Print Report
D033 Distichlis spicata - Hordeum jubatum Great Plains Saline Marsh Division
Type Concept Sentence: Brackish marsh and saline wet meadows found along shallow lakes and basins and surrounding areas across the Great Plains of North America.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Saltgrass - Foxtail Barley Great Plains Saline Marsh Division
Colloquial Name: North American Great Plains Saline Marsh
Hierarchy Level: Division
Type Concept: This division includes brackish shallow lakes, shallow-sloped basins and surrounding areas across the Great Plains of the United States and Canada. Soils are strongly saline and can have poor structure with salt encrustations on the surface of some examples of communities within this division. Communities are dominated by salt-tolerant and halophytic herbs. Common species include Distichlis spicata and Hordeum jubatum. Other common species include Atriplex patula, Eleocharis spp., Poa arida, Puccinellia nuttalliana, Salicornia rubra, Schoenoplectus americanus, Bolboschoenus maritimus, Schoenoplectus pungens, Spartina spp., Sporobolus airoides, Suaeda calceoliformis, and Iva annua. Sites in this division are intermittently to seasonally flooded. An increase in precipitation during exceptionally wet years can dilute the salt concentration in the soils which may allow for less salt-tolerant species such as Pascopyrum smithii to become dominant.
Diagnostic Characteristics: This division is characterized by strongly saline soils and the dominance of salt-tolerant, short to medium-tall graminoids. Diagnostic species include Distichlis spicata and Hordeum jubatum. Other common species include Atriplex patula, Eleocharis spp., Poa arida, Puccinellia nuttalliana, Salicornia rubra, Schoenoplectus americanus, Bolboschoenus maritimus, Schoenoplectus pungens, Spartina spp., Sporobolus airoides, Suaeda calceoliformis, and Iva annua.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type is similar to the freshwater marshes in the region and may resemble wet meadows and freshwater marshes in the region during years with exceptional precipitation, which tend to dilute or over-ride the effects of salinity.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: Species richness in these brackish marshes is typically low. The vegetation is characterized by graminoids of short to medium stature. The density and species composition of the vegetation are related to the degree of salinity in the soil; locations with low soil salinity often have dense growth of the predominant graminoids, whereas high soil salinity results in clumped growth forms with a high percentage of exposed soil.
Floristics: The predominant species in these are marsh are graminoids and include Distichlis spicata, Eleocharis spp., Hordeum jubatum, Juncus arcticus ssp. littoralis (= Juncus balticus), Juncus torreyi, Lythrum alatum, Pascopyrum smithii, Poa arida, Polypogon monspeliensis (introduced), Schoenoplectus americanus, Bolboschoenus maritimus (= Schoenoplectus maritimus), Schoenoplectus pungens, Spartina spp., Sporobolus airoides. Forbs include Heliotropium curassavicum, Iva annua, Puccinellia nuttalliana, Salicornia rubra, Suaeda calceoliformis, and Symphyotrichum subulatum. Woody species are infrequent but, when present, include Atriplex canescens, Atriplex patula, Baccharis salicina, and Tamarix spp.
Dynamics: Frequency and duration of inundation, in addition to degree of soil salinity, affect the density and species composition of the vegetation.
Environmental Description: Climate: The division occurs within two climate types (sensu Trewartha): Temperate Continental and Dry Steppe (semi-arid). As a result, there are distinct gradients of precipitation and temperate within the division. The precipitation gradient extends along an east-to-west axis, with an average annual precipitation of 1014 mm at Lawrence, Kansas, to 477.5 mm at Boise City, Oklahoma. The western extent of the region is subject to periodic, often severe, droughts. The temperature gradient follows a south-north gradient. The annual average temperature in the southern extent of the Division is 18.6°C (mean high of 25.7°C and a mean low 11.6°C) at San Angelo, Texas, to 3.1°C in Regina, Saskatchewan (a mean high of 18.9°C in July and a mean low of -14.7°C).
Soils/substrate: In lacustrine environments (e.g., playa lakes), clay soils provide a barrier for the rapid infiltration of water. In palustrine habitats, soils are derived from quaternary sediments deposited along stream channels and on terraces. Because these habitats occur in a semi-arid climate, evaporation rates are high, thus increasing salt concentration in the soil. The source of salts in most of the region is evaporites deposited during the Permian Period. These gypsum deposits are often interbedded with red sandstone and mudstone deposits. In some locales, large salt flats have developed (e.g., the Great Salt Plains in Oklahoma).
Soils/substrate: In lacustrine environments (e.g., playa lakes), clay soils provide a barrier for the rapid infiltration of water. In palustrine habitats, soils are derived from quaternary sediments deposited along stream channels and on terraces. Because these habitats occur in a semi-arid climate, evaporation rates are high, thus increasing salt concentration in the soil. The source of salts in most of the region is evaporites deposited during the Permian Period. These gypsum deposits are often interbedded with red sandstone and mudstone deposits. In some locales, large salt flats have developed (e.g., the Great Salt Plains in Oklahoma).
Geographic Range: This division is found throughout the eastern and western Great Plains of the United States ranging into bordering Canadian provinces.
Nations: CA,MX?,US
States/Provinces: CO, IL, KS, MB, MI, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, OK, ON, QC, SD, SK, TX, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.860365
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 |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
- Baalman, R. J. 1965. Vegetation of the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge, Jet, Oklahoma. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Oklahoma, Norman.
- Barbour, M. G., T. Keeler-Wolf, and A. A. Schoenherr, editors. 2007a. Terrestrial vegetation of California, third edition. University of California Press, Berkeley.
- Barbour, M. G., and W. D. Billings, editors. 2000. North American terrestrial vegetation. Second edition. Cambridge University Press, New York. 434 pp.
- 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]
- Hoagland, B. W., and S. L. Collins. 1997. Heterogeneity in shortgrass prairie vegetation: The role of playa lakes. Journal of Vegetation Science 8:277-286.
- Mitsch, W. J., and J. G. Gosselink. 2000. Wetlands. Third edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. 920 pp.
- Ortenberger, A. I., and R. D. Bird. 1933. The ecology of the western Oklahoma salt plains. Publications of the University of Oklahoma Biological Survey 5:49-64.