea carnosa, Carex lyngbyei, Distichlis spicata, Salicornia depressa (= Salicornia virginica), and Salicornia spp. High salt marsh and other short-inundation and regularly drying salt marsh or marsh-like settings have much in common with each other. For example, Distichlis spicata, Allenrolfea occidentalis, Frankenia salina, Arthrocnemum subterminale, Cressa truxillensis, Glaux maritima, and many other "high marsh" species in California may also be found in the interior saline and alkaline basins and moist bottomlands far from the coast.
A study at Humboldt Bay (northwestern California) by Pickart (2006) suggests that there are different alliances based on saline, brackish, and fresh to slightly brackish marsh. The only types that would be considered saline marsh are Distichlis spicata, Bolboschoenus maritimus (= Scirpus maritimus), Atriplex prostrata, Salicornia, and Spergularia. Many species considered as salt marsh indicators or differential types in this treatment such as Deschampsia cespitosa, Argentina anserina (= Potentilla anserina), and Eleocharis occur in brackish conditions. Another suite of species, including Juncus arcticus, Hydrocotyle ranunculoides, Typha latifolia, and Oenanthe sarmentosa, are only slightly to moderately brackish in Na-based and electrical conductivity salinity classes.
Low marshes are located in areas that flood every day and are dominated by a variety of low-growing forbs and low to medium-height graminoids, especially Carex lyngbyei, Carex ramenskii, Glaux maritima, Hippuris tetraphylla, Honckenya peploides, Puccinellia spp., Salicornia depressa, Schoenoplectus americanus, Bolboschoenus maritimus, Spergularia canadensis, and Triglochin maritima. High marshes are located in areas that flood infrequently and are dominated by medium-tall graminoids and low forbs, especially Argentina egedii, Deschampsia cespitosa, Festuca rubra, Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis (= Juncus balticus), Poa eminens and Symphyotrichum subspicatum (= Aster subspicatus). Transition zone (slightly brackish) marshes are often dominated by Atriplex prostrata (= Atriplex triangularis), Cordylanthus spp., Juncus mexicanus, Lilaeopsis masonii, Phragmites spp., Schoenoplectus acutus, and Typha spp. The invasive species Lepidium latifolium is a problem in many of these marshes. Rare plant species include Cordylanthus maritimus ssp. maritimus.
In the warm summer-dry climes of central California to Baja California and the Sonoran coast, marshes can be sparsely vegetated and are composed of halophytic species such as Allenrolfea occidentalis, Arthrocnemum subterminale, Atriplex spp., Monanthochloe littoralis, Distichlis spicata, Frankenia spp., Limonium californicum, Pluchea spp., Salicornia spp., and Suaeda spp. Floristic data were compiled from Shreve and Wiggins (1964), Sparks et al. (1977), Brown (1982), Barbour and Major (1988), National Wetlands Working Group (1988), Viereck et al. (1992), Holland and Keil (1995), Sawyer and T. Keeler-Wolf (1995), and Boggs (2000).
A study at Humboldt Bay (northwestern California) by Pickart (2006) suggests that there are different alliances based on saline, brackish, and fresh to slightly brackish marsh. The only types that would be considered saline marsh are Distichlis spicata, Bolboschoenus maritimus (= Scirpus maritimus), Atriplex prostrata, Salicornia, and Spergularia. Many species considered as salt marsh indicators or differential types in this treatment such as Deschampsia cespitosa, Argentina anserina (= Potentilla anserina), and Eleocharis occur in brackish conditions. Another suite of species, including Juncus arcticus, Hydrocotyle ranunculoides, Typha latifolia, and Oenanthe sarmentosa, are only slightly to moderately brackish in Na-based and electrical conductivity salinity classes.
Low marshes are located in areas that flood every day and are dominated by a variety of low-growing forbs and low to medium-height graminoids, especially Carex lyngbyei, Carex ramenskii, Glaux maritima, Hippuris tetraphylla, Honckenya peploides, Puccinellia spp., Salicornia depressa, Schoenoplectus americanus, Bolboschoenus maritimus, Spergularia canadensis, and Triglochin maritima. High marshes are located in areas that flood infrequently and are dominated by medium-tall graminoids and low forbs, especially Argentina egedii, Deschampsia cespitosa, Festuca rubra, Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis (= Juncus balticus), Poa eminens and Symphyotrichum subspicatum (= Aster subspicatus). Transition zone (slightly brackish) marshes are often dominated by Atriplex prostrata (= Atriplex triangularis), Cordylanthus spp., Juncus mexicanus, Lilaeopsis masonii, Phragmites spp., Schoenoplectus acutus, and Typha spp. The invasive species Lepidium latifolium is a problem in many of these marshes. Rare plant species include Cordylanthus maritimus ssp. maritimus.
In the warm summer-dry climes of central California to Baja California and the Sonoran coast, marshes can be sparsely vegetated and are composed of halophytic species such as Allenrolfea occidentalis, Arthrocnemum subterminale, Atriplex spp., Monanthochloe littoralis, Distichlis spicata, Frankenia spp., Limonium californicum, Pluchea spp., Salicornia spp., and Suaeda spp. Floristic data were compiled from Shreve and Wiggins (1964), Sparks et al. (1977), Brown (1982), Barbour and Major (1988), National Wetlands Working Group (1988), Viereck et al. (1992), Holland and Keil (1995), Sawyer and T. Keeler-Wolf (1995), and Boggs (2000).
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Climate: Ranges from temperate to Mediterranean to warm desert. Soil/substrate/hydrology: The frequency of tidal flooding and salinity vary widely. Soils are usually fine-textured and saturated. Primarily associated with estuaries or coastal lagoons, salt marshes are limited to bays, behind sand spits or other locations protected from wave action. These marshes form when there is a freshwater source that mixes with coastal ocean saltwater. Occurrences can be small or large patch, and individual associations are confined to specific environments defined by ranges of salinity, tidal inundation regime, and soil texture. Summer-dry periods result in decreased freshwater inputs from inland. Hypersaline environments within salt marshes occur in "salt pans" where tidal water collects and evaporates, and the vegetation can be sparse. Substrates are typically fine-textured and saline alluvium. Vegetation ranges from very dense thickets to open and sparse. Sharp gradients and abrupt shifts in species composition across complex moisture and salinity gradients make for fine-scale patches or bands of vegetation.
Most cool temperate and warm temperate coastal salt marshes are influenced by daily tides and also by seasonal or unpredictable inundations at highest elevation levels of the marsh. Gradients in elevation influence gradients in moisture and in salinity, with highest portions being drier and having higher surface concentrations of salt. High marshes in the warm temperate to subtropical zones have more in common with interior saline and alkaline systems such as playa margins, alkali seeps, and springs.
"High" salt marshes in cooler areas with higher summer precipitation (e.g., the Pacific Northwest) tend to have more in common with brackish or even freshwater meadows, while high marshes in warm temperate Mediterranean or subtropical dry coasts tend to have more in common with desert alkaline or saline settings. Tidal fluctuation is very important and maintains constant moderate salinity and moisture conditions. The species that are indicative of this tidal salt marsh environment are the core of this group. They tend to sort based on moisture and water depth and not on salinity gradients.
Low marshes are located in areas that flood every day and are dominated by a variety of low-growing forbs and low to medium-height graminoids.
In the warm summer-dry climes of central California to Baja California and the Sonoran coast, marshes can be sparsely vegetated and are composed of halophytic species.
Environmental data were compiled from Shreve and Wiggins (1964), Sparks et al. (1977), Brown (1982), Barbour and Major (1988), National Wetlands Working Group (1988), Viereck et al. (1992), Holland and Keil (1995), Sawyer and T. Keeler-Wolf (1995), and Boggs (2000).
Most cool temperate and warm temperate coastal salt marshes are influenced by daily tides and also by seasonal or unpredictable inundations at highest elevation levels of the marsh. Gradients in elevation influence gradients in moisture and in salinity, with highest portions being drier and having higher surface concentrations of salt. High marshes in the warm temperate to subtropical zones have more in common with interior saline and alkaline systems such as playa margins, alkali seeps, and springs.
"High" salt marshes in cooler areas with higher summer precipitation (e.g., the Pacific Northwest) tend to have more in common with brackish or even freshwater meadows, while high marshes in warm temperate Mediterranean or subtropical dry coasts tend to have more in common with desert alkaline or saline settings. Tidal fluctuation is very important and maintains constant moderate salinity and moisture conditions. The species that are indicative of this tidal salt marsh environment are the core of this group. They tend to sort based on moisture and water depth and not on salinity gradients.
Low marshes are located in areas that flood every day and are dominated by a variety of low-growing forbs and low to medium-height graminoids.
In the warm summer-dry climes of central California to Baja California and the Sonoran coast, marshes can be sparsely vegetated and are composed of halophytic species.
Environmental data were compiled from Shreve and Wiggins (1964), Sparks et al. (1977), Brown (1982), Barbour and Major (1988), National Wetlands Working Group (1988), Viereck et al. (1992), Holland and Keil (1995), Sawyer and T. Keeler-Wolf (1995), and Boggs (2000).
Geographic Range: This group is found throughout the Pacific coast, from Kodiak Island and south-central Alaska, south along the coast throughout British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Baja California and the Sonoran coast along the Gulf of California, including coastal marshes along the Colorado River Delta and other river deltas such as the Rio Yaqui. Tidal marshes have a limited distribution along the Gulf of Alaska and British Columbia coastline due to the topography and geomorphology of the coast, which features steep slopes and deep fjords and offers limited protection from wave action (National Wetlands Working Group 1988).
Nations: CA,MX,US
States/Provinces: AK, BC, CA, MXBCN, MXBCS, MXSON, OR, WA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.848835
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < Wetlands (217) (Shiflet 1994)
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- Boggs, K. 2000. Classification of community types, successional sequences and landscapes of the Copper River Delta, Alaska. General Technical Report PNW-GTR-469. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Portland, OR. March 2000. 244 pp.
- Brown, D. E., editor. 1982a. Biotic communities of the American Southwest-United States and Mexico. Desert Plants Special Issue 4(1-4):1-342.
- 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]
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- Pickart, A. J. 2006. Vegetation of diked herbaceous wetlands of Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge: Classification, description, and ecology. USDI Fish and Wildlife Service. Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Arcata, CA.
- Rodriguez, D., K. G. Sikes, T. Keeler-Wolf, G. Kittel, J. Curtis, C. Curley, and J. Evens. 2017. Vegetation classification of Channel Islands National Park. Report to the National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO.
- Sawyer, J. O., and T. Keeler-Wolf. 1995. A manual of California vegetation. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento. 471 pp.
- Shiflet, T. N., editor. 1994. Rangeland cover types of the United States. Society for Range Management. Denver, CO. 152 pp.
- Shreve, F., and I. L. Wiggins. 1964. Vegetation and flora of the Sonoran Desert. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA. 840 pp.
- Sparks, l. H., R. del Moral, A. F. Watson, and A. R. Kruckeberg. 1977. The distribution of vascular plant species on Sergief Island, Southeast Alaska. Syesis 10:l-9.
- Viereck, L. A., C. T. Dyrness, A. R. Batten, and K. J. Wenzlick. 1992. The Alaska vegetation classification. General Technical Report PNW-GTR286. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Portland, OR. 278 pp.