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D035 Sarcocornia pacifica - Carex lyngbyei - Jaumea carnosa Temperate & Boreal Pacific Rim Coastal Salt Marsh Division
Type Concept Sentence: Intertidal salt marshes and adjacent brackish marshes dominated by salt-tolerant graminoid and succulent stem vegetation found on the coast of the Pacific Rim in temperate, boreal and arctic latitudes of western North America and eastern Asia.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Pacific Swampfire - Lyngbye''s Sedge - Marsh Jaumea Temperate & Boreal Pacific Rim Coastal Salt Marsh Division
Colloquial Name: Temperate & Boreal Pacific Coastal Salt Marsh
Hierarchy Level: Division
Type Concept: This division consists of the intertidal salt marshes and brackish marshes found on the coast of the Pacific Rim in temperate, boreal and arctic latitudes; in western North America, they extend from Alaska and Canada as far south as Baja California and the Sonoran coast along the Gulf of California of Mexico, including coastal marshes along the Colorado River Delta and other river deltas such as the Rio Yaqui; in eastern Asia, they are found along the coasts of China, Japan, Russia and Korea with limited marsh development. Dominant plant species change from north to south, but communities have many species in common. Vegetation ranges from very dense thickets with substantial organic substrate to open and sparse on mud and sand flats. North American boreal and arctic elements include Carex lyngbyei, Carex ramenskii, Cochlearia officinalis, Hippuris tetraphylla, Honckenya peploides, Plantago maritima, and Puccinellia spp. Mediterranean or subtropical elements include Batis maritima, Grindelia stricta, Limonium californicum, Monanthochloe littoralis, Salicornia bigelovii, Suaeda taxifolia, and Suaeda esteroa. Widespread elements occurring in 2 or more of the climatic zones include Cuscuta salina, Distichlis spicata, Eleocharis palustris, Glaux maritima, Jaumea carnosa, Salicornia spp., Spergularia canadensis, Spergularia macrotheca, and/or Triglochin spp. In western North America, salt marshes are primarily associated with estuaries or coastal lagoons, and are limited to bays, behind sand spits or other locations protected from wave action. The arctic marshes are influenced by ice, extreme low temperatures, positive water balance and numerous inflowing streams and can be considered brackish rather than saline.
Diagnostic Characteristics: Pacific Rim temperate and boreal 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. Strong diagnostics include Sarcocornia pacifica, Jaumea carnosa, and Cuscuta salina.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: California and Baja California (Mexico) coastal salt marshes have been extensively sampled by Peinado et al. (1994b, 1995b, 2008) and by California teams (summarized in Sawyer et al. 2009). Peinado et al. (1994b, 2007) view the California - Baja California portion of the north-south gradient as the Spartinion foliosae, Salicomion bigelovii, Limonio-Frankenietea salinae complex, separate from the boreal Pacific, arctic, and subtropical to tropical mangrove complexes. Some elements from the tropical mangrove complex, such as Monanthochloe littoralis and Salicornia bigelovii, occur in southern California salt marshes. More information is needed from Asian and Arctic salt marshes.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: Vegetation ranges from very dense thickets with substantial organic substrate to open and sparse on mud and sand flats.
Floristics: Dominant plant species change from north to south, but communities have many species in common. Vegetation ranges from very dense thickets with substantial organic substrate to open and sparse on mud and sand flats. North American boreal and arctic elements include Carex lyngbyei, Carex ramenskii, Cochlearia officinalis, Hippuris tetraphylla, Honckenya peploides, Plantago maritima, and Puccinellia spp. Mediterranean or subtropical elements include Batis maritima, Grindelia stricta, Limonium californicum, Monanthochloe littoralis (= Distichlis littoralis), Salicornia bigelovii, Suaeda taxifolia, and Suaeda esteroa. Widespread elements occurring in 2 or more of the climatic zones include Cuscuta salina (= Cuscuta pacifica), Distichlis spicata, Eleocharis palustris, Glaux maritima, Jaumea carnosa, Salicornia spp., Spergularia canadensis, Spergularia macrotheca, and/or Triglochin spp. In western North America, salt marshes are primarily associated with estuaries or coastal lagoons, and are limited to bays, behind sand spits or other locations protected from wave action. The arctic marshes are influenced by ice, extreme low temperatures, positive water balance and numerous inflowing streams and can be considered brackish rather than saline. A number of key species are diagnostic of the division. These species are generally limited to the Pacific coast of North America, ranging widely up and down the coast, and include Sarcocornia pacifica (= Salicornia pacifica), Jaumea carnosa, and Cuscuta salina.
Dynamics: Coastal salt marsh dynamics include large-scale natural processes such as extreme flooding or high-high tidal events (including tsunamis) with associated erosion and deposition. Small-patch processes include parasitic plant kills of host plants (Cuscuta salina, Cordylanthus maritimus) on multiple species, including Distichlis spp., Sarcocornia spp., and Jaumea spp. (Grewell et al. 2007). Invasive Spartina alterniflora and exotic Spartina densiflora, along with Lepidium latifolium, are among the new introduced plants of the Pacific salt marshes. They alter and strongly affect dynamics and tend to crowd out native species (Grewell et al. 2007).
Environmental Description: Stands are found in coastal lagoons, estuaries, bays, and river mouths with regular connection to seawater, tidal action, and erosion processes. The most extensive salt marshes exist in protected bays (San Diego, San Francisco, Humboldt Bay, California) where geologic subsidence has affected the topography. These larger marshes have a dendritic channel development, which facilitates a regular sequence of tidal drainage and wetting. Vegetation adjacent to channels tend to prefer higher disturbance and nutrient fluxes than interior portions of the marsh which are commonly monospecifically dominated by Sarcocornia spp. or rhizomatous graminoids or grasses. Upper (high) salt marshes tend to concentrate salts, with concentrations increasing from north to south. Northern upper or high marshes tend to have lower salinities resulting from regular flushing from precipitation or other freshwater sources, whereas southern marshes have higher salinities from warmer, drier climatic conditions.
Climate: Köppen climatic zones are moist mid-latitude climates with mild winters (C). The majority of the distribution from southern California to Washington is considered Csb, but farther north into British Columbia and southeastern Alaska the climate is Cfb, transitioning into moist mid-latitude climates with cold winters (D), specifically Dfc in western Alaska.
Soils/substrate: Soils are muck and mud ranging from completely anaerobic to diurnally saturated.
Biogeography: Principal genera are distributed globally (Sarcocornia) or from Eurasia through North America (Spartina). Jaumea is endemic to the Americas.
Climate: Köppen climatic zones are moist mid-latitude climates with mild winters (C). The majority of the distribution from southern California to Washington is considered Csb, but farther north into British Columbia and southeastern Alaska the climate is Cfb, transitioning into moist mid-latitude climates with cold winters (D), specifically Dfc in western Alaska.
Soils/substrate: Soils are muck and mud ranging from completely anaerobic to diurnally saturated.
Biogeography: Principal genera are distributed globally (Sarcocornia) or from Eurasia through North America (Spartina). Jaumea is endemic to the Americas.
Geographic Range: Pacific Rim tidal salt marshes in temperate and boreal latitudes of western North America and eastern Asia.
Nations: CA,CN,JP,KP,KR,MX,RU,US
States/Provinces: AK, BC, CA, MXBCN, MXBCS, MXSON, OR, WA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.860294
Confidence Level: High
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.Nc Temperate & Boreal Pacific Coastal Salt Marsh Division | D035 | 2.C.5.Nc |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.5.Nc.1 North American Pacific Coastal Salt Marsh Macrogroup | M081 | 2.C.5.Nc.1 |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < Carici-Puccinellietea phryganodis (arctic) (Knapp 1976) [This reflects the arctic portion of the Alaska distribution of the division but does not include the boreal or the Mediterranean climates of the gradient of salt marshes up and down the Pacific Coast.]
< Puccinellietea nutkaensis (boreal and temperate) (Knapp 1976) [Phytosociological class representing boreal and temperate southeastern Alaska to central Oregon distribution, does not represent the Mediterranean portions of the gradient.]
< Spartinion foliosae, Salicomion bigelovii, Limonio-Frankenietea salinae (Peinado et al. 1994b) [This represents the Mediterranean California and northern Baja California distribution of the gradient.]
< Puccinellietea nutkaensis (boreal and temperate) (Knapp 1976) [Phytosociological class representing boreal and temperate southeastern Alaska to central Oregon distribution, does not represent the Mediterranean portions of the gradient.]
< Spartinion foliosae, Salicomion bigelovii, Limonio-Frankenietea salinae (Peinado et al. 1994b) [This represents the Mediterranean California and northern Baja California distribution of the gradient.]
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